Getting to the Bottom of What Investors Want

Property investors led the home loan rush in January, pushing house price growth to its fastest rate in 17 years.

But exactly what do off-the-plan investors look for when considering the Australian residential market?

Jinding Real Estate, a leading channel sales agency with offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and 14 offices across China, have provided their insights.

For international buyers, location is still the primary driver for their property purchase decisions. Being close to facilities such as transport, medical and retail also remain high on the priority list.

Investors are also more inclined to choose a project within a few kilometres of the CBD. They will consider outside this of course, however, the sell is much harder.

Access to education facilities is also important. With many investors hoping to educate their children in Australia, access to a university or other higher education facility will be popular.

Melbourne is still the number one preference for investors from China followed by Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

There has also been an increase in Canberra primarily because it’s one of the more tax friendly states for international investors. However, from an owner-occupier perspective, Sydney seems to be the city of choice.

Jinding’s recent sales supports this. In 2020 the group achieved record sales for two projects in Canberra and Brisbane having sold 106 apartments in the Geocon project in Canberra and 86 in the Queenswharf project in Brisbane.

A recent VIP release of a Southbank development in Melbourne saw investors snap up all 78 apartments allocated to Jinding in just under two hours.

The majority of international buyers are investors rather than owner-occupiers and therefore the total price of a property is more important to them than the per square meter price. As such, a one-bedroom apartment or a small two bed will be more attractive.

In terms of facilities offered, investors would generally prefer projects with lower ongoing body corporate fees over high-end facilities.

The third factor to consider is rental return. Most properties that Jinding sells to international buyers are off-the-plan projects that will generally complete within a two-year time frame.

While this is acceptable for many local buyers, this can cause a level of uncertainty for international investors and therefore a project that can provide rental guarantees is more likely to sell.

In Jinding’s experience, a project providing a rental guarantee with a 5-6 per cent return rate for one to three years is almost guaranteed for success.

There are other factors including projects that incorporate smart living systems and those that are have good Fengshui based on traditional Chinese principles.

To discuss your channel sales strategy and how Jinding Real Estate can partner with you in success, contact Leo Shang, general manager, Jinding Real Estate at leo.shang@jindingau.com.

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