Despite Australia’s rising property prices, smart Chinese buyers can save the equivalent of $50,000 on the average home price, thanks to the strength of the yuan in that market. According to data released by Juwai.com, a Chinese international property portal, home prices in Australia were up 10.2% in September from a year earlier, despite record-setting levels of new construction and modest economic growth. The cost of the average Australian home increased from 490,800 Australian dollars in the third quarter of 2011 to 612,200 Australian dollars in the same period last year. For buyers paying in yuan, however, this translates to a savings of more than 70,000 Australian dollars, or roughly $50,000, due to the stronger yuan and falling Australian dollar. According to Juwai, this is a “trend that dramatically favors Chinese buyers.” Juwai didn’t provide data for the last quarter of 2015, but the yuan’s purchasing power in Australia is continuing to grow. In the last 12 months, the yuan has appreciated about 7% against the Australian dollar; it’s currently trading in the neighborhood of 4.70 per Australian dollar. According to Knight Frank’s China Outbound Real Estate Investment report, released last month, Chinese investment in overseas opportunities ended strong in 2015 thanks to an appetite for diversification; this, despite domestic market uncertainties. Much of this investment was focused on Sydney and Melbourne, where the total capital flow was reported to be $3.8 billion. Looking forward, fears of the yuan’s devaluation later this year “may encourage some Chinese [consumers] to convert their money into offshore assets, such as Australian real estate,” said Juwai.com in its report. View full listing (pictured top)
Write to Andrea López Cruzado at andrea.lopez@dowjones.com