Loss of Chinese buyers: final straw for Australia’s property market?

PHOTO: Properties on the Sydney coastline. Photo: Reuters

A mix of Covid-19, falling immigration and a mismatch in supply and demand are proving a toxic mix for property in Sydney and Melbourne
To top it all off, interest from Chinese buyers has slumped as the relationship between the two countries sours

Australia’s property market, like many others around the world, has been hit by the coronavirus -induced economic downturn. But for its two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, Covid-19 is only part of the problem.

Pandemic’s surprise boost to first homebuyers

In these cities, a mix of stresses that include falling immigration, disparities in supply and demand and a decline in foreign investment due in part to tensions between Beijing and Canberra, are fuelling fears that the worst is yet to come.

For the past two decades, Australia has been experiencing a building boom. More than 700,000 apartments, flats or units have been built nationwide since 2001, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Until recently, demand has kept up with the increasing supply as Australians from the regions have flocked to the cities, alongside international students and other arrivals from abroad.