The latest NAB Quarterly Australian Residential Property Survey found foreign buyers were less active in new residential property market acquistions, but had reputedly increased their presence in established markets, especially Victoria.
The percentage of foreign buyers in the new property market dropped from 15.6% to 12.8% in the latest quarter, according to the NAB survey that gathers feedback from property industry professionals on the current market.
NAB Group chief economist Alan Oster noted foreign buyers had increased their established home purchasing status, up from 7.5% to 8.6%.
Most foreigners buy newly built apartments and houses because of FIRB limits on non-Australian citizens buying established housing. Permanent Australian residents can, ofcourse, buy established houses and temporary residents can buy established houses too, but need to sell when they depart the country, under newly enforced FIRB regulations.
Alan Oster suggested foreign buyers accounted for high sales volume especially in Victoria.
Units were favoured by foreign buyers, accounting for 16.1% of all apartment sales nationally in the second quarter.
Foreign buyers secured 28% of all new apartment purchases in Victoria and 16.5% in New South Wales. The July 1 Victorian Government tax on foreign buyers is likely to be behind some of the higher Victorian volumes coming in the weeks before its introduction.
In Queensland they accounted for 13.1% of buyers and in Western Australia around 12.9%.
More than three quarters of foreign investors bought apartments valued at less than $1 million, with around 41% of those priced below $500,000.
More than 16% of all apartment sales were in the $1 million to $2 million price range.
Though NAB noted it was higher in New South Wales where foreign buyers were responsible for one in four purchases at that price and close to 12% at more than $2 million.
The figures are based on a National Australia Bank survey of 300 people working in areas such as real estate management, development and asset management.