Treasurer orders foreigners to sell Mt Waverley property
The Treasurer Scott Morrison has announced that he ordered the sale of eight more properties due to more breaches in foreign investment ownership laws.
The owners had come from Malaysia, Taiwan, the United States, India, Canada and China.
The newest enforced sales takes the tally to 27 properties that the federal government have ordered to be sold, totalling around $75 million in value. Villa del Mare in Point Piper sold last year at $39 million being the headline one.
Queensland took the brunt of the latest divestiture orders with properties in Eight Mile Plans, Park Ridge, Robertson and Crestmead all being forced to sell.
There was one property from Windsor, New South Wales and three from Victoria on Morrison's hit list, the most expensive being 35-37 Regent Street in Mount Waverley which was purchased for $5.1 million without permission, and resold under the amnesty at $6 million late last year.
The four bedroom home is one of Mount Waverley's largest land holdings over 4097 sqm and features a tennis court, swimming pool and pool house with sauna, was briefly owned by a Malaysian.
It was advertised as having the potential for redevelopment into multiple townhouses. CoreLogic RP Data puts the house price median at $1.2 million.
Morrison said that the tax office are now looking after investigations into illegal purchases and still have 800 cases to look in to.
He also said the government amnesty period meant the owners of the eight properties would escape criminal charges.
"The foreign investors either purchased established residential property without Foreign Investment Review Board approval, or had approval but their circumstances changed meaning they were breaking the rules.
"Under the reduced penalty period announced in May, the investors linked to the eight properties now have 12 months to sell the properties, rather than the normal three month period, and will not be referred for criminal prosecution," he said.
Fines of up to $135,000 or three years imprisonment can be enforced for individuals and $675,000 can be imposed for companies.
The Mt Waverley foreign buyers are understood to have come forward under an amnesty period between May and November, so were not referred for prosecution.
The homes forced back to market in the Brisbane and Logan suburbs of Eight Mile Plains, Park Ridge, Robertson and Crestmead were priced from $780,000 to $250,000. In Melbourne the Blackburn property was valued at $525,000 and in Carlton at $215,000 and in Windsor, outside Sydney a $518,000 property.