Now that expats are coming home just in time for Christmas, they are looking for prospective properties while they're at it. According to Domain, real estate agents have been entertaining their expatriate clients to properties in Sydney and Melbourne. This is good news for the brokers, as they are gladly filling up the holiday sales gap.
Michael Coombs of McGrath Luxury shares that there has been a 25-percent increase in inquiries from expats in the past year, and a 10-percent increase for the month of December. The same report says that they are just taking advantage of the weakening Australian dollar. They now have opportunities to buy larger homes at a fraction of the price, and these properties look nice on their investment portfolio.
These expats are already going for properties that are pretty far away from the central business districts, and one unnamed Australian expat shares that he would not have gotten a property in Church Point (32km from the nearest CBD) if the interest rates weren't so low. They are now looking at real estate in Sydney suburbs, as they are now opting for more quiet areas that they could bask in whenever they come back home.
Things aren't looking good for the Australian dollar, which could mean good news for those who are looking into buying real estate properties in the country -- specifically in Sydney and Melbourne. Back in July, Financial Review did say that the Australian real estate market owes its boost to expatriates. It's not just Australian expats who are being attracted by the low prices. Sotheby's International Realty's Director of Sales Greg Herman says that expats from Europe and Asia are also buying properties as well. With that said, real estate agents in the country would be more than glad to help potential buyers, whether they are expats or not, to invest in these bargains at the right time.