While some international property investors are sitting on the sidelines waiting for the current crisis to pass, others are moving forward with buying decisions in order to utilize favorable interest and currency exchange rates. Nowhere is this more evident than the Australian property market.
“Savvy investors will always look long-term and will look beyond testing conditions, to seek out reputable developers and good investment opportunities that are well located,” Crown Group COO Sales & Marketing Prisca Edwards stated. “Buyers are enjoying the lowest interest rates in history right now and it looks like there are further cuts ahead.”
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The Australian property market hasn’t been hit by the current situation yet and has proven to be resilient in the past. Home prices only dropped by 4 percent during the last Australian recession in 1990. And in the years following the Global Financial Crisis, prices fell only once. That was in 2010 and was followed by home price growth of 2.1 and 9.3 percent.
For international property investors, the favorable currency exchange rates mean they are able to buy for less even if home prices haven’t fallen in Australia.
“Our overseas buyers are now seeing opportunities to take advantage of the changing value of the Australian dollar to get a great rate on exchanging currency,” Edwards said. “It’s as though they are getting a ‘discounted’ price. Anecdotally we are hearing this from multiple sources – one Singaporean buyer said it was now 14 percent cheaper for them to buy a property in Australia due to the current exchange rate. They are striking now while the iron is hot because they see an opportunity to make capital gains in the long-term, with a good purchase price now.”
Global markets may be reeling, however that hasn’t stopped international property investors from scooping up Australian apartments. Crown Group reported strong sales between mid-February and early March with nearly AUD9 million (USD5.1 million) worth of off-the-plan units sold it its Mastery by Crown Group development.