Foreigners, including Malaysians, have been obliged by Australia’s government to dispose 15 unlawfully bought properties, reported Reuters.
Previously, the authorities rarely enforced the country’s overseas investment rules, but that all changed in 2016 in a bid to appease citizens disgruntled over the lack of inexpensive housing that has been exacerbated by a surge in overseas home buyers.
On Monday (6 February), Treasurer Scott Morrison announced that the latest round of compulsory property sales brought the overall number to 61 at a total value of A$107 million (RM362.8 million) since the government intensified its enforcement of the overseas investment rules last May.
The 15 real estate divested were previously held by foreigners from Malaysia, China, Indonesia, India, Germany, the United Kingdom and Iran. They were compelled to sell their properties after they failed to get permission from the Foreign Investment Review Board before they proceeded with their acquisition.
Based on a research by Demographia, home prices in major Australian cities have sharply increased. In particular, Sydney emerged as the world’s second most expensive housing market after Hong Kong as prices have risen by two-fold since 2009.
Furthermore, Australia’s government has rejected foreign-led bids for large infrastructure, including the Ausgrid electricity grid valued at A$16.2 billion (RM54.92 billion), due to national security concerns.
Image sourced from Wonderfulengineering
Radin Ghazali, Content Writer at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact her about this or other stories email radin@propertyguru.com.my
