Chinese investors buy 35% of residential land in Australia

In 2016, Chinese investors spent A$2.4 billion purchasing residential land in Australia, accounting for 35 percent of all Australian real estate trade, according to Knight Frank, a global real estate consultancy company.

That's an increase of 9.4 percent on the previous year.

Knight Frank's report said the amount of real estate bought by Chinese consumers was seventeen times greater than in 2012.

In 2012, the average area of trading plots was 1,200 square meters, with every plot having 103 living units. In 2016, the number had risen to 502 units with an average area of 21,000 square meters.

Interest isn't limited to real estate companies, reports the Paper.

In June 2016, Bank of China paid $95 million to buy an office building in Sydney.

China's New Hope Group, which is involved in the agriculture and food sector, has also established its Australia and New Zealand headquarters in Sydney. "We are going to build a 43-floor landmark in northern Sydney", said a New Hope official.

"The two safe ports, Sydney and Melbourne, are still the first choice for Chinese investors, and that trend will continue. China will focus on other cities in Australia when competition for real estate becomes too fierce", said Lin Rongjie, managing director of Cushman & Wakefield's Research Department in China.

"The three most popular cities in Australia among Chinese investors are Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane", said Yang Dong, general manager of an investment company in Shanghai.