The buy-to-let market is a relatively new phenomenon in Australia when compared to other nations worldwide, but according to the latest reports, there are now more and more investors from overseas looking to get a piece of this market by investing in apartments in Australia.
With the outlook for the Australian Dollar lower than originally forecast, more foreign investors are looking to capitalise on the fact that there has been a rise in the level of construction from developers in the apartments sector in the last few years.
The low dollar means that people from overseas are able to get more for their money when they spend, as well as welcoming vastly improved returns when renting out their property to someone else.
Pushing the apartments market, which has meant more and more people renting than buying, has been key in the last few years for state governments across Australia. State leaders increasingly want to see their cities focus on high-density living to maximise the use of land, and have done a lot to make this happen, such as improving transport and infrastructure in targeted areas.
Since January 2011 some 123,815 new apartments have been added to the major capital cities residential stock, led by Greater Sydney with 46,490 and Greater Melbourne with 41,045, Knight Frank has reported. It said that there are also 80,135 apartments currently being built, with more than 120,000 also having been approved and potentially coming to market by 2018.
The sheer pace at which these properties are coming to market shows how strong the apartments sector of the larger property market is at the current time. The fact fewer people are now able to afford to buy their own home has been a driver of this, as more and more look to rent, giving investors a reason to buy.
In addition, the efforts of the state governments to make this type of property come to the fore has helped to push it on across the country.
