Chinese investors are the dominant group of the more than 40,000 Aussie properties on the Register of Foreign Ownership of Australian Assets for residential land.
A whopping 67 per cent of the more than 40,000 Australian residential properties registered as foreign owned are linked to buyers from China.
It comes as experts have revealed how international investors are changing their approach to minimise government surcharges.
The Australian Taxation Office’s Register of Foreign Ownership of Australian Assets residential list tracks homes bought from 2016 to 2024, most under the supervision of the Foreign Investment Review Board, that are still owned by international interests.
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It shows 16,929 of offshore-owned addresses are located in Victoria — more than 40 per cent.
NSW is the next most common spot, with 8862, followed by Queensland at 8129 and South Australia at 2129.
The data was quietly released late last year and identifies the majority of homes with offshore owners around the country as new builds, with 23,147, but there are still 8463 established properties that remain on the register that were bought by internationals from July 1, 2016, to June 30, 2024.
Wealthy investors from across Asia dominate the list of foreign nationals who own Aussie residential land and homes.
The purchase of established homes is now subject to a temporary ban for all but a very limited group of international buyers, such as for permanent residents, New Zealand citizens, and temporary residents who may buy a home to live in while they are in Australia.
However, historically the ATO data shows mainland Chinese investors are the overwhelmingly dominant force among the 135 countries that host international purchasers of Australian land.
They account for more than 23,500 of the total — and more than 27,000 when combined with Hong Kong.
The ATO website notes that the Register is not a full stocktake of foreign ownership in Australia, but it does cover land and homes acquired after July 1, 2016, as well as some added to through data matching with state and territory land title transfers.
PropTrack senior economist Eleanor Creagh said one of the biggest influences on international investment in the year ahead would likely be Chinese government controls over what their population does with their capital.
The economist said the superpower’s high prevalence in the list showed the strength of its connection to Australian education providers and businesses.
Who Owns Aussie Real Estate?
| Country | No. of Investors |
| People’s Republic of China | 23,550 |
| Hong Kong, SAR | 3,486 |
| Singapore | 1,892 |
| Malaysia | 1,820 |
| Vietnam | 1,598 |
| United Kingdom | 1,183 |
| Japan | 1,168 |
| India | 1,020 |
| Indonesia | 1,010 |
| Taiwan | 770 |
| United States of America | 553 |
| Nepal | 546 |
| Korea, (Republic of South Korea) | 339 |
| Canada | 314 |
| Sri Lanka | 260 |
| Germany | 245 |
| South Africa | 227 |
| Switzerland | 217 |
| British Virgin Islands | 213 |
| Cambodia | 175 |
The 20 most prevalent sources of registered interests in Aussie land.
Source: ATO
Singapore is the next most prolific nation on the register, after China and Hong Kong.
“There’s also skilled migration programs that are probably creating a link between investment and housing demand for the APAC region members,” Ms Creagh said.
But with numbers of new home builds expected to grow and the Aussie dollar weak against many international currencies, conditions do favour ongoing international demand for Australian homes in 2026 — despite federal government bans put in place last year.
“And Australia is also viewed as a safe haven, in some respects,” she said.
“It’s a country that’s got transparent legal systems, and strong property rights, and has a perception of being far removed from geopolitical adversities.”
Peter Li, General Manager of Plus Agency, a residential project marketing agency with
more than $300 million in annual sales, said many might have expected higher numbers on the register.
“Most people believe there are more foreign buyers than there actually are,” Mr Li said.
“In reality, foreign buyers only make up eight tenths of a per cent of home purchases.”
Register of Foreign Ownership of Australian Assets data shows the share of homes being purchased that are above and below $1m (2016-2024). Source: ATO.
He added that many were also choosing to sell in response to increasing costs levied against them.
“Many foreign buyers who bought over the last 10 or 20 years now find it is too expensive
to hold onto their Australian property because the government has increased the keeping
costs,” Mr Li said.
He added that while apartments had once been a common choice for international investors, today the demand had shifted to the house and land market — which offered a way to minimise tax costs.
“For a house that costs $1 million in the Sydney metro area, the land might work out to be
worth about $350,000, while the construction might cost $650,000. The total adds up to
$1 million, but they only pay FIRB fees and a stamp duty surcharge on the $350k portion.
“They don’t pay any surcharge on the construction.”
Register of Foreign Ownership of Australian Assets data showing acquisitions by state for past three years. Source: ATO.
Without a split contract, such as when buying apartments and townhouses and combined house and land packages, they might pay six figures more in stamp duty and FIRB application costs.
“So they have found a better way to invest in Australia, with lower upfront costs,” Mr Li said.
The ATO register also shows international buyers have favoured more affordable homes, with 31,888 of their purchases valued at under $1m when they bought them — compared to $8289 valued at seven figures and up.
While FIRB and ATO data shows more stringent controls on foreign investment in Australia, such as higher taxation and restrictions over what types of home can be bought, reduced investor numbers compared to prior years — individual state policies do not seem to have shaped demand.
NSW and Victoria have the most punitive foreign investor tax regimes in the country, with an 8 per cent stamp duty surcharge in both states during the timeline of the data — though NSW has since increased theirs to a 9 per cent levy.
Different states around Australia have differing levels of tax burdens for international buyers.
Both states also have additional annual land tax charges for offshore investors.
Yet they were the two most prominent investment hotspots in the country with 16,929 Victorian properties on the register, and 8,862 in NSW.
Ms Creagh noted that given Victoria had built more new homes in that time, and international investors were largely only allowed to buy new homes as part of a government bid to ensure they increased the nation’s housing supply, it wasn’t surprising to see it at the top of the list.
Real Estate Institute of Victoria chief executive Toby Balazs said with strong attraction factors Melbourne’s migration levels and better affordability made it a clear favourite, but he was surprised to see NSW with such low figures.
“There’s the universities and jobs, and you do see that through migration with Melbourne being a strong migration destination,” Mr Balazs said.
“But the fact that it is almost double NSW is somewhat surprising.”
Register of Foreign Ownership of Australian Assets data shows how many homes are linked to international interests in each state, with a breakdown of the types of property.
Juwai IQI founder Daniel Ho said most international buyers today were looking to purchase homes they or their children would eventually move into under student or migratory visas, and that the key to international ownership data in the future would likely be migration numbers.
Mr Ho is also expecting Victoria to remain the nation’s top spot for Chinese buyers.
Their data shows that inquiry for Victoria grew in the past year, after the ATO data’s timeline, with the state accounting for 43.4 per cent of international demand in Juwai data in 2025, compared to 39.53 per cent in 2024.
Juwai IQI ranked NSW the next most in demand at 29.4 per cent of demand last year, followed by Western Australia at 13.2 per cent, and Queensland at 12.2 per cent.
“We expect home prices to continue to climb to 2030 because of the housing shortage,” Mr Ho said.
“So, for anyone moving to Australia for the long-term, it makes sense to buy rather than rent.”
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