Category: Australia & New Zealand

How to Buy Land in Australia: A Complete Guide

Posted on by Marcus Sohlberg — Leave a comment

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Do you plan to buy property in Australia?
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Investing in Australian land plots is comparably easy to other Asian countries like Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia.

Foreign investors generally only have to apply for approval to the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), but few applications have been rejected.

Worth mentioning is that your nationality and what land type you plan to buy affect the requirements. In this article, I present the key information when foreigners buy land in Australia.

Topics covered:

  • Can foreigners buy land in Australia?
  • Land Types Available to Foreigners
  • Process of Buying Land in Australia
  • Land Prices in Australia
  • Taxes

Can foreigners buy land in Australia?

Australian citizens can own land on a freehold basis, which is contrary to developing countries like Vietnam where land is controlled by the state. As such, in this article, we primarily focus on how it works when foreigners acquire land in Australia. Continue reading How to Buy Land in Australia: A Complete Guide

Buying Property in Australia: The Definitive Guide

Posted on by Marcus Sohlberg — Leave a comment

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Australia is a popular choice when people from places like Hong Kong, Singapore and China look for properties overseas.

The Australian property market has grown remarkably fast over the years and prices have reached unsustainable levels in places like Sydney and Melbourne. Not surprisingly, many locals move to smaller cities.

Australia will continue to attract foreign real estate buyers over the years, might it be future retirees or people who want to send their kids overseas to study.

Before you buy property here, it’s important that you get your feet wet and learn about local buying regulations, property taxes, the best places to buy, and more.

In this article, I explain the details you need to know when buying real estate as a foreigner in Australia.

Topics covered:

  • The Australian Property Market in Previous Years
  • The process when buying a property in Australia
  • What is a temporary resident in Australia?
  • Which properties can I buy as a non-resident?
  • What is a ‘dwelling exemption certificate’?
  • How do I apply for a foreign investment approval?
  • What is FIRB?
  • Property Taxes in Australia

The Australian Property Market in Previous Years

The US and other European countries suffered hard from the subprime crash in 2008, seeing house prices plummeting. Surprisingly, the Australian property market wasn’t affected as much. Continue reading Buying Property in Australia: The Definitive Guide

Investing in Australia REITs: A Complete Guide

Posted on by Marcus Sohlberg — Leave a comment

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Australia has one of the most transparent, developed, and refined REITs markets in the world. With its first REIT introduced in 1971, it was only behind the US, Taiwan ROC, and New Zealand to introduce REITs.

Nowadays, around two-thirds of all institutional-grade properties are publicly offered on the stock exchange and securitized, the highest rate in the world.

Some of the REITs are known for performing significantly well and a few years back investors could enjoy increases of 10% annually.

Even if A-REITs are frequently mentioned in the media and can be lucrative investments, there’s limited information online on how you can start investing in the trusts as a foreigner.

Topics covered in this article:

  • Can foreigners buy REITs in Australia?
  • Foreign Institutional Investments in REITs
  • How can I invest in REITs in Australia?
  • What are the benefits of buying Australian REITs?
  • List of Australian REITs

Can foreigners buy REITs in Australia?

Publicly traded A-REITs are often listed on major stock exchanges and can be bought with the help of brokers. It’s as simple as that. Continue reading Investing in Australia REITs: A Complete Guide

Investing in Australia Commercial Property: A Complete Guide

Posted on by Marcus Sohlberg — Leave a comment

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Australia is popular among commercial property investors who look for a politically stable country with a strong economy in the Asia Pacific.

With a growing population, especially in the bigger cities, we’ll see a greater demand for commercial property here in the future.

Commercial property can give you high returns, but is rarely talked about compared to residential property. In fact, commercial property generally gives you a return of 5% – 12%, while residential property averages at around 3% – 4% in Australia.

In this guide, you’ll learn how you can invest in commercial property in Australia as a foreigner, where to invest, how high the taxes are, and more.

Can foreigners buy commercial property in Australia?

Foreigners generally don’t have any issues to invest in commercial property. However, you sometimes need approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB).

Continue reading Investing in Australia Commercial Property: A Complete Guide

Buying Hotels in New Zealand: A Guide for Investors

Posted on by Marcus Sohlberg — Leave a comment

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New Zealand has been in the media headlines due to its significantly overheated residential property market. The commercial property market is less frequently spoken about, even if it offers great investment opportunities to foreigners.

New Zealand continues to attract travelers who want to enjoy its nature and perhaps seek a safe haven. Here, foreign property ownership regulations are on par with most Western countries, something that I will explain more about in this article.

Today, we cover the following topics:

  • Can foreigners buy hotels in New Zealand?
  • Foreign Hotel Ownership Regulations
  • The Hotel Market in New Zealand
  • Commercial Real Estate Agents in New Zealand
  • Best Cities for Hotel Investments in New Zealand
  • FAQ

Can foreigners buy hotels in New Zealand?

New Zealand has preferable property foreign ownership regulations and you can even buy hotels and resorts as an individual here. As mentioned in previous articles, the regulations bring some similarities to Australia. Continue reading Buying Hotels in New Zealand: A Guide for Investors

Buying Hotels in Australia: A Full Guide

Posted on by Marcus Sohlberg — Leave a comment

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Australia has seen a great increase in foreign visitors in the past decade and where Chinese tourists have played a vital role in the hotel industry.

Without facing a recession for decades, we’ve seen a slowing market recently and 2020 was one of the worst years with no further explanation needed.

Yet, this also leaves room for investment opportunities as firms and HNWI’s look for low price points in large-sized hotel projects.

Due to the increased interest in Australia hotels, I decided to write this article and where we review the following:

  • Can foreigners buy hotels in Australia?
  • Hotel Development Regulations in Australia
  • The Hotel Market in Australia
  • Best Cities for Hotel Investments in Australia
  • FAQ

Can foreigners buy hotels in Australia?

Australian ownership regulations bring many similarities to New Zealand and you generally don’t have any issues to buy hotels as a foreigner. Continue reading Buying Hotels in Australia: A Full Guide

Investing in New Zealand Commercial Property: Full Guide

Posted on by Marcus Sohlberg — Leave a comment

Do you plan to buy property in New Zealand?
Click here to get in touch with an experienced agent

New Zealand has seen significant residential price increases in the past years and is frequently talked about in the media. Yet, the commercial property market is not as competitive and offer higher yields than the residential market on average.

Compared to many developing countries in the Asia Pacific, you’ll find it easier to buy real estate here as a foreigner. In this article, I cover the following topics:

  • Can foreigners buy commercial property in New Zealand?
  • Requirements when Buying Commercial Real Estate
  • Commercial Property Types Available for Foreigners in New Zealand
  • Best Cities in New Zealand For Commercial Property Investments
  • Commercial Property Taxes
  • FAQ

Can foreigners buy commercial property in New Zealand?

New Zealand is an open economy with property ownership regulations that bring many similarities to that of Australia. Continue reading Investing in New Zealand Commercial Property: Full Guide

Australia Property Market Outlook 2020: A Complete Overview

Posted on by Marcus Sohlberg — Leave a comment

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Australia is the to-go place for people who wish to live in a stable nation, offering great education, and a comfortable climate. Foreign investors, many from China, have flooded the market and real estate prices have reached record-breaking levels.

Worth mentioning is that Australia has never experienced a major decline and didn’t suffer much during the subprime crash 2008, when prices continued upwards. There are several interesting reasons behind this, of course.

In this article, I explain how Australia’s property market has performed in the past years and what the predictions are for 2019.

Australia’s Property Market in Previous Years

Australia’s property market was booming in 2016 to 2017 and we saw house prices breaking all-time high records. The millennials were even told to give up eating avocado toast if they ever wanted to afford a house.

According to Huffington Post Australia, the house price growth in recent years are related to:

  • Investor activity in Sydney and Melbourne
  • Low interest rates
  • Tax incentives such as negative gearing and capital gains tax discounts

Theconversation.com has an illustrative chart that shows how housing prices have continuously been in decline, after hitting a peak in the 3rd quarter of 2017. It’s also the first annual decline since 2012.

A lower demand for homes and a tightening of lending to investors played a big role in the price falls according to the ABS Chief Economist, Bruce Hockman. Regulators have progressively clamped down risky lending, such as interest-only mortgages.

With around 40% of Australians having interest-only mortgages, it’s a wise choice. The banks have toughen-up previously lax expense and income verification. Continue reading Australia Property Market Outlook 2020: A Complete Overview

List of Serviced Apartments in Bangkok: Our Top 7 Picks

Posted on by Michael Li — Leave a comment

Serviced Apartments in Bangkok

Are you moving to Bangkok and looking for a suitable serviced apartment?

Bangkok is one of the busiest business and tourist cities in Southeast Asia, this is also reflected in the wide choice of serviced apartment companies that operate here.

A serviced apartment represents a flexible option, whether you are planning to travel to Bangkok for business or vacation purposes.

In this article, we list 7 serviced apartment companies and compare them according to their rent span, unit size, minimum duration of stay, location and facilities.

Overview

Benefits of renting a serviced apartment in Bangkok

First of all, serviced apartments are different than traditional apartments, as you don’t have to buy furniture or kitchen appliances, as they come fully furnished and equipped. Continue reading List of Serviced Apartments in Bangkok: Our Top 7 Picks

Top 10 Real Estate Agencies in Australia: The Ultimate Guide

Posted on by Marcus Sohlberg — 1 Comment

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Australia continues to be one of the most popular destinations for overseas property buyers in Asia Pacific.

Here, you’ll find dozens of international real estate agencies and tens of thousands of real estate agents. If you’re about to buy Australian property, you need to assure that you work with a credible agency that has a decent track record.

In this article, I’ve listed some of the biggest and most reputable real estate agencies in Australia.

1. Ray White

Ray White is one of the oldest and biggest real estate companies in Australia. With over 116 years of experience, they’ve expanded to numerous locations overseas, namely: New Zealand, Indonesia, China (including Hong Kong S.A.R), the Middle East and Atlanta (USA).

Despite having around 1,000 individually owned offices, it continues to be a family owned business. You’ll notice that Ray White has a strong presence in places with a high concentration of Australians, for example in Bali.

Continue reading Top 10 Real Estate Agencies in Australia: The Ultimate Guide