Australia to triple fees on foreigners buying existing homes, penalise them if they leave properties empty
Australia to triple fees on foreigners buying existing homes, penalise them if they leave properties empty
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said ‘there are too many properties empty around Australia’ as tight supply leaves many renters struggling to find somewhere to live.
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Haven't read the article- does it explain why are there so many empty properties? I didn't know this was a thing. I'm glad they're finally coming along with regulations though
Chinese and boomer investors.
I'm aware of who but not why. Are they just letting them sit there until the prices rise ( I know that doesn't take too long)? Or is there another reason?
yes ,becuase the house prices in Australia rise so fast it's actully profitable to buy one outright (if you can afford it) and literally let it sit empty for 5 years ,sell it again and make hundreds of thousands and sometimes millions of dollars.
The when system (of capitalism) is ethically bankrupt and downright disgusting. Houses should be for homes, not profits.
I think Chinese people can't really invest in China because corruption and government can take everything you own without a reason.
Looking at property crisis in China https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-62402961
Not to mention bank crisis around China https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/11/china-violent-clashes-at-protest-over-frozen-rural-bank-accounts
So it makes sense to have a foreign investment + they can flee and live there if something should happen
That's usually the reason and the possibility of getting a citizenship (depending on what country the property is in it can help).
I’ve a friend in Taiwan. She says it’s common for rich Chinese people to buy homes in Taiwan as a way of locking down that money in a way the government can’t access it.
Fairly common scheme with Canada, rich Chinese buy a house in Canada, declare their taxes as being paid in Canada to Chinese authorities and being paid in China to Canadian authorities...
The different levels of Canadian governments get criticized for letting them buy properties and companies here when Canadians would never be allowed to do the same in China...
My friend in Taiwan is experiencing something similar. Their bank was all “oh yeah you can absolutely get a loan as a foreigner with us as long as your Taiwanese parent is willing to cosign”.
They already own the home, they’re just trying to restructure the mortgage after a breakup.
It’s ridiculous.
Money. The reason is always money.
The bogeyman reason is investors (and especially Chinese investors).
Suspect the real reason is they're a mix of holiday homes, near ruins, crap properties in crap locations, tangled up in a bunch of legal shit, inheritance proceedings, or the old person that owns it is in care.
There's a bunch of greed as well, but it's not worth leaving a property empty over renting it out for an exorbitant sum.
They're vehicles for foreign investment.
There are many, but one of the reasons is to buy a house in the catchment area of a good school. They child can attend and pretend they are living in the house but still live in the city