The hopes of young Australians of buying an affordable home following the coronavirus crisis may be crushed, as Chinese buyers are expected to flood into the  property market in search of a bargain. 

High levels of unemployment and business failure due to the lockdown had been expected to trigger a fall in house prices; a survey of economists by Finder forecast Sydney house prices would drop 10.2 per cent by next year, Melbourne by 9.2 per cent and all other capital cities over 8 per cent.

But such big drops would not happen if large number of foreign buyers swoop in to capitalize on a temporarily depressed market.

‘A lot of the mainland Chinese are seeing this as an opportunity to exploit a great deal. That’s what they’re going to see in the property market in the next six months,’ real estate industry adviser Robert Klaric told A Current Affair. 

Chinese buyers are flooding the Australian property market once again in the hopes of picking up a bargain as house prices plunge during the coronavirus crisis. Pictured: People attending an auction prior to coronavirus social distancing restrictions

Chinese buyers are flooding the Australian property market once again in the hopes of picking up a bargain as house prices plunge during the coronavirus crisis. Pictured: People attending an auction prior to coronavirus social distancing restrictions

‘What we’ll see is the wealthy mainland Chinese will look towards Australia now to secure their wealth, and secure their health.’

Juwai IQI chairman Georg Chmiel said Australia’s avoidance of large numbers of COVID-19 deaths had created an image of it being a healthy place to live, which is also appealing to foreign buyers looking to move and not just invest.

‘That makes it even more appealing to foreign buyers,’ he said. ‘Marketers in China are already using Australia’s good performance to persuade parents of children who have been studying in the US and the UK to look at Australia instead.’ 

Melbourne is regarded as the most popular city in Australia for Asian buyers, followed by Sydney and Brisbane, with Australia considered a stable place to invest money.

Mr Chmiel said Chinese buyers particularly liked places close to schools and universities that weren’t particularly expensive by Australian capital city standards.   

Michael Pallier (pictured with his wife, Lulu) from Sotheby's International Realty in Sydney's eastern suburbs said he had also experiences an uptake in interest from Asian buyers

Michael Pallier (pictured with his wife, Lulu) from Sotheby's International Realty in Sydney's eastern suburbs said he had also experiences an uptake in interest from Asian buyers

Michael Pallier (pictured with his wife, Lulu) from Sotheby’s International Realty in Sydney’s eastern suburbs said he had also experiences an uptake in interest from Asian buyers

Michael Pallier from Sotheby’s International Realty in Sydney’s eastern suburbs said he had also experiences an uptake in interest from Asian buyers.  

‘They can’t get enough of it. Clean air, clean food, great education, safe environment – it’s paradise for them,’ he said. 

‘There is always demand and the Chinese people will always like Australia,’ Mr Pallier’s wife, Lulu, said.

The Australian dollar, which has also taken a hit during the pandemic, is also enticing to international buyers, who can factor that into their budgets. 

The survey of 25 economists by financial comparison website Finder predicted sharp drops in every state and territory, with a majority of the experts declaring now was not the time to buy property. 

The Australian dollar, which has also taken a hit during the pandemic, is also enticing to international buyers, who can factor that into their budgets

The Australian dollar, which has also taken a hit during the pandemic, is also enticing to international buyers, who can factor that into their budgets

The Australian dollar, which has also taken a hit during the pandemic, is also enticing to international buyers, who can factor that into their budgets

Sydney is facing a 10.2 per cent slide - slicing $104,695 off the median house price back to $921,723, while Melbourne was forecast to suffer a 9.2 per cent decline, and economists are warning Australians not to buy

Sydney is facing a 10.2 per cent slide - slicing $104,695 off the median house price back to $921,723, while Melbourne was forecast to suffer a 9.2 per cent decline, and economists are warning Australians not to buy

Sydney is facing a 10.2 per cent slide – slicing $104,695 off the median house price back to $921,723, while Melbourne was forecast to suffer a 9.2 per cent decline, and economists are warning Australians not to buy

While Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane will all suffer, Hobart is shaping up to take the biggest hit in percentage terms, with a forecast 10.5 per cent drop reducing values by $53,832 to $458,855, wiping out gains made since 2018. 

Perth is forecast to suffer a 8.3 per cent slump while Darwin could see median values fall by 9.5 per cent. 

Adelaide could cop a 8.1 per cent drop, causing prices to slip by $38,576 to $437,673, while Canberra, Australia’s capital and the home of federal bureaucrats who have been largely insulated from job and wage cuts, was expected to suffer the least severe decline of 6.4 per cent.

Even so, that would still see median house prices fall by $44,983 to $657,878.

The Finder survey found 58 per cent of economists declared now was not the time to buy a house, and those seeking a home should wait for the market to reach its bottom next year.

NAB predicted capital city property prices would fall by 10 to 15 per cent during the next 12 to 18 months, as unemployment hit levels unseen since the 1930s Great Depression

NAB predicted capital city property prices would fall by 10 to 15 per cent during the next 12 to 18 months, as unemployment hit levels unseen since the 1930s Great Depression

NAB predicted capital city property prices would fall by 10 to 15 per cent during the next 12 to 18 months, as unemployment hit levels unseen since the 1930s Great Depression

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