Expats set to boost property market

My business partner (Martyn Fleming) and I are seeing strong interest from Expat Australians looking to flee the global financial crisis.

Our Finance Broker Networks are reporting an increase in enquiries for finance from expatriates. Some of our network have told us that the demand as increased so much that they now have dedicated brokers dealing with the level of demand.

Martyn and I think this makes sense right now especially in response to the recent home mortgage rate cuts in Australia and the federal government's $10.4 billion economic package. Also the big drop in the Australian dollar is big advantage to expats.

The Property Market in Australia has been resilient this year, despite the impact of a volatile world economy. While there is no question that the underlying residential real estate market in Australia has slowed in the past 12 months, we haven't seen any negative growth in Queensland because the demand for rental and home ownership is still stong. Certainly the brokers we know are saying that volume of inquiries about home loan finance is remaining solid.

The interesting trend is the clear majority of people are inquiring about new finance, not just those struggling and seeking refinance. Marty and I put this down to a tough rental market in most capital cities being the primary force pushing first home buyers to seek home loans. Who wouldn't want to escape the rental trap by buying?

Yours in Property