Australia imposes 2-year ban on foreign housing investment

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – Seeking to boost the housing supply for locals, Australia on Sunday announced a two-year ban on foreign buyers purchasing existing homes.

The ban will take effect on April 1 and stay in place until March 31, 2027, announced Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Housing and Homelessness Minister Clare O'Neil, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.

Under the ban, foreign investors, including foreign-owned companies and temporary residents, will be prohibited from purchasing established homes in Australia, except for developments of at least 20 properties.

In 2022-23, foreign investors spent $3.1 billion purchasing 5,360 pieces of residential real estate, accounting for less than 1% of all sales, according to the Foreign Investment Review Board.

The proposed ban is not a "silver bullet" to fix Australia's housing crisis but would make thousands more homes available to local buyers, said O'Neil.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton made the same proposal last year in his budget reply address, and the government move is seen as trying to neutralize the issue.

But some economists say the ban will do little to change the affordability of Australia's trillion-dollar housing market as foreign purchasers own only about 2% of the local housing stock.