Chinese organisation, the Fosun Group, has designed an online shopping-style platform that allows middle-class Chinese investors who are seeking a safe haven, outside of China, to purchase an overseas property.
The site, Estarhome.com is an online-to-offline service that provides a way for Chinese investors to find Australian properties as investments. Chinese buyers are investing mostly in new apartments and according to research by the Foreign Investment Review Board, around 65% of the $61 billion in new apartment applications came from Chinese nationals in the last financial year.
Fosun made a relatively quiet entrance into the Australian market, first purchasing an office tower in North Sydney and also making a deal with a local fund manager to build 1000 new apartments in Brisbane and Sydney.
Estarhome.com has more than 60 Australian projects listed for sale, many of them new apartments, including Mirvac’s St Leonards Square project and the Park One development in Macquarie Park. Clients choose properties they like online, then visit to make the purchase face-to-face.
The Estarhome platform has sold 50 Australian homes for about $30m since March this year.
