How Covid-19 is fuelling Lunar New Year second home sales in Australia, Canada, Malaysia and Thailand – real property agents offer ‘red packet discounts’ to attract pent-up Chinese demand
- Developers such as Bangkok’s Eastern Star are offering seasonal discounts to Chinese buyers amid estimates seasonal second home sales could surge by 40 per cent
- Other incentives range from a session with an immigration lawyer in Melbourne to a spin of a prize wheel in Kuala Lumpur
By this time of year, property agents in popular offshore destinations usually have the welcome mat out to greet an influx of Chinese investors. Lunar New Year is one of the busiest periods, when buyers use their holidays to secure a second home or add new properties to their portfolio.
Pandemic restrictions prohibit overseas travel this year but this doesn’t mean there is no interest. In fact, Kashif Ansari, co-founder and CEO of Juwai IQI Group in Kuala Lumpur, believes Chinese buyers may actually be incentivised more than ever.
“We are expecting more property buying enquiries than we had been planning for, simply because so many people will be at home and have money in the bank that they would otherwise have spent on pricey holidays,” he said. “Chinese cross-border buying enquiries could be 20 to 40 per cent higher this Lunar New Year than in 2020.”
For property marketers who want to cash in on these buyers, the new lockdown measures imposed in China are “an opportunity to get their undivided attention”.
Indeed, Ansari believes the pandemic has inspired many to rethink their discretionary spending and double down on property investment.
“Consumption is on hold, and those who still have their jobs and income in many cases have told us they decided to use the money they might otherwise have frittered away to purchase real estate,” he said.
