Rich Chinese eye luxury properties from Singapore to Sydney, ahead of anticipated weaker yuan

As coronavirus restrictions ease, wealthy Chinese buyers are making a move in property hotspots like Shanghai, Seoul and Sydney

In Singapore, virtual tours and photos have been enough to seal multimillion dollar deals, pointing to how transactions are evolving

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The rush for real estate is offering some support for Asian property markets hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Photo: Getty Images

Published: 12:00pm, 26 May 2020Updated: 12:00pm, 26 May 2020

Rich Chinese homebuyers are back. Across China and in some of their familiar hunting grounds in Asia, wealthy buyers are snapping up luxury housing, in many cases to guard their wealth against anticipated inflation and a weakening yuan.

The rush to add real estate has led to a jump in upmarket housing prices in China, while offering some support for Asian property markets hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s been flat-out,” said Monika Tu, founder of Black Diamondz, an Australian firm that caters to Chinese buyers of luxury real estate.

Since March, Tu has sold A$85 million (US$55 million) of prime property, with about half the sales to Chinese clients who were in Australia when the pandemic hit. That’s a 25 per cent jump from earlier in the year. The homes, priced between A$7.25 million and A$19.5 million, are all in Sydney’s well-heeled, oceanfront suburbs such as Point Piper.

A gradual easing of coronavirus restrictions is making it easier for wealthy Chinese to view properties and complete purchases in nearby Asian hotspots like Shanghai, Seoul and Sydney.