A new release from buyers' agency network BuyersBuyers revealed why overseas buyers are turning to buyers' agents to purchase property.

According to the release, factors like restricted travel and lack of new stock have made buying property in Australia increasingly difficult for expats, which has led many to turn to buyers' agents for help.

Pete Wargent, Co-Founder of BuyersBuyers, said that 80% of the offshore buyer demand has been for property in Sydney and Melbourne.

"A primary driver of this has simply been the rebound in housing prices which began to rise again towards the end of 2020," Mr Wargent said.

With the median house price sitting at over $1 million in both Sydney and Melbourne, Mr Wargent said that this has left expats fearing they will lose their opportunity to "gain a foothold in the Australian housing market."

Travel restrictions leave buying property 'risky'

With new arrivals 'a fraction' of what they normally would be, it is now 'impossible' for expats to travel in and out of the country.

Consequently, buyers are left with no choice but to buy property without seeing it, which is 'risky', or to enlist professional help in the buying process.

Mr Wargent said that many expats currently live in higher-density developments in Asia, and a 'race for space' is driving the housing market shift to detached houses.

"While Australia is generally seen to be an expensive country, many expats are based in some of the world's most expensive cities for real estate, such as New York, London, Singapore, or Hong Kong," he said.

"As such, expats with an open mind can buy a detached house in parts of Australia for the equivalent price of a unit or flat in their current location."

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Base criteria of: a $400,000 loan amount, variable, fixed, principal and interest (P&I) home loans with an LVR (loan-to-value) ratio of at least 80%. However, the ‘Compare Home Loans’ table allows for calculations to be made on variables as selected and input by the user. Some products will be marked as promoted, featured or sponsored and may appear prominently in the tables regardless of their attributes. All products will list the LVR with the product and rate which are clearly published on the product provider’s website. Monthly repayments, once the base criteria are altered by the user, will be based on the selected products’ advertised rates and determined by the loan amount, repayment type, loan term and LVR as input by the user/you. *The Comparison rate is based on a $150,000 loan over 25 years. Warning: this comparison rate is true only for this example and may not include all fees and charges. Different terms, fees or other loan amounts might result in a different comparison rate. Rates correct as of . View disclaimer.

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