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SEVERAL RECENT ARTICLES in the Financial Review have flagged a slowdown in Asian money flowing into the Australian property market.
And that is principally as a result of China clamping down on capital movements out of the country.
As an investor in commercial property, this is good news. You see, over the past couple of years, these Asian funds have been pouring into commercial property — mainly within the CBDs of Sydney and Melbourne.
It has simply been money looking for a home within a stable market — paying scant regard to the fundamentals of commercial property.
Effectively, these investors have merely sought out Premier CBD locations where, effectively, the “building has come for free”.
As such, the commercial property market has been running about 6 to 12 months ahead of the traditional cycle. And local investors have been outbid and sidelined — being forced into lesser locations, and sometimes having to settle for properties within the inner-city suburbs.
Naturally, this has had a ripple effect out into the surrounding suburbs. And it has been making life very difficult for genuine local investors.
So I repeat: This slowdown in Asian money is definitely good news … for investors trying to get into the commercial property market!
Bottom Line: It may take until Christmas before vendor expectations re-align with market reality. After that, you will start to see more appropriately-priced investment opportunities come available early in the New Year.
