Share:


The motivations of Chinese individual foreign investors in the Australian residential real estate market

    Po-Jui Wu   Affiliation
    ; Athena Ying Chen   Affiliation

Abstract

There is an increasing number of Chinese individual foreign investors (IFIs) in Australian residential real estate markets, but few studies specifically focus on Chinese IFIs and comprehensively analyse these investors’ motivations in the Australian real estate market. This paper examines the motivations of IFIs in the Australian residential real estate markets. A qualitative historical research approach was employed to examine the topic. By using semi-structured interviews of Chinese individual investors (consisting of Chinese temporary residents and Chinese nonresidents) and Australian agents in Australian residential real estate from 2014 to 2015, the paper finds four common motivations (good living environment, stable political environment, cost efficiency and profit returns) and three distinct motivations (education, immigration and bandwagon effects) of Chinese IFIs. It was found that cost efficiency, profit returns, education investment and immigration tend to be articulated differently between Chinese temporary residents and Chinese nonresidents, although these four motivations were expressed by both. Chinese nonresidents consider cost efficiency and profit returns as their major motivations. In contrast to Chinese nonresidents, education, and immigration are the most important motivations instead of some traditional motivations such as profit returns or cost efficiency for Chinese temporary residents.

Keyword : Chinese, individual foreign investment, motivations, residential real estate investment, Australia

How to Cite
Wu, P.-J., & Chen, A. Y. (2022). The motivations of Chinese individual foreign investors in the Australian residential real estate market. International Journal of Strategic Property Management, 26(3), 215-229. https://doi.org/10.3846/ijspm.2022.17154
Published in Issue
Jul 13, 2022
Abstract Views
775
PDF Downloads
788
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

References

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Median price (unstratified) and number of transfers (capital city and rest of state). https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/economy/price-indexes-and-inflation/residential-property-price-indexes-eight-capital-cities/latest-release#data-download

Amaratunga, D., Baldry, D., Sarshar, M., & Newton, R. (2002). Quantitative and qualitative research in the built environment: application of “mixed” research approach. Work Study, 51(1), 17–31. https://doi.org/10.1108/00438020210415488

Andersen, H. S. (2011). Motives for tenure choice during the life cycle: the importance of noneconomic factors and other housing preferences. Housing, Theory and Society, 28(2), 183–207. https://doi.org/10.1080/14036096.2010.522029

Barber, B. M., & Odean, T. (2013). The behavior of individual investors. In Handbook of the economics of finance (Vol. 2, pp. 1533–1570). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-44-459406-8.00022-6

Baum, A., & Murray, C. (2010). Understanding the barriers to real estate investment in developing economies. University of Reading. https://doi.org/10.15396/lares-2010-artigo-314-412-1-rv

Belk, R. W. (2007). Handbook of qualitative research methods in marketing. Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781847204127

Bentick, B. L., & Lewis, M. K. (2003). Real estate speculation as a source of banking and currency instability: some different lessons from the Asian crisis. Economic and Labour Relations Review, 14(2), 256–275. https://doi.org/10.1177/103530460401400207

Beveridge, W. I. B. (1950). The art of scientific investigation. William Heinemann.

Bright, S., & Hopkins, N. (2011). Home, meaning and identity: learning from the English model of shared ownership. Housing, Theory and Society, 28(4), 377–397. https://doi.org/10.1080/14036096.2010.527119

Brown, R., Flaherty, J., & Lombardo, R. (2002). Determination of the maximum affordable price for negatively geared investment in residential property. Pacific Rim Property Research Journal, 8(4), 300–312. https://doi.org/10.1080/14445921.2002.11104131

Buckley, P. J., Clegg, L. J., Cross, A. R., Liu, X., Voss, H., & Zheng, P. (2007). The determinants of Chinese outward foreign direct investment. Journal of International Business Studies, 38(4), 499–518. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400277

Caves, R. E. (1971). International corporations: the industrial economics of foreign investment. Economica, New Series, 38(149), 1–27. https://doi.org/10.2307/2551748

Charmaz, K. (2014). Constructing grounded theory (2 ed.) [Non-fiction]. Sage Publications. http://ezproxy.deakin.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cat00097a&AN=deakin.b3016437&site=eds-live&scope=site

Chen, H., & Chen, T.-J. (1998). Network linkages and location choice in foreign direct investment. Journal of International Business Studies, 29(3), 445–467. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8490002

Chen, K. M., Rau, H. H., & Lin, C. C. (2006). The impact of exchange rate movements on foreign direct investment: market-oriented versus cost-oriented. The Developing Economies, 44(3), 269–287. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1746-1049.2006.00017.x

China Educational Bureau. (2018). Brief report on Chinese overseas students and international students in China 2017. http://en.moe.gov.cn/documents/reports/201901/t20190115_367019.html

Deng, P. (2004). Outward investment by Chinese MNCs: motivations and implications. Business Horizons, 47(3), 8–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0007-6813(04)00023-0

Department of Education and Training. (2017). End of year summary of international student enrolment data – Australian – 2017. https://internationaleducation.gov.au/research/International-Student-Data/Documents/MONTHLY%20SUMMARIES/2017/International%20student%20data%20December%202017%20detailed%20summary.pdf

Driessen, M. (2015). Migrating for the bank: housing and Chinese labour migration to Ethiopia. The China Quarterly, 221, 143–160. https://doi.org/10.1017/S030574101400157X

Dunning, J. H. (2002). Relational assets, networks and international business activity. In Theories and paradigms of international business activity. Edward Elgar. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781843767053.00021

Dunning, J. H., & Hamdani, K. A. (1997). The new globalism and developing countries. United Nations University Press.

Dunning, J. H., & Lundan, S. M. (2008). Multinational enterprises and the global economy (2 ed.). Edward Elgar.

Dunning, T. H., Hay, P. J., & Schaefer, H. (1977). Methods of electronic structure theory. In Modern theoretical chemistry (Vol. 3). Plenum Press New York.

Elliott, P., & Wadley, D. (2013). Residents speak out: re-appraising home ownership, property rights and place attachment in a risk society. Housing, Theory and Society, 30(2), 131–155. https://doi.org/10.1080/14036096.2012.686452

Environmental Performance Index. (2018). Air quality results. https://epi.envirocenter.yale.edu/epi-indicator-report/AIR

Farzanegan, M. R., & Fereidouni, H. G. (2014). Does real estate transparency matter for foreign real estate investments? International Journal of Strategic Property Management, 18(4), 317–331. https://doi.org/10.3846/1648715X.2014.969793

Foreign Investment Review Board. (2015). Annual Report 2013–14. https://firb.gov.au/about-firb/publications/2013-2014-annual-report

Foreign Investment Review Board. (2017). Annual Report 2015–16. https://firb.gov.au/about-firb/publications/2015-16-annual-report

Foreign Investment Review Board. (2019). Annual Report 2017–18. https://firb.gov.au/about-firb/publications/2017-18-annual-report

Frances Brill, & Raco, M. (2020). Towards a pluralistic understanding of Chinese homeowners: the case of ‘ordinary’ buyers. Geoforum, 165–172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2020.09.017

Gartzke, E., Li, Q., & Boehmer, C. (2001). Investing in the peace: economic interdependence and international conflict. International Organization, 55(2), 391–438. https://doi.org/10.1162/00208180151140612

Gibler, K., & Nelson, S. (2003). Consumer behavior applications to real estate education. Journal of Real Estate Practice and Education, 6(1), 63–83. https://doi.org/10.1080/10835547.2003.12091585

Giroud, A., & Mirza, H. (2015). Refining of FDI motivations by integrating global value chains’ considerations. The Multinational Business Review, 23(1), 67–76. https://doi.org/10.1108/MBR-12-2014-0064

Global Times. (2021). House prices keep falling but at slow, steady rate. https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202111/1239051.shtml

Goldberg, M. A., Heinkel, R. L., & Levi, M. D. (2005). Foreign direct Investment: the human dimension. Journal of International Money and Finance, 24(6), 913–834. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jimonfin.2005.05.003

Harrel, M. C., & Bradley, M. A. (2009). Data collection methods: semi-structured interviews and focus groups. RAND Corporation.

Hawthorne, L. (2010). Two-step migration: Australia’s experience. http://irpp.org/wp-content/uploads/assets/po/immigration-jobs-and-canadas-future/hawthorne.pdf

He, C., Wang, J., & Cheng, S. (2011). What attracts foreign direct investment in China’s real estate evelopment? Annual Regular Science, 46, 267–293. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00168-009-0341-4

Helliwell, J. F., Huang, H., & Wang, S. (2015). The geography of world happiness (World Happiness Report 2015, pp. 12–41). Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

Hennink, M., & Kaiser, B. N. (2021). Sample sizes for saturation in qualitative research: a systematic review of empirical tests. Social Science & Medicine, 292, 114523. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114523

Henry, K. (2016). Australia in the Asian century. Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies, 3(2), 132–139. https://doi.org/10.1002/app5.129

Ho, H. K., & Atkinson, R. (2018). Looking for big ‘fry’: the motives and methods of middle-class international property investors. Urban Studies, 55(9), 2040–2056. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098017702826

Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture’s consequences: comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations (2nd ed.). Sage Publications.

Holsapple, E., Ozawa, T., & Olienyk, J. (2006). Foreign “direct” and “portfolio” investment in real estate: an eclectic paradigm. Journal of Real Estate Portfolio Management, 12(1), 37–47. https://doi.org/10.1080/10835547.2006.12089735

Hood, N., & Young, S. (1979). The economics of multinational enterprise. Longman.

Huang, E. (2018). Ten years after China’s infant milk tragedy, parents still won’t trust their babies to local formula. Quartz. https://qz.com/1323471/ten-years-after-chinas-melamine-laced-infant-milk-tragedy-deep-distrust-remains/

Hui, E. C., & Chan, K. K. K. (2014). Foreign direct investment in China’s real estate market. Habitat International, 43, 231–239. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2014.04.007

Hui, E. C. M., Lo, T. K., Chen, J., & Wang, Z. (2012). Housing and consumer markets in urban China. Construction Management and Economics, 30(2), 117–131. https://doi.org/10.1080/01446193.2011.654130

Institute of International Education. (2018). Open doors 2018. https://www.iie.org/en/Research-and-Insights/Open-Doors/Data/International-Students

Ji, D. (2018). Chinese outbound real estate investment report: changing currents, rising tides. https://www.knightfrank.com/research/chinese-outbound-real-estate-investment-october-2018-5875.aspx

Kinoshita, Y., & Campos, N. F. (2002). The location determinants of foreign direct investment in transition economies. University of Michigan William Davidson Institute and CERP.

Kitson, E., Thomson, K., & Chaplin, V. (2015). An overview of Australia’s housing market and residential mortgage: backed securities. https://www.spratings.com/documents/20184/0/RatingsDirect_AnOverviewOfAustraliasHousingMarketAndResidentialMortgageBackedSecurities_40271035_Nov-22-2018.pdf/011ec8aa-ecac-8123-dee4-9e0059ba5d2f

Kotkin, J. (2011). 7th annual demographia international housing affordability: ratings for metropolitan markets. Performance Urban Planning. http://www.demographia.com/dhi2011.pdf

Lam, H.-M., Remais, J., Fung, M.-C., Xu, L., & Sun, S. S.-M. (2013). Food supply and food safety issues in China. The Lancet, 381(9882), 2044–2053. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(13)60776-X

Ley, D. (2010). Millionaire migrants: Trans-Pacific life lines. John Wiley & Sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444319262

Li, X., Hui, E. C., & Shen, J. (2020). The consequences of Chinese outward real estate investment: evidence from Hong Kong land market. Habitat International, 98, 102151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2020.102151

Linhart, M., Hana, P., Petrik, V., & Marek, D. (2017). Rental market - is renting a dwelling a profitable investment? https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/at/Documents/real-estate/property-index-6th-edition-2017.PDF

Liu, S. S., Johnson, K. F., & Johnson, K. F. (2005). The automatic country-of-origin effects on brand judgments. Journal of Advertising, 34(1), 87–97. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2005.10639183

Lundy, K. S. (2008). Historical research. In L. M. Given (Ed.), The SAGE encyclopedia of qualitative research methods (Vol. 1, pp. 395–399). Sage Publications.

Lune, H., & Berg, B. L. (2017). Qualitative research methods for the social sciences (9 ed.). Pearson.

Ma, X., Rogers, D., & Troy, L. (2021). Chinese property developers after the decline in foreign real estate investment in Sydney, Australia. Housing Studies, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673037.2021.1935764

Mandic, S. (2018). Motives for home ownership: before and after the transition. Housing, Theory and Society, 35(3), 281–299. https://doi.org/10.1080/14036096.2017.1329164

Mason, J. (2002). Qualitative researching (Vol. 2). Sage Publications.

Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: an expanded sourcebook. Sage Publications.

Numbeo. (2022). Current Property Prices Index. https://www.numbeo.com/property-investment/rankings_current.jsp

Patton, M. Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods. Sage Publications.

Petri, H. L., & Govern, J. M. (2012). Motivation: theory, research, and application (6 ed.). Cengage Learning.

Prasad, N., & Richards, A. (2008). Improving median housing price indexes through stratification. Journal of Real Estate Research, 30(1), 45–72. https://doi.org/10.1080/10835547.2008.12091213

Quer, D., Claver, E., & Rienda, L. (2012). Political risk, cultural distance, and outward foreign direct investment: empirical evidence from large Chinese firms. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 29, 1089–1104. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-011-9247-7

Quinn, F. (2012). The foreign direct investment location decision: a contingency model of the foreign direct investment location decision-making process. The University of Sydney.

Ramasamy, B., Yeung, M., & Laforet, S. (2012). China’s outward foreign direct investment: location choice and firm ownership. Journal of World Business, 47(1), 17–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2010.10.016

Rehfuss, J. (1982). Management development and the selection of overseas executives. Personnel Administrator, 27(7), 35–43.

Ren, D. (2022). Housing deals to resume in 2022 in China’s first-tier cities as buyers re-enter the fray with pent-up demand after four years of draconian controls. South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3161664/housing-deals-resume-2022-chinas-first-tier-cities-buyers

Robertson, S., & Rogers, D. (2017). Education, real estate, immigration: brokerage assemblages and Asian mobilities. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 43(14), 2393–2407. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2017.1315865

Robinson, J., & Reed, R. (2003, January 19–22). Property transactions: a note on ethics [Conference presentation]. Pacific Rim Real Estate Society, Ninth Annual Conference, Brisbane.

Rodríguez, C., & Bustillo, R. (2010). Modelling foreign real estate investment: the Spanish case. The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, 41(3), 354–367. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11146-008-9164-9

Rogers, D., & Koh, S. Y. (2017). The globalisation of real estate: the politics and practice of foreign real estate investment. International Journal of Housing Policy, 17(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/19491247.2016.1270618

Rogers, D., Lee, C. L., & Yan, D. (2015). The politics of foreign investment in Australian housing: Chinese investors, translocal sales agents and local resistance. Housing Studies, 30(5), 730–748. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673037.2015.1006185

Rosen, K., Margon, A., Sakamoto, R., & Taylor, J. (2017a). Breaking ground: Chinese investment in US real estate. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6m855087

Rosen, K., Margon, A., Sakamoto, R., & Taylor, J. (2017b). Breaking ground: Chinese investment in U.S. real estate. Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6m855087

Sadleir, C., & Mahony, G. (2009). Institutional challenges and response in regulating foreign direct investment to Australia. Economic Papers: A Journal of Applied Economics Policy, 28(4), 337–345. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1759-3441.2010.00041.x

Schiffman, L. G., & Kanuk, L. L. (2000). Consumer behavior (7 ed.). Prentice Hall.

Schmitt-Beck, R. (2015). Bandwagon effect. In W. Donsbach (Ed.), The international encyclopedia of political communication (pp. 308–310). Wiley-Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118541555.wbiepc015

Seidman, I. (2006). Interviewing as qualitative research: a guide for researchers in education and the social sciences. Teachers College Press.

Sharma, K., & Bandara, Y. (2010). Trends, patterns and determinants of Australian foreign direct investment. Journal of Economic Issues, 44, 661–676. https://doi.org/10.2753/JEI0021-3624440305

Sina. (2018). 2017–2018 the research of Chinese international students. http://edu.sina.com.cn/a/2017-11-28/doc-ifypceiq5409993.shtml

Sirmans, C., & Worzala, E. (2003). International direct real estate investment: a review of the literature. Urban Studies, 40(5–6), 1081–1114. https://doi.org/10.1080/0042098032000074335

Small, G. (2004, January 28). The contemporary ethics of property price: conclusions from the history of moral thought on property and price. In The 2004 PRRES Conference (pp. 1–12), Bangkok, Thailand. https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/handle/10453/3185

Statista Research Department. (2022). Most expensive residential property markets worldwide in 2020. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1040698/most-expensive-property-markets-worldwide/#:~:text=In%202020%2C%20Hong%20Kong%20had,public%20permanent%20housing%20in%202018

Su, R. (2009). The motivations and investment preferences of Chinese investors who migrate to New Zealand. Auckland University of Technology.

Tang, F., & Ji, S. (2021). China extends battle lines to manage capital outflows as Beijing doubles down on ‘economic security’. South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3158048/china-extends-battle-lines-manage-capital-outflows-beijing

Wang, D. (2004). ‘The threshold of one-year: the speculation or the investment?’ - the superficial view of the behavior of the Chinese investors at the financial market and the rationalization of investment. https://ssrn.com/abstract=278838

Wang, Y., Li, L., Chen, C., Huang, C., Huang, H., Feng, J., Wang, S., Wang, H., Zhang, G., & Zhou, M. (2014). Source apportionment of fine particulate matter during autumn haze episodes in Shanghai, China. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 119(4), 1903–1914. https://doi.org/10.1002/2013JD019630

Watkins, M., Ho, C., & Butler, R. (2017). Asian migration and education cultures in the Anglo-sphere. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 43(13), 2283–2299. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2017.1315849

Wen, H., Xiao, Y., & Zhang, L. (2017). School district, education quality, and housing price: evidence from a natural experiment in Hangzhou, China. Cities, 66, 72–80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2017.03.008

Wong, P. (2016). The drivers of overseas investments in the Australian residential property market [Conference presentation]. Pacific-Rim Real Estate Society Conference, Australia.

Wright, P. (2016). Melbourne ranked world’s most liveable city for sixth consecutive year by EIU. ABC News. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-18/melbourne-ranked-worlds-most-liveable-city-for-sixth-year/7761642

Zhang, J., Lee, C. L., & Chan, N. (2019). The asymmetric effect of institutional quality on Chinese outward real estate investment. International Journal of Strategic Property Management, 23(6), 435–449. https://doi.org/10.3846/ijspm.2019.10429