"A lot of people buying homes in Sydney and Melbourne are not Chinese nationals, they are local Chinese people living in Australia, families like my own," says Lo, whose parents migrated from Vietnam in the 1970s.The lower Sydney Town Hall is humming on this Sunday lunchtime. Hooker's birthname was Tingyou. Sydney's luxury property agents are bringing forward listings and spending up on fancy cars to impress international clients on the eve of Chinese New Year.The Chinese New Year is an annual high point in the local sales calendar but has lost steam since mid-2016 as a result of tighter restrictions on foreign ownership.Juwai, China's largest property portal, registered an uptick of interest in Australian property in early 2019, with inquiries increasing 40 per cent. A former Tokyo correspondent for Fairfax Media, Shane has also served as The Age’s industrial editor, state political editor during the Kennett era, features editor, education editor, national news editor and day editor.The China syndrome: At the frontline of Australian property revolutionMonika Tu, of Black Diamondz, uses her Chinese heritage to help find homes for wealthy Chinese buyers in Australia. Arrivals at the Sydney Property Expo are presented with a big canary yellow carry bag. Certainly, that connection has helped in working with the Chinese market. And it is this approach which is fundamental to the way this new market is operating.The next day, I'm at her offices to meet Maggie Wong. The main destinations for this money are Victoria and NSW. As he pointed out, one in 10 Australians have Asian ethnicity, probably two in 10 in the central areas of cities. "... very often, we might get a call that says, 'A Chinese has bought this house and my daughter was not able to do so,' and it is investigated," he said. Compared to the other stall holders who have tricked up their presentations with a few balloons for the kids, the Black Diamondz affair stands out like using a "z" for a plural. "Yes, they are of Chinese background, but they are a citizen. "The qualification isn't just about ticking the boxes on foreign investment in real estate. "My role is very small to actually influence any policies whatsoever." And, of course, developers selling off the plan for projects in both Melbourne and Sydney, complete with models of yet-to-be-built apartment buildings.

The firm set up in Hong Kong in 1999, and has an office on The Bund in Shanghai.In Melbourne, LJ Hooker project marketing operates two-day bus tours for overseas buyers, who are picked up at the airport. She recently covered Victorian and NSW politics and business for News Corp, and previously worked for the Australian Financial Review.Fancy cars, luxury brands and multimillion-dollar property: agents ready for Chinese New YearSotheby’s director Michael Pallier in a Bellevue Hill home he is showing to Chinese clients.Michael Pallier talks to a Chinese client next to his Rolls-Royce. There were between 500,000 and 600,000 sales and purchases a year - and his board would look at only 20,000 applications a year.Wilson also told the committee it was fair to say almost all of the public commentary around foreigners buying residential real estate had an Asian component to it. Intriguingly, in a business that talks in multiple millions, of buying a golf course to entertain friends, it's more than just about the money.Monika Tu is at the frontline of a revolution in the Australian property market, that is both transforming and for many, confronting. Monika Tu is at the frontline of a revolution in the Australian property market, that is both transforming and for many, confronting.
Chinese real estate agent and concierge Monika Tu’s 2017 Chinese New Year function in Sydney was nothing short of spectacular. The Economy. Oct 29, 2015. Monika Tu. O'Dwyer knows she is dealing with an issue that resonates deeply in the community.

But the Chinese end is critical.

"I see myself as a missionary," says Tu.

Later, she explains they are Australian citizens looking to move from their $2 million house on the north shore to something more like $8 million.

He began a career stretching over 35 years as a copy boy, going on to work in senior writing and editing roles in both Australia and Asia. Read more. We are, he notes, a very strong Asian and Chinese-based community, and investment in property is a cultural cornerstone. She estimates 80 per cent of her business comes from new migrants and local Chinese, the rest from China.Of course, this wasn't just a walk up. Other agents say protests in Hong Kong are driving significant investor visa holders to take the plunge and buy up in Australia.Chinese buyers who were affected by Xi Jinping's effort to tighten capital outflows from China from 2016 onwards are also back in the market, after securing other sources of cash to complete transactions, or visas, such as the significant investor visa, ahead of time. They met at a party, clicked, and that led to Wong asking Tu to help her find a house for her and her four-year-old son.When she arrives, she has a gift for Tu - a beautiful Roberto Cavalli print scarf. "We don't often have concerns about people of Greek extraction buying properties or people of Italian extraction buying properties, because they are not so easily identifiable, I suppose, at auctions. And the Chinese are clearly big players.The sustained property boom has cruelled the prospects of many potential first home buyers. "The view, he says, was not necessarily malevolent but it was popular.


She arrived in Melbourne in 1988 to study international trade, becoming an Australian citizen in 1992, before helping to build a multinational IT company. "I come with a mission - to help the Chinese. Founder and Director Monika Tu has developed her reputation over 30 years in bringing eastern and western business and culture together. "The Chinese [high net worth investors] ... are often a bit more cautious than what we've seen back in 2014-2016," Ray White director Victor Sheu. Credit: Louise Kennerley "The pool of buyers isn't as large as it was before, but they're still there and they are more likely to make repeat transactions," he said. Read more. And increasing demand, it believes, will remain a long-term trend.The affordability of housing is a touchstone issue, for it is stopping the fulfillment of the great Australian dream of home ownership.