Foreign ownership of residential property remains a small component of the overall housing market, despite ongoing public debate. Official data provides clarity on the scale and composition of international investment.
Of an estimated 11 million residential dwellings nationwide, only around 40,000 are currently owned by foreign investors. This data comes from the Register of Foreign Ownership of Australian Assets, which tracks residential land purchases made between 2016 and 2024 that remain in foreign ownership.
Victoria accounts for the largest share, with 16,929 properties representing around 40% of all foreign owned dwellings. New South Wales follows with 8,862 properties, Queensland with 8,129, and South Australia with 2,129. Other states and territories account for smaller proportions.
The majority of properties purchased by foreign buyers are new builds. This aligns with policy settings designed to encourage additional housing supply rather than competition with local buyers. There are approximately 8,000 established properties that were purchased by foreign investors during the period.
From 1 April 2025, the Federal Government introduced a two year ban on foreign investment in established residential property. The policy aims to improve housing affordability and accessibility for local buyers by limiting competition in the existing housing stock.
Data from the Australian Taxation Office shows that investors from mainland China represent the largest group of foreign property owners. They are followed by buyers from Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, and the United Kingdom.
Purchase values also skew toward the lower end of the market. Of the recorded transactions, 31,888 were for properties priced under $1 million. This challenges the perception that foreign investment is primarily concentrated in high value prestige markets.
While foreign ownership is often cited in discussions about affordability, the data shows its overall footprint is relatively small. Domestic factors such as population growth, supply constraints, and lending conditions play a far more significant role in shaping prices.
For buyers, understanding the true scale of foreign investment helps cut through noise and focus on the drivers that actually influence local market conditions. Policy changes can have short term impacts in specific segments, particularly new apartment markets, but broader trends are driven by domestic demand.
As regulatory settings continue to evolve, clear, data based analysis remains essential. Buyers who ground their decisions in facts rather than headlines are better positioned to make confident, informed choices.
