Chinese investors to drive advice demand

Chinese non-residents buying property in Australia are being directed to a local lender through a lead generation deal between the as yet unidentified bank and a mainland property website, an investigation by ifa sister title Mortgage Business has revealed.

Juwai.com – a website that allows Chinese nationals to search for properties overseas – has entered into an exclusive agreement to provide mainland mortgage leads to the Australian lender.

However, the opportunity extends beyond mortgage professionals, according to Juwai.com global head of communications Dave Platter.

“There is a huge opportunity here, not just for lenders but for those providing a suite of financial services,” Mr Platter told ifa.

“They will need to hold money in Australia if they want to buy property here, so there is a big opportunity there for a more rounded suite of services.

“It could include things like wealth management products, equities and bonds.”

The website hosts 1.5 million visitors per month, 82 per cent of them from mainland China.

In the US, industry groups have reported that 70 per cent of Juwai.com users looking to purchase property in the US are cash buyers.

“In terms of what they are looking at, the United States is the top country and Australia is second at the moment,” Mr Platter said.

“In Australia, no one has actually done the hard work in terms of statistics, but we estimate that 60 per cent are cash buyers, based on what we are seeing and hearing.”