Foreign Property Purchases Drop Sharply After Australia Tightens Restrictions
A decline in residential real estate approvals drove the number of overall foreign investment approvals down from 6,812 in 2023–24 to 5,284 in 2024–25.
TL;DR
- New rules in 2025 temporarily banned foreign entities from buying existing homes in Australia.
- This contributed to a 22.4 percent fall in investment approvals.
- Overall foreign investment approvals dropped from 6,812 in 2023-24 to 5,284 in 2024-25.
- The fall was almost entirely due to a decrease in residential real estate approvals.
- The ban was only in effect for the final quarter of the 2024-25 financial year.
- A decline in housing approvals was already occurring before the ban.
- The full impact of the ban will be evident when data for the current financial year becomes available.