GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS TRIGGERS BUYING SPREE FOR AUSSIES IN NEW YORK CITY REAL ESTATE
Real Estate Specialist Duncan Schieb Shares His First-Hand Observations of the Influx of Aussie Dollars into the Real Estate Market in the US, specifically in New York City
NEW YORK (October 28, 2009) – Duncan Schieb, a Australian real estate specialist, traveled to New York last month simply to visit friends,attend some industry events and follow up on some Agriculture Investors from an earlier visit this year. In the process, something profound happened. He found that two subjects permeated nearly every conversation with his expat mates: the weaker-than-ever real estate market in New York and talk of the prediction that the Australian dollar is to rise to $1.10 by April 2010. Through his many interactions and the explosion of enquiry coming from Australia, it became very apparent to Duncan that the opportunity for Aussies to invest in some of the world’s most valuable real estate, in NYC, is on the horizon.
Schieb, a consultant with both the Australian Farm Investments, a group that specializes in Australian Agriculture Investments for foreign investors, and Aussieproperty.com, has worked across Australia, the UK and Asia as the buyer’s agent for both local and expat Australians on their real estate investments in Australia. Schieb now has his eye on assisting Australians in their investments interests in property in the United States, especially as the AUD’s value steadily rises.
“Since 1983, when the Australian dollar was moved from a moving peg to a floater, investing in Australian property has always been viewed as opportunistic for British, Asian and American investors depending on how the country was faring financially. “With analyst forecasts surfacing that as a result of Australia ‘missing the recession.’ the AUD, affectionately known as the South Pacific Peso, is poised to hit parity in the coming months and is predicted to soar to heights of $1.10 against the Greenback,” Schieb says. “This could dictate an unprecedented opportunity for Australian to diversify their real estate portfolio and invest in places that for decades have been seen as unobtainable due to currency variations.”
“The current strength of the AUD has deterred overall secondary investment of future home purchases for Australian expats in Australia.,” Schieb continues. “New off-plan properties that have completion dates of 12 months or more continue to be snapped with deposits 5%-10% as astute investors see that the Australian market continues to grow.
Over just the past few months, the NY market has reacted very well to this escalating interest from Aussie investors. On average, Australian buyers have been inquiring in New York property priced between AUD$400,000 to $800,000, with a few buyers in the market for property north of AUD$10,000,000. While there are virtually no restrictions on foreigners buying property in the United States*, it is imperative to have local representation. Someone who is on-the-ground, like Schieb, who is authorized to act on behalf of Australian clients as a buyer’s agent in NYC and is aligned with a number of trusted local accountants and lawyers.
* with the exception of Oklahoma, where foreigners are not allowed to buy land, per se, but can buy condominiums.
Duncan Schieb works as a consultant with Aussieproperty.com, that with 7,000 members, is the world’s premier site for those interested in Australian property investment as well as Australian Farm Investments a group that specializes in Australian Agriculture Investment. He is based in Sydney but travels the world to assist his clients in their investments, speak at industry conferences and consult the media.
ABOUT AUSSIEPROPERTY.COM
Aussieproperty.com is a division of the Australian Taxation Services Pty Ltd., the leading taxation advisor to offshore investors, expatriates and intended migrants since it was established in 1995. A commitment to educating the Australian property buyer to safe and prudent investment methods that are tax effective, has been a driving factor in the success of ATS and Aussieproperty.com and the company now has offices located worldwide in Singapore, New York, Hong Kong, London, Malaysia, Dubai and Indonesia.
ABOUT AUSTRALIAN FARM INVESTMENTS
AFI’s objective is to create investment opportunities via the identification, acquisition, and management of portfolios of large scale Australian irrigated based farm operations.The consolidation of large scale irrigated assets provides economies of scale in operations including greater returns from the sale of larger volumes of commodities, enhanced buying power for inputs, justification in investing in best business systems and scale attractive to the markets to assist exit strategies for investors.
