In February 2025 the Federal Government announced a temporary ban on foreign purchases of established homes. The goal is to ease the pressure on Australia’s housing market while new homes are built. The ban will mean more Australians will be able to buy more homes that would otherwise have been bought by foreign investors.
The ban will begin on 1 April 2025 and will last until 31 March 2027 and will apply to all foreign persons including temporary residents and foreign-owned companies. There are very limited exceptions but already existing exceptions will allow purchases by permanent residents or New Zealand citizens and joint purchases by spouses of Australian citizens, permanent residents or New Zealand citizens.
A review will determine if the ban should be extended beyond 31 March 2027.
It will be interesting to see if over the next two years this measure has any significant effect on prices in the housing market or the availability of residential property for local buyers.
March 2025