Never mind the plunging dollar. Australians continue to buy property overseas — whether it’s a one-bedroom apartment fronting Lake Orta, north of Milan, a castle in Tuscany or, closer to home, a million-dollar mansion in Bali.
“Work has not let up,” says Melbourne-based international lawyer and notary Michael Bula, a specialist in helping Australians buy offshore real estate.
Bula, who speaks French and Italian, says Europe is the most popular place to purchase, with clients attracted to Spain, France, Italy and Portugal. While some spend as little as €15,000 ($23,400) to gain a foothold in rural Normandy, others put together syndicates to purchase multi-million-euro castles in Poland or Hungary.
Melbourne stay-at-home mum Liza Davidson has just paid €15,000 for a sight-unseen two-room townhouse in the lower Normandy village of St Georges Le Gaultier.
“I have been dreaming for some time but was thinking of something larger and grander,” the Dandenong Ranges-based Davidson says. “I am not financial — if I can do it, anyone can.”
Davidson has sent in painters and decorators to freshen things up. She says the floor tiles are 200 years old. “I will rent it out, but I can afford to keep it vacant.”
Melbourne healthcare consultants Kate and Richard Russell won’t be drawn on the price they paid for a one-bedroom apartment in a 400-year-old village at Lake Orta, near Milan.
The Brighton-based couple had been looking for several years and were attracted to Lake Orta because of its magnificent restaurants, bars and beautiful walks.
“It’s great for swimming in summer in the lake and you can also travel to Milan in an hour,” says Kate Russell.
But photographer John Anthony, who has lived in France for 23 years, is thinking of selling because he is retiring and returning to Melbourne.
“Rather than a holiday house in Portsea we decided to buy a holiday house in France. My wife and I enjoy the French style of life,” Anthony says.
The villa is located in the classified hillside village of La Teuliere and includes a barn dating to the 1700s. The property rents out for $1150 a week and the asking price is $350,000.
In Bali, Elite Havens director Matthew Georgeson says, the average Australian pays about $1 million for a holiday home, and favourite locations are Seminyak, Canggu and the Bukit Peninsula.
“I have seen a strong bounce back from interested Australians looking for top-shelf beachfront and clifftop properties,” he says.
Georgeson is selling Villa Hansa, about 10 minutes by car from renowned surfing spot Echo Beach and about 20 minutes from trendy Seminyak. The asking price for the property, which has four bathrooms, all with ensuites, is $US2.5m ($3.5m). A further three bedrooms are spaced throughout the estate.
New Zealand is also attractive for Australians because it has no land tax or stamp duty. Nick Horton, director of Luxury Real Estate, says direct night flights to the South Island ski destination of Queenstown are boosting sales.
Horton is fielding interest from Australian buyers, particularly those looking to pay between $NZ1m ($940,00) and $NZ2m.
In Queenstown, $NZ1m buys an apartment or rental house, but a rural estate such as 93 Slope Hill Road, Dalefield, Queenstown has an asking price of $NZ3.995m.
by Lisa Allen
SOURCE: The Australian
