Changes to Australian visa rules may boost property market
June 29 2009 by Liam Clifford
Australia visas may boost property sales
Analysts have suggested that the changes to the 410 Australian visa rules on working hours may enable more immigrants to buy property in Australia.
From 1 July, immigrants holding 410 Australia visas will be able to work without restriction. Currently those living in Australia on 410 visas are only allowed to work up to 20 hours per week, which restricts the amount of money immigrants can generate when working in Australia and could even deter many Britons from moving to Australia in the first place.
The Subclass 410 Visa was designed for people who have retired and wanted to move to Australia to spend some of their latter years. It is no longer available for first-time Australian visa applicants, for whom there are alternative visas available, i.e. the Subclass 405 Investor Retirement Visa.
The changes coincide with news from the Housing Industry Association (HIA) that show the prices of new homes may come down. The figures from the Data Residential Land report show that the median price for land in Australia’s state capitals fell by 1.5% during the last quarter of 2008. This followed an eighteen-year period in which the prices rose by 111%.
Sydney remains the most expensive city in Australia to buy property, while Tasmania’s Hobart is the cheapest.
The fact that property prices in some of the state capitals may fall further along with the ability to work full-time hours will make it much easier for Brits to move to Australia.
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