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Australia is one of the favourite destinations of rich Asians who have an investment property overseas. A report by global bank HSBC said that over one-third of affluent Asians have purchased properties abroad.

The study by market research company RFi for HSBC said 9 per cent of wealthy Chinese, 19 per cent of rich Singaporeans and 26 per cent of affluent Malaysians have bought properties in the Land Down Under.

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Most of them purchased homes in smaller properties markets in Queensland and Australian Capital Territory (ACT) rather than in the larger markets of the Australian states of New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria.

Among those with intent to buy real estate in Australia in the future, 25 per cent picked Queensland, 23 per cent the ACT, 20 per cent in Victoria, 18 per cent in NSW and 16 per cent in Western Australia.

The reason behind the popularity of Queensland is the proximity to university and holiday homes, while the government services available is the reason why others opt for Canberra, said Alice del Vecchio, head of mortgages in HSBC Australia.

Another important factor is the big price increase in the Australian cities of Melbourne and Sydney where the hike the past 12 months were 12 and 13 per cent, respectively, Ms Vecchio explained.

In contrast, property prices in Brisbane for the same period went up only 3.8 per cent, according to the HSBC report that had over 7,000 respondents with at least $44,000 cash deposit in the bank, spread over seven Asian countries.

Ms Del Vecchio added, quoted by The Australian, "Australia's appeal also extends to its community links with Asian countries. Close to 70 per cent of Australia's international students are from Asia, many of which stay in Australia long term to work or reside. We know from our own customer base that a large proportion of international mortgages in the past year have been located near universities."

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