Mansion Global Daily: Chinese Buyers Look to Australia for Real Estate Investments

Chinese Buyers Look to Australia for Real Estate Investments

Since international travel has returned to Australia, Chinese nationals are hungry to invest in real estate. Mainland Chinese buyers are looking for investment properties, but some are also hoping to live in the country or send their children to school there. “So far this year, Australia is the favorite country for Chinese buyers of overseas real estate, a dramatic improvement from its third-place ranking in 2021,” said Daniel Ho, co-founder and group managing director of property-tech firm Juwai IQI. “Buyer inquiries in the first three months are 127% higher than in the prior quarter.” South China Morning Post

April Sales of $1 Million-Plus Miami-Area Homes in Doubled Since 2019

Sales of homes in Miami-Dade County for $1 million or more were up 94.3% in April, compared to April 2019, according to data from the Miami Association of Realtors and the MLS. Meanwhile, the overall median home price in the county continued to rise, increasing 6.2% compared to a year ago. “South Florida has benefited from a major wealth migration as buyers from California and New York have relocated their companies and their families to Miami,” said Ines Hegedus Garcia, chairman for the Miami Association of Realtors. Yahoo! Finance

Mushroom-Shaped House Hits the Market in Italy’s Smurf Village

A so-called mushroom house in a village of fungi-inspired residences—known as “il villaggio dei Puffi,” or Smurf Village—in northern Italy has hit the market for €109,000 (about US$118,000). Located in Bardineto, famous for its porcini mushrooms, the squat, round homes were constructed in the 1960s and ’70s by Mario de Bernardi, combining his love of mushrooms and masonry. In addition to a hefty dose of whimsy, the one-bedroom house, recently renovated, also has a circular living room, a kitchen with a wood-burning pizza oven, and an upstairs bedroom suite, also circular—with a study and a bathroom. Evening Standard

Texas House Set to Pass Property Tax Bill, but Senators Say They Won’t Take It to a Vote

The Texas House of Representatives was set to approve revised legislation to ease property taxes in the state as of Thursday, although it’s unclear of its fate in the state Senate. In its current iteration, Senate Bill 3, as it is known, would provide $12 billion to school districts to reduce property tax rates; boost the state’s homestead exemption on public school taxes; and lower the state’s cap on annual increases to a home’s taxable value from 10% to 5%, as well as extending the benefit to businesses, which don’t have such a cap—a point some politicians say could have a long-lasting impact. Several senators have said the House’s bill will be “dead on arrival,” and they will not bring it up for a committee vote. The Texas Tribune