Immigration has been a big political issue in many countries in the past few years. Some countries are even limiting the number of immigrants. Australia has had little problem with immigration at the time. In fact many of the foreigners are interested in the Australian property market.

Australia is politically an economically quite stable compared to many other countries around the world. There is not a high unemployment rate similar to the USA. And immigrants tend to settle in and enjoy the country with few problems.

Newly arrived immigrants have many challenges and things to sort out upon arrival. Finding accommodation is probably the hardest. Renting is not cheap, in most urban areas the cost is at least $250 per week.

There is a housing shortage and that is why not rental properties get good value, and the price of houses has increased greatly over the past few years. From 1996 to 2010, prices have skyrocketed 127%. But many people are worried that this is like the housing bubble that happened a few years ago in the USA.

The economy in Australia has been been effected as bad as other Western countries, but things are slowing down a bit. Things are still considered stable and there is still an increase in GNP.

Australia in unique in that it is a Western style country, but with strong trade ties to Asia, especially China. The geography of Australia makes it a convenient trade partner for many Asian countries. Australia also has the advantage that anyone can buy land, one does not need to be a citizen. Because rents are so expensive, naturally many foreigners are interested in purchasing a house or property. Some hints an tips are listed below.

Expats should rent at first because they are new to the country. They should get settled in their job first and see if they really want to settle in Australia.

Immigrants also have no credit history or rating, so it would be impossible to get a bank loan anyway. So having a steady job for a year would help build a good credit rating and get more points for a mortgage. Even if one has cash in a bank from selling their old house back home, this does not help their credit rating.

So many brokers advise immigrants to be patient and wait, get experience and take time to investigate housing costs. As the adage states, haste makes waste, so be prudent before investing in the Australian property market.

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