A Rockbank house and one in Kurunjang, valued at $6 million and $140,000 respectively, bought by an Indian investor and a German investor, will be sold as part of the federal government’s crackdown on foreign investment law breaches.
The two properties are among 15 that will go under the hammer after it was revealed foreign nationals bought properties without Foreign Investment Review Board approval, and in some cases had multiple established properties in breach of the rules.
The total number of forced sales since the crackdown started two years ago is 61, with a combined value of $107 million, federal Treasurer Scott Morrison announced last week.
The 61 properties also included a Brookfield house valued at $2 million and a Melton West house, both bought by Chinese nationals.
The government has been under increasing pressure to get tough on foreign-ownership rules amid concerns foreign buyers are fuelling Australia’s property boom.
An additional 36 foreign investors, who came forward during the amnesty period between May 2, 2015, and November 30, 2015, were given a year to sell their properties.
Mr Morrison said the Australian Taxation Office identified more than 570 overseas buyers who have breached the foreign-ownership rules.
