Chinese Investors Poised For Return

The second half of 2021 will see Chinese investors re-enter the Australian real estate market according to Asian proptech company Juwai IQI.

The property platform’s Asian Investment in Australia Q1 report indicated Australian real estate attracts more than six times the Chinese GDP-adjusted investment when compared to the United States.

Chinese investment enquiries into Australian real estate fell nearly 20% last year, due to the pandemic. However, Juwai is forecasting that number will turnaround in the second half of 2021.

“Chinese real estate enquiry levels in Australia should begin to recover in 2021 as the pandemic recedes and Asian economic wealth-creation machines continue to bounce back from their early 2020 doldrums,” a Juwai spokesman said.

Further, the Juwai spokesman said post-pandemic Australia would continue to appeal to Chinese migrants, second-home buyers, tourists and students with foreign buying made by permanent residents to reach pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2022.

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt is selling his Northern California estate, which was listed Monday for $24.5 million.

Located in Atherton, an extremely affluent town northwest of Palo Alto and about 30 miles south of San Francisco, the 3.36-acre property is made up of three parcels that Schmidt acquired over the years, according to public records and Compass, who has the listing.

Schmidt, 69, and his wife, businesswoman Wendy Schmidt, purchased the main home in 1990 for $2 million, according to public records accessed via PropertyShark. They remodelled the 1969 home in 2007, and at that time, bought a neighbouring parcel of land, allowing an expansion of the main house and the addition of a guest house, according to Compass, who holds the listing. A third parcel was later acquired, on which the Schmidts added an English garden house and landscaped grounds overlooking the Eastern Hills.

“Finding three contiguous parcels in Atherton is rare. Even rarer are those with views of the Eastern hills,” said listing agent Katharine Carroll of the reSolve Group at Compass. “The location of this residence is ultra private, at the back of a cul-de-sac with the main house built into a hillside that provides privacy and very good security.”

Across the estate, there are five bedrooms, five full bathrooms and six half bathrooms.

The 5,265-square-foot main house also offers a number of private outdoor spaces on its upper level, including a large terrace off the primary suite, another large terrace off a secondary bedroom, plus a third smaller terrace and two balconies.

Behind the main house is a patio with a pool and spa. For even more outdoor space, there’s an entertaining pavilion, an open lawn and an outdoor fireplace area near the guest quarters.

The grounds themselves are also a standout feature, with an array of mature plants and specimen trees. The upper portion of the property’s landscaping is designed around an Amdega-designed conservatory, which was imported from the U.K. Around the greenhouse, there is a garden of raised beds and fruit trees, Carroll said.

“From the moment you step onto the grounds, it feels as if you’ve been transported to a private botanical sanctuary,” she said.

Schmidt served as Google’s CEO from 2001 to 2011, and then became the company’s executive chairman until 2015. He could not be reached for comment.

This article first appeared on Mansion Global

Chinese Investors Poised For Return

Pre-pandemic levels of interest expected by 2021.