WHAT WAS CLAIMED
Chinese investors own 67 per cent of Australian homes.
OUR VERDICT
False. China-based investors own 0.24 per cent of residential properties.
AAP FACTCHECK - Chinese investors don't own two-thirds of Australian homes, despite claims on social media.
Official data shows investors based in China and Hong Kong own just 0.24 per cent of the nation's residential properties.
The false claim is in a Facebook post featuring a graphic with text overlaid on a Chinese flag that reads: "67%: True level of China's Aussie home ownership exposed".
"Chinese investors now own 67% of Australian homes & they are allowed to dodge taxes," the caption reads.
"Labor & Liberals sold our country & our future to foreigners."
The claim appears to be based on media reports about the most recent update to the Register of Foreign Ownership of Australian Assets, which is administered by the Australian Taxation Office.
As of June 2024, investors from the People's Republic of China and Hong Kong owned 27,036 residential properties, according to the register.
That's 66.6 per cent of the 40,587 homes owned by foreign investors.
However, Chinese ownership is far smaller when measured against all residential properties nationwide.
There were 11.21 million residential properties in Australia as of June 2024, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
This means China-based investors owned just 0.24 per cent - almost 280 times smaller than the proportion claimed in the post.
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