Chinese investors reveal Armstrong Creek project

A Chinese-owned developer has bought into the Armstrong Creek property market, securing 94-hectares of land in the burgeoning Geelong suburb.
Jinding Australia announced the purchase of its new estate located 10 kilometres from central Geelong and 16 kilometres from Torquay on Wednesday.
The company focusses on Australian property development, migration and education services according to its website.
The company expected to begin selling properties at the new development towards the end of 2018.
The development would feature a wide selection of land sizes for first home buyers and growing families, said Jinding real estate director Steven Lai.
The development would include 4.9 hectares of parkland, 4.6 hectares of waterways and 9.8 hectares of conservation areas, he said.
The purchase of the Armstrong Creek development and another in Cranbourne brought Jinding Australia’s development portfolio to more than $1.3 billion, Mr Lai said.
Jinding, which has 65 offices worldwide, took a seven-year lease on a 140-square-metre space at Bourke Street to market its portfolio of residential developments.
The announcement came three months after a Chinese-backed company bought a 79-hectare property in Lara.
Soaraway Development, a local division of China’s Yucai Group, purchased the property for $25 million in August.
The company reportedly planned to convert the former farm, located in Geelong council’s west Lara growth area, into 900 blocks.
ICD Property, an Australian company started by the son of a Chinese tycoon, is developing the 1000 lot Gen Fyansford to Geelong’s west.
One of China’s largest listed developers, Sino-Ocean Land has backed a number of ICD projects.
On Thursday the Australian Bureau Statistics (ABS) released data which showed a 32.2 per cent growth in first homebuyers in Victoria during the last quarter.
Last month the Indy reported that the State Government’s doubling of the First Home Owners Grant for regional Victoria had driven record Geelong house sales during the same time.
Warralily director Mark Casey attributed a 32 per cent rise in sales to the $20,000 grant.
Housing Industry Association economist Tim Reardon welcomed the ABS result.
Mr Reardon said recent Australian Prudential Regulation Authority restrictions on the housing market had impeded investor activity and helped first home buyers back into the market.
“First home owners have also been brought back to the market due to the large supply of apartments that are being completed at the moment.”
Additional borrowing costs had limited the availability of loans to investors, he said.
“There has been a reduction of investor borrowing activity of 2 per cent in the six months since these punitive measures came into effect.”