Australia delves deeper into illegal home buying by foreigners

Sydney

AUSTRALIAN Treasurer Joe Hockey on Tuesday widened a probe into the illegal buying of residential property by foreigners, with almost 200 sales being investigated for breaching investment rules.

Prices of residential real estate in some of Australia's biggest cities, such as Sydney and Melbourne, have soared in recent years, with concerns growing that cashed-up foreigners, particularly from China, have helped inflate the market.

"The Australian Taxation Office is using all the resources of government to fully investigate any suggestions that come forward that a foreign person has unlawfully purchased real estat…