Australian realtor McGrath issues profit warning as new rules curb Chinese interest

Sydney

AUSTRALIA'S only listed realtor, McGrath, issued a profit warning on Monday that sent its shares plunging, as higher taxes and other restrictions resulted in a sharp pullback in Chinese buying interest for new apartments.

The warning, McGrath's second since January, is the clearest indication yet of impending pain for developers, who have been building tens of thousands of new units to cater to foreign buyers and also underscores central bank fears of an apartment glut.

In response to an outcry over local home buyers being priced out of the market, several Australian states have since 2016 imposed new duties on foreign purchases of residential property while the country's biggest banks have, of their own accord, stopped lendin…