Vacant Chinese-owned homes raise hackles abroad
Around 25% of Chinese people buying property overseas are leaving the premises vacant, while another 25% use the homes only temporarily, according to a UBS survey. A majority of Chinese buyers pay for their properties with cash, and 63% of Chinese consumers are holding onto the properties for investment, according to the report. This is increasingly stirring political sensitivities in countries such as Australia, where the surge in Chinese investment is causing both a property boom and a housing affordability crisis.
A quarter of Chinese buying property overseas leave their apartments vacant and the majority pay for their purchase with cash, a survey of mainland Chinese customers by investment bank UBS shows.

Another 25 per cent of overseas property owners use their home on a temporary basis, suggesting about half of the overseas properties owned by mainland Chinese were not fully utilised, the bi-annual survey suggests.

Overseas investment in Australia's housing market has stirred political sensitivities amid concerns offshore buyers are helping fuel Australia's property boom and are leaving homes empty during a housing affordability crisis.

House prices in the nation's capital cities have surged almost 44 per cent since 2012, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.