A travel ban on China amid the COVID-19 outbreak is still active in Australia, leaving hundreds of student apartment rentals in Melbourne unoccupied.
COVID-19 puts travel ban on China
As the COVID-19 outbreak persists, Australia has no plan on lifting its travel ban on China. The restriction implies that no travels to and from China are allowed in Australia, not until permitted by the government.
In Melbourne, student apartment rentals are left empty and unoccupied due to the travel restriction. Most of the rentals in the city belong to Chinese students coming to Australia for international studies, with the indefinite travel ban on China, apartments may be left out empty for the rest of the year.
According to Scott McElroy, director for Belle Property in Carlton:
Around 30 properties under our record are being rented by Chinese students prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, units will continue to be empty as the ban still applies
The properties mentioned by McElroy will also be difficult to advertise to young professionals and families because it was intentionally designed to cater to students.
Realties in Melbourne
Estate agents in Melbourne admits that as long as travel restrictions apply, they will be faced with uncertainty if the units they used to rent out can be occupied once again.
In Carlton, the UniLodge’s College Square alone already has 70 units left unoccupied. The UniLodge is considered to be a low-cost apartment for students, which is why it is popular for international students.
Aside from rentals in Melbourne, the local market has also been hit for losing its Chinese market. Local entrepreneurs express the sudden change of scenery and income generation as soon as Chinese students were out of the picture.
The realty problem is viewed as an international issue because of the COVID-19 outbreak. Chinese are known to be active in real estate markets because of their love to travel and residing internationally, but since the virus outbreak, sales were obviously affected negatively.
This shows that there are certain markets that will be heavily affected when Chinese people are involved. The COVID-19 outbreak shows the world, the economic imbalance the Chinese people can do internationally.
