Written by Jack Freestone, Buyers Collective
Most international buyers who contact us about Brisbane have already found the apartment they want. The problem is usually that they are not allowed to buy it.
Since 1 April 2025, foreign persons cannot purchase established dwellings in Australia. That includes temporary residents. The ban was originally set to run for two years, and it has since been extended to 30 June 2029. In plain terms, the second hand housing market is closed to most international buyers for the rest of this decade.
That single rule changes the entire search. It does not stop you buying in Brisbane. It just narrows the field to new dwellings, and it makes suburb selection matter far more than it used to.
Why Newstead is where most of these searches land
Newstead is one of the few inner Brisbane suburbs with genuine depth of new stock. The Gasworks precinct anchors it, Skyring Terrace and Longland Street carry most of the newer buildings, and the river frontage running through to Teneriffe gives the area a walkability that very little of Brisbane can match.
For an international buyer restricted to new dwellings, that depth is the point. In most Brisbane suburbs the new build market is thin, which means you are choosing between two or three options and paying whatever the developer asks. In Newstead you have a real market, and a real market is where you get to be selective.
The CBD is a short trip, Fortitude Valley sits on the doorstep, and the Brisbane Airport run is straightforward. For buyers who will not live here full time, or who are relocating in stages, that access matters more than it does for a local family.