Foreign investment in Australian residential real estate has plummeted by 83% in the last two financial years, according to theDaily Mail.

The boom was sky-high in the 2015-16 financial year with $72.4 billion in foreign currency flooding into the real estate market.

This fell to $25.2 billion in 2016-17 and plunged again last financial year to $12.6 billion.

The dramatic drop has been attributed to taxes introduced by the government, stricter lending, and more controls on funds leaving countries such as China.

Despite the overall numbers being downChinastill leads the world in investment in the Australian real estate sector.

'China still accounts for one out of every four foreign dollars invested in our real estate,' Carrie Law, chief executive of Chinese international real estate website Juwai, told Domain.

'The data is finally starting to reflect what happened last year. Chinese buying dropped off significantly due to foreign buyer taxes and capital controls,' she said.

Ms Law said that her firm does not expects the falls in investment to continue, saying that she 'expects Chinese buying to be flat in 2019.'

A Foreign Investment Review Board report released on Monday says there are multiple reasons for the drop off in Chinese investment.

These include the introduction of state taxes, investment application fees, stricter lending conditions by Australian banks, and tighter controls on outgoing funds from China.

Read the rest of the story @ dailymail.co.uk

Photo : Whitsunday Waters