Jamie Zhu moved to China for two months to experience a different lifestyle. Picture: Facebook

Australians priced out of their own housing and rental markets are increasingly looking overseas to get access to the property ladder and a better lifestyle.

Recent research from Money.com.au revealed the trend was particularly popular among young Australians, with as much as 30 per cent looking to buy property offshore.

While destination choices range from Europe to the US and New Zealand, Asia was the most popular choice with 36 per cent of people surveyed indicating that is where they were researching property purchases.

Sydney-based content creator Jamie Zhu is someone who recently returned from a two-month trip to China to experience a different lifestyle.

The 32-year-old documented his journey to his 9 million followers as he visited his father in China.

Jamie Zhu moved to China for two months to experience a different lifestyle. Picture: Facebook

“The last two months have been a crazy ride,” Zhu told his followers after returning to Sydney.

“For two months I lived in my dad’s world. I ate his food, walked his streets, spoke his language (often very badly), and sat across from a girl he chose for me at a dinner table in Shanghai.

“I found that China feels like home in a way I can’t fully explain. Like something in my blood recognised it.”

Among Zhu’s experiences in China was the moment his father took him to a local marriage market to find a wife.

The whole experience, including an eventual dinner date with a woman, was watched by more than 50 million people across Zhu’s social media channels.

While the date didn’t result in a marriage, Zhu said it helped solidify his own values about who he wants to be as a person.

Jamie Zhu went to a marriage market so his father could find him a wife. Picture: Facebook

While Zhu didn’t depart Australia due to struggles with the local property market, his lifestyle experiences in China highlight something many other young Aussies are chasing.

“Younger Aussies, in particular, are beginning to question whether they are priced out of the local market. They are increasingly comparing what their money can buy here versus overseas,” Money.com.au property expert Nick Burgess said.

“In Australia, buyers often incur much higher debt relative to their income. In contrast, in parts of Europe and Southeast Asia, it’s possible to purchase property with significantly less debt, and in some cases, be nearly or completely debt-free.

“Social media is also fuelling this trend, as more Australians see people like them, often young couples or families, selling up and relocating overseas, which makes the idea feel more achievable.”

A date with a prospective wife didn’t work out but allowed Zhu to become more aware of how his own values mattered. Picture: Facebook

With home prices having grown exponentially since Covid, moving overseas will likely remain an attractive alternative for many.

According to PropTrack, a standard house in Sydney now costs $1.557m, $1.05m in Brisbane, $1m in Canberra, $920,000 in Adelaide, $901,750 in Perth, $875,000 in Melbourne, $749,999 in Hobart and $670,000 in Darwin.

Commonwealth Bank Senior Economist Trent Saunders says national dwelling prices rose close to 10 per cent over the past year and are now around 55 per cent higher than pre-Covid levels.

“Over the past few years, the Australian housing market has remained much stronger than most people expected,” he says, adding that Australia’s affordability constraints ultimately reflect a persistent shortfall in housing supply.

“We’re not building enough housing at the same time that population growth has been strong.”

-Additional reporting by Lydia Kellner



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