Developers usually offer free stamp duty or one to two-year rental guarantees as incentives rather than discounts, which affect valuations for those who have already purchased a property in the complex.

The discounting comes as an over-supply of small inner city apartments in Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne has collided with a refusal by Australian banks to provide financing for overseas buyers since mid-year.

$40,000 off in Brisbane

The latest home price figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed values in Brisbane and Perth falling slightly during the September quarter, while prices rose only moderately in Melbourne.

Fang.com was offering discounts on 10 apartments in the Brisbane One complex near South Bank, which is being developed by the Guangzhou-based R & F Properties.

The agent is offering a 5.8 per cent or $40,000 discount on an 86 square meter two bedroom apartment, which is now selling for $675,000.

The discount on one-bedroom apartments, which are just 58 square meters, is around 4 per cent.

R & F made headlines in April 2014 after buying its Brisbane site for $46 million, double what another developer had paid just six months earlier.


In Perth, Stirling Properties is offering cash rebates of up to 3.6 per cent on five apartments in its Verdant development, through Fang.com. According to its website the developer has sold around 40 per cent of the 137 apartments, which are due for completion in mid-2018.

The Melbourne discounts are being offered on two apartments in Cbus Property's Volaire development, via cash rebates equivalent to around 7 per cent of the apartment's value.

In addition to banks tightening lending requirements, sales to offshore buyers have been affected by the introduction of a 10 per cent withholding tax on properties worth more than $2 million.

Victoria has also introduced higher stamp duty rates for offshore buyers.

25-year rental guarantee

A director at ACProperty.com.au, Esther Yong, said one developer was offering Chinese buyers a 25-year rental guarantee in Melbourne in an effort to move unsold apartments.

"The market has slowed down a lot over the past six months and recently the only deals that are moving are those with big incentives," said Ms Yong.

"It's not uncommon to see deals with one or two-year rental guarantees but this is the first time I have seen 25-year guarantees being offered."


"It's working," she added, noting Chinese buyers have been attracted by the new deals.

Real Estate agent Scott Kirchner from the Beller Group in Shanghai said a number of his clients had been unable to complete the purchase of new apartments and lost their deposit due to an inability to obtain finance.

But he said the situation had improved since mid-year as Singapore's OCBC bank has stepped into the market, as had HSBC for its existing customers.

"We are starting to see some reasonably priced funding channels open up," he said.