Sydney real estate agents are preparing for an influx of overseas interest in property next week as Chinese visitors fly in for Chinese New Year.

Industry experts say the bonanza weekend for Chinese property buyers will likely kick the 2017 market in the Year of the Rooster off to a strong start.

“I think it will be a very busy time and it means that the year will be just as robust with Chinese buyers as previous years,” says James Pratt, director of auctions for Raine & Horne and James Pratt Auctions. “I think the level of interest later in the year will be even higher, too.

“Australia is very appealing to the Asian market, particularly new apartments in areas in the city and around Barangaroo, and especially if the Australian dollar goes down as is forecast. We have everything here that they like: nice weather, fresh food, good schooling and stable government.

“I don’t think any restrictions on lending will affect that market either. We have a lot of infrastructure set up today for Asian investors, and developers aren’t spending hundreds of millions of dollars on developments just hoping they’ll be able to sell; there’s a lot of confidence around.”

Pratt made the comments as several agencies around Sydney were busy organising tours, airport pick-ups and booking accommodation for the visitors.

Charles Pittar, chief executive of juwai.com, China’s biggest international property website for Chinese buyers purchasing property overseas, says most agents around the world expect this holiday season to be even busier than 2016’s.

In a survey by juwai.com, researchers spoke to more than 1209 international real estate agents, including 184 in Australia, about what role they expected Chinese buyers to play in their markets this year.

Of the Australian agents, 52 per cent expected that this Chinese New Year would be busier than 2016’s.

“It’s not always the case, but often we see a strong correlation between the countries Chinese consumers visit as tourists and the countries where they purchase property,” Pittar says.

“During Chinese New Year, some agents see no Chinese buyers and others see an abundance of them. It depends on the type of product they’re selling and the location. Generally, we find that the wealthier buyers are more likely to combine property-hunting with tourism during Chinese New Year.”

Of the 120 Chinese consumers surveyed, 26 per cent plan to travel internationally during Chinese New Year next weekend and almost half say they’ll look for property to buy during their trip.

Those coming to Australia have already contacted many local agents, and 35 per cent of the Australian agents in the review say they expect to be approached by Chinese buyers in the next two weeks.

“Looking beyond just the holiday to all of 2017, almost half – or about 42 per cent – of Chinese consumers say they will engage in property-hunting during their trips abroad … [And] when it comes to immigration, 58 per cent are considering immigrating to the country they are visiting,” Pittar says.

Chinese student Ruona (Nora) Yuan, 23, is planning to buy property in Sydney as soon as she can manage. She is looking for an apartment close to the city.

“I’d like to be not too close, but close enough to jobs and preferably with water and near a shopping mall,” says Yuan from south-west China, who took her degree at Melbourne’s Monash, did her masters at ANU in Canberra and is studying PR in Sydney.

“I decided to move to Sydney and I really love it and want to stay. I already have an apartment in Rhodes as an investment but now I’m looking for something else, probably to live in. I think Sydney will always be the first choice for Chinese people if they want to invest. It’s a lovely city and environment.”

The juwai.com survey found that 58 per cent of those Chinese New Year travellers are considering shifting to the country to which they’re travelling, and another 18 per cent say they may consider doing so.