Foreign buyers are purchasing new housing in New South Wales and Victoria at a rate of $8 billion a year - a figure the equivalent of one in five new homes completed across the two states.

The figures, available for the first time through a freedom of information request, come from state governments which now collect taxes from foreign buyers when the property is settled. The figures reveal the size, source and changes in foreign demand for Australian housing.

According to a new paper by Credit Suisse analysts Hasan Tevfik and Peter Liu, who filed the FOI, the data "implies foreigners are acquiring 25 per cent of newly completed supply in NSW and 16 per cent in Melbourne, or 21 per cent if we combine the two states". The total value of new houses in both states was $39 billion over the relevant 12 months.

Foreign buyers are restricted to only buying new or off-the-plan properties.