PERTH (REUTERS) - Foreign investors who illegally buy houses in Australia and agents that enable them face hefty fines and prison terms of up to three years under new penalties announced on Saturday aimed at cooling soaring property prices.
The new and expanded punishments come in the wake of rising foreign investment in Australian real estate and widespread evidence of abuse of current laws that prevent foreign buyers from purchasing existing homes.
"We want to ensure that illegal foreign investment is not unnecessarily driving up prices," Prime Minister Tony Abbott told reporters in Sydney, where house prices have risen by about a third in the past three years.
"We want to maximise the opportunities for Australians to buy a home at the best possible price."
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