Dwellings Group lures Lankans to invest in Aussie real estate

By Shabiya Ali Ahlam

The Dwellings Group, an Australian based real-estate management company, will host a workshop from 16-17 March 2012 at the Cinnamon Grand for prospective investors in Sri Lanka for the Fulton Lane Apartment project located in the heart of Melbourne, Australia.

Targeting a niche market of customers who will consider investing in Australian real estate, the Fulton Lane Apartment is a luxury property developed by the S.P.SETIA BHD Group, a company recognised as Malaysia’s leading property developer. Designed by Karl Fender, the property’s chief architect, the project comprises of two towers with 778 apartments.

With prices starting at AUS$ 336,000, the Fulton Lane Apartment boasts the facilities of an indoor heated lap pool of 25 meters, fully equipped gymnasium, garden terrace, theatrette and a chef’s kitchen.

Dwellings Group Director Navin De Silva stated at a media briefing that while the property would reach completion by mid 2015, the Fulton Lane Apartment worth AUS$ 470 million has already sold over 500 units to investors from all over the world. “The Dwellings Group wishes to offer the remaining apartments to Sri Lankan investors and we will take care of the property purchase process for them,” he said.

Aiming to sell around 250 apartments to Sri Lankan nationals, the Dwellings Group will bring down other heads of its group who are based in Australia along with the heads of the SETIA Group and Karl Fender himself, to have a fruitful discussion with the Sri Lankan investors. In addition to this, a one to one session would be facilitated with prospective clients and the visiting heads. As a special offer, Dwellings would provide two free economy return air tickets from Sri Lanka to Melbourne for every property purchase.

At the briefing, Silva highlighted that Australian banks would lend up to 75% of the property value for Sri Lankans who are non-citizens and non-residents of Australia and investors would only have to pump 25% of the investment from their end.

He stressed that the group would also extend assistance for obtaining approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) in Australia and will provide end-to-end construction updates of the properties. Taking over the responsibility for finding tenants if the client chooses to lease the property, Silva affirmed that ongoing investment advice to grow the property portfolio would follow.

When questioned about attending the workshop, Dwellings Group Investment Property Consultant Gunith De Silva stated that reservation for slots for the workshop is nearly reaching its full, a sign that keen interest prevails in the lavish Fulton Lane apartments.