50 percent OTP apartment foreign buyer limit to return

The cap restricting foreign investors from buying more than half the apartments in any new development is set to be reintroduced under the federal government's plan to help young Australians enter the property market.

The federal government is preparing to limit the purchasing power of offshore investors, as one of a raft of housing affordability measures to be included in the May Budget, according to weekend reports in News Limited papers.

Before 2009, developers could only sell 50 percent of new dwellings in any development to foreign buyers but at the height of the Global Financial Crisis the limit was abolished.

Treasurer Scott Morrison declined to confirm the proposed change to the foreign investment framework.

Foreign buyers already face additional stamp duty and land tax charges and continue to be limited to purchasing new or off-the-plan properties.