The IPA’s review found this equated to more than 1,160 net arrivals per day, with migration accounting for 73% of Australia’s population growth in the year to June 2025. It also noted that annual net overseas migration during this period was roughly four times the average level recorded from 1945 to the end of the Howard government.
Kevin You, senior fellow at the Institute of Public Affairs, said the overall scale of migration was placing strain on housing and infrastructure capacity. “This is uncontrolled mass migration on steroids,” he said, adding thatthat the intake was unsustainable and that the federal government had not adequately planned for the associated housing demand.
Other commentators maintain that many new arrivals are easing some pressure on the established market by purchasing newly built homes or off-the-plan stock, including in masterplanned estates such as those in Box Hill and the wider northwest corridor. For lenders and brokers, such trends underscore the importance of understanding the specific preferences of migrant buyers, including deposit structures, construction timeframes and the appeal of integrated community facilities.
Tjhin said the concentration of interest at the Box Hill development was shaped less by nationality and more by shared family and lifestyle requirements. “This particular project just seems to meet what a lot of these families are looking for,” he pointed out.
Official migration data by country provide only a partial picture of Iran’s role in Australia’s housing market. The ABS last released detailed figures on Iranian-born residents in 2023, reporting 85,830 people born in Iran living in Australia at that time. Since then, federal government figures show Iran has regularly appeared among the top three source countries for Australian Humanitarian visas, with more than 1,600 visas granted to Iranian nationals in 2023–24.