Foreigners' Brisbane property cash splash Value of land owned by foreign interests in Brisbane. Photo: Foreign Ownership of Land Regist Malaysian investors splashed $160 million on property in Brisbane, but buyers from the United Kingdom and Mexico have retained the most amount of land across the city, new figures show. A snapshot of the Foreign Ownership of Land Register shows overseas buyers are as keen as ever on south-east Queensland, spending more than $741 million in Brisbane and $603 million on the Gold Coast last financial year. After Malaysian investors, US buyers were the biggest spenders in Brisbane, outlaying $153 million on properties in the city. Total hectares of lands owned by foreign interests in Brisbane. Toowoomba and Ipswich also attracted US investors, who spent $17 million and $5.7 million on properties in each city respectively. High-net-wealth individuals, pension funds and real estate trusts are chiefly driving the upswing in Malaysian investment across Australia, including Brisbane. Demographer Bernard Salt said the Malaysian story was a reflection of companies seeking a global presence in what he termed "positive countries." Value of land owned by foreign interests on the Gold Coast. "Malaysian interests are swooping to pick up bargains, because they see the market as being at its weakest," he said. Malaysia-based construction group YTL Corp burst on to the hotel scene last year with the $415 million acquisition of the three Marriott hotels in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. And just this month, Malaysia's second-largest pension fund, Kumpulan Wang Persaraan bought a Brisbane office tower at 179 Turbot Street for $172 million. Mr Salt said residential apartment sales to Malaysian investors had been boosted by the tumbling dollar. "The weakening of the Australian dollar creates stronger buying power for foreign investors, including those wanting to buy apartments for their university-age children, who might want to study in Australia," he said. While Malaysians and Americans parted with the most cash during the 2012-13 financial year, investors from the UK and Mexico retained the largest amount of land across Brisbane. Buyers from the UK hold 615 hectares of land over 450 separate properties, while investors from Mexico own 209 hectares of land in the Brisbane local government area. The Department of Natural Resources and Mining could not confirm how many British and Mexican citizens, who own land in Brisbane, actually reside in the city, because the ownership records date back to the 1980s. Similarly, the report did not include detail on what amount of land was owned by businesses. Meanwhile, Chinese investors strengthened their hold on the Gold Coast, spending nearly $185 million on properties on the tourist strip last financial year.