Olivia and Richard Keenan, with sons Ollie, 1, and Jack, 3, said a pool was at the top of their property wish list when they looking to buy in Brisbane. Picture: AAP Image/Richard Gosling

WHEN it comes to Queensland property, Japanese buyers want pet-friendly pads, Germans want Queenslanders and Taiwanese want deceased estates, but they can all agree on one must-have — a swimming pool.

New analysis of realestate.com.au data shows ‘swimming pool’ was the most searched term by overseas buyers looking for property in the sunshine state, while ‘airconditioning’ and ‘waterfront’ also made the top 10 list.

REA chief economist Nerida Conisbee said the desires of international property seekers often mirrored that of local buyers.

“Swimming pool is quite a common search (across all buyers),” she said.

“It reflects what people like about Queensland, which is warmer weather, being outdoors and being by the water.”

This property with feature swimming pool at 24 Hillside Cres, Hamilton, is on the market.

When breaking the realestate.com.au searches down to country of origin, New Zealand was number one, followed by the United Kingdom, the United States, Hong Kong and Canada.

The Philippines, Singapore, Germany, Taiwan and Japan rounded out the top 10.

Swimming pool was the number one search term for all top 10 countries, apart from Taiwan, which had ‘deceased’, ‘must be sold’ and ‘mortgagee’ at the top and ‘swimming pool’ at number nine.

Filipino buyers were also keen to find deceased estates, as well as homes with granny flats and development approval, while Singaporean buyers searched for brick houses and jetties.

Japanese buyers were the only ones to place importance on pet friendly property while ‘Queenslander’ was the second highest searched term by Germans.

Real estate staples ‘ensuite’ and ‘garage’ were popular across all top 10 countries, as were real estate data and real estate news.

This two-storey home with tropical pool at 329 Stanley Street, North Ward, is for sale for $1.22 million.

Place Bulimba joint managing director Sarah Hackett said in her experience overseas buyers were chasing a holiday vibe when looking for Brisbane property and a swimming pool was often central to that dream.

“For many of them, they want to live outdoors as much as they can because they’ve spent most of their lives in the cold,” she said.

“And though they’re coming to Brisbane for the sunshine, their biggest concern is the summer heat.

“So they are all about the pool, the airconditioning and some also start looking in to the aspect too to see if a property is north-facing and gets that easterly breeze.”

Ms Hackett said she was seeing plenty of Kiwis and Brits looking for property in Brisbane, as well as increasing numbers of ex-pats returning to Australia.

“The Kiwis I’ve met in the top end of the market tend to be empty nesters,” she said.

“And the ex-pats, they don’t get the perks they use to from corporate companies, such as school fees being paid, so they are coming home.

“They can have a lot better lifestyle here and with the exchange rate, they are buying riverfront and top end properties.”

The acreage property at 108 Tunba Ct, Cooroy Mountain, comes with an inground pool and is on the market for offers over $3.8 million.

Former Londoners Olivia and Richard Keenan said a swimming pool was at the top of their wish list when searching for a Queensland home.

The couple made the move to Brisbane at the start of this year so their sons, Ollie, 1, and Jack, 3, could grow up closer to their extended family.

Mrs Keenan grew up on the Gold Coast and lived overseas for 16 years while Mr Keenan is a Kiwi who left home 14 years ago.

“A pool was our big search criteria and airconditioning was a must-have too,” Mrs Keenan said.

The personal trainer said she wasn’t surprised other international buyers were as keen to be able to cool off in their own backyard.

“If you move to Queensland you want a pool,” she said.

The couple found their dream home in Wooloowin with most of their must-haves, including off-street parking, big yard, butler’s pantry and space for a gym, but most importantly a swimming pool.

“We love the lifestyle and the weather (Brisbane offers). The boys can be outside all year round,” Mrs Keenan said.

Searches for Queensland property by country of origin

Rank Country

1 Australia

2 New Zealand

3 United Kingdom

4 United States

5 Hong Kong

6 Canada

7 Philippines

8 Singapore

9 Germany

10 Taiwan

11 Japan

Top searches by overseas buyers

Rank Keyword

1 Swimming pool

2 Pool

3 Brisbane, news, QLD

4 Garage

5 Waterfront

6 Brisbane, news, QLD, data

7 Airconditioning

8 Swimming pool, garage

9 Swimming pool, airconditioning

10 Gold-coast, news, QLD