Australia's cooling housing market did not stop Chinese property investor inquiries jumping 87 per cent in 2015, new data from online property giant Juwai.com show.
In the most targeted market of Sydney, Chinese buyers set their sights on Waterloo, Bankstown, central Sydney and Turramurra. In Melbourne, they focused on Brighton, Port Melbourne, South Yarra and Surrey Hills. 
"Education and lifestyle acquisition remained the main reasons for continued Chinese interests," Juwai chief executive Charles Pittar said.
"They might expect capital gains, but also let their son or daughter live there while studying or working in Australia. On top of that, relatives can stay when they are visiting from China and they could also turn these properties into retirement homes," he said.
"Real estate is just a conduit for the air around them, that is where the real value is," Savills head of research Asia Pacific Simon Smith said.
Another survey by apartment marketer Investorist of 150 Chinese real estate offices has found zero appetite for units under 50 square metres, with most Chinese buyers looking for apartments or townhouses units sized between 50 sq m and 200 sq m. More than half of these buyers had a budget of less than $700,000.
While the cut in mortgage rates did not affect Chinese buyers directly, the slash in foreign lending by Westpac, NAB and CBA did. "A lot of Chinese buyers are now looking for alternative funders for example HSBC, Bank of China or smaller credit unions," Chinese online property portal director Esther Yong said.
Overall, Chinese investments in Australia including real estate will continue to grow in 2016 after a strong 2015, which saw Chinese capital double from the year before and the average deal size grow to $960,000 from $800,000, Cushman & Wakefield said.
Larger institutional investors such as insurance and asset management companies and developers will be joined by new players, small to mid cap companies and private equity funds, Cushman added. These investors are looking to enhance yields and hedge against uncertainty and invest away from Sydney and Melbourne.
Similarly, Savills said concerns that China's slowing economy to 6.5 per cent growth would put a stop to overseas spending have been overblown.
"It's not a uniform economy now. It has nuances and sub-currents," Savills national head of research Tony Crabb said.