Cashed-up expatriates are buying Sydney property sight unseen as steady interest rates and softer house prices make the city an attractive investment option. Real-estate and buyers' agents dealing with the 800,000-plus expatriates are reporting a stronger than normal level of inquiry this winter. Rose & Jones buyers' agent Byron Rose said the majority of his clients were happy to buy sight unseen. "We get up to three new expatriate inquiries per week and they're very much driven by the currency and a lot of them are waiting for the dollar to go below 70 cents," he said. Neurosurgeon Michael Dorsen hasn't lived in Australia for 30 years but three months ago decided it was time to invest in Sydney. The Oregon-based doctor enlisted the help of Sydney Property Finders buyers' agent Tanya Barrett to buy an inner-city apartment he had never seen. Last week Dr Dorsen and his wife, Edith, saw their two-bedroom, two-bathroom, eighth-floor apartment at Jacksons Landing, Pyrmont, for the first time. "We committed ourselves with some trepidation because there's a lot of money at stake," Dr Dorsen said. "As it turned out it exceeded our expectations. I was a little apprehensive but in the end you've got to put your trust in something." Earlier this year McGrath Estate Agents' Priscilla Ouvrier helped an Ireland-based Australian sell a Cremorne unit to a Saudi Arabia-based expatriate for $570,000. The entire sale was conducted via phone and internet, with Ms Ouvrier never meeting the vendor or the buyer. "The owner found me over the internet," Ms Ouvrier said. Leonarder-Collins Luxury Homes director Jennine Leonarder-Collins said the spike in inquiries was due to a lack of quality stock on the market. A new website, a collaboration between L.J. Hooker, Raine & Horne, Ray White and Century 21, which allows buyers to save multiple search lists, was launched last week. (Source from Sun Herald)