Markets are forward looking (it is the expectation that property...

Markets are forward looking (it is the expectation that property may get hit). Fear is sentiment, sentiment is reality as far as the market values are concerned. At least insofar as they deviate from fundamentals.

Record low wage growth = limit to property price/rent growth. Should that result in a shift in sentiment (no longer healthy gains to be had, and yields are pretty poor as things stand), that drives a rotation out of the sector, chasing gains elsewhere. The rest flows from there, as you've pointed out above.

Did investors run into property during the crash in the US? You keep cherry picking, and not considering evidence to the contrary. AUD was low 15 years ago, plus housing prices were already low, yet foreign investors were not rushing in. It all depends on what their other options are. Do they want to invest in a country with overweight exposure to commodities, or do they see safer options in more diversified economies? I don't know the answer to this, but it's far from a sure thing that Chinese will want to keep piling in.