Price, taxes, insurance, rental rates, etc all come into play. The

Absolutely makes more sense to buy in the US.If you have the time, play the game and wait it out.No one knows where the fed is going with rates.

He wants to play the appreciation game.

From a long-term hold play the rental income from a main-house and ADU (and possibly a JADU) seems viable. 

If you want to put savings in a foreign currency to play the fx game, you can do this right in the US, like any other savings account.Here's one, courtesy of google:http://www.hsbc.com.au/1/2/personal/savings/multi-currencyLooks like their minimum to open is $4,000 USD.

I wound up renting it out because we had an amazingly qualified tenant approach us, but originally my goal was to L/O this property for $10k-$20k Option Fee, and play the numbers that they'd fail, and I'd get to do it again.  

But you are right, I shouldn't get carried away by this kind of "impatience" and play the wrong cards.

The options are truly unlimited, but they are maximizing revenue as that is where we as passives get our value on exit.On a value play, the GP's are maximizing occupancy as they renovate the facility. 

@Mace Moseley,You have to be strategic , and know how to play the game

Add speculations about a general slowdown/fall in discretionary spending across the economy to this cycle and I would encourage you to be very conservative with how you play the next few months.