Investors Back in the Market
Investors are making a comeback according to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures which show lending to investors has increased by almost a fifth in the past year.
The latest data shows that in January 2024 investors borrowed $9.21 billion while owner-occupiers accounted for $15.91 billion of loans.
This was an increase of 18.5% in the value of investors' loans in the past year, while owner-occupier loans only went up by 3.4% during the same period.
Professor of economics at Curtin University, Rachel ViforJ says rising rental demand and a lack of supply is making investment attractive once again.
"If we've got huge demand relative to supply that would normally push up rents. And that would be an incentive for investors to invest in rental housing," she says.
CoreLogic figures show that Australian property prices have recorded 14 months of consistent price growth, at a time when the national vacancy rate sits at just 1% and rates continue to rise.
CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless says increasing investor numbers could actually be good for the current housing crisis.
"Arguably more investment in the marketplace is a positive thing. Hopefully, that is introducing more rental stock to the marketplace,” he says.
