Seven out of ten property investors say this is a good time to buy residential property. A new industry survey indicates that most believe it is business as usual with real estate investment.
The Property Investment Professionals of Australia (PIPA) and the Property Investors Council of Australia (PICA) survey in mid-May found that 72% of investors were confident about the market’s short-term prospects – down only 10 percentage points from an investor sentiment survey conducted in September 2019.
The survey results, which attracted 1,877 responses from across the nation, also found that the coronavirus crisis had not changed the investment intentions of 80% of investors over the next six or 12 months.
PIPA Chairman Peter Koulizos says the survey showed that investors are overwhelmingly optimistic about the property market over the next year.
“Nearly 60% of respondents indicated that the pandemic had not made them change their investment plans over the next six months, with a further 18% saying the crisis had actually made it more likely they would purchase a property over that time frame,” Koulizos says.
“The survey results also showed about 30% of investors were more likely to buy a property in the next six to 12 months because of the pandemic. It’s clear that record low interest rates as well as the resilient nature of property during turbulent times are inspiring investors to continue with their plans.”
While the survey found that 36% of investors had experienced a loss of income, outside of rent, during the pandemic, the vast majority, at 91%, had not applied to pause their mortgage repayments.
PICA Chairman Ben Kingsley says only a small percentage of respondents, around 5%, indicated the crisis had made it more likely that they would sell a property over the next 6-12 months.
“What’s more telling is that more than 30% said they were less likely to sell over the same period because of the pandemic, with 63% indicating no change at all to their plans,” Kingsley says.
