Property Investment Statistics Australia 2026

How many property investors are there in Australia?

Around 70% of investors own just one investment property. The 30% who own more than one hold about half of all investment dwellings (RBA Bulletin, May 2026). For anyone selling to investors, that means two groups. One is a large pool of first time and single property investors. The other is a smaller, more active group building a portfolio.

Investor lending is the fastest growing part of the market

Investor lending grew 25.3% year on year by value, well ahead of owner occupier growth. It is now roughly $2 in every $5 of new housing lending. Active investors are buying in or reshuffling. That is exactly when they hire buyer's agents, brokers and advisers.

Dwelling values and growth

National values rose 7.3% over the year to June 2026, but the gap between cities is huge. Brisbane gained 17.4% and Perth 23.9%, while Sydney was flat and Melbourne slightly negative (Cotality). A gap like this pushes investors to buy interstate. Interstate buyers rely on local experts, which is fuelling the buyer's agent boom below.

Rents, yields and vacancy

• Gross rental yields average 3.7% nationally: Sydney 3.3%, Brisbane 3.3%, Melbourne 3.9%, Perth 3.7%, Darwin 6.1% (Cotality, June 2026).
• Vacancy is near record lows: 1.2% nationally in May 2026, with Brisbane at 0.9% and Perth and Adelaide at 0.7% (SQM Research).
• Rents keep climbing: national asking rents rose 7.8% over the year to June 2026 (SQM Research). Cotality recorded 5.9% annual rental growth, roughly $40 a week added to the median rent.

Tight vacancy and rising rents are the demand story investors respond to. When yields and rental growth make headlines, investor enquiry follows. Firms with a pipeline in place capture it.

Negative gearing and tax

Of Australia's 2.26 million property investors, 1,117,175 (49.4%) were negatively geared in FY2022-23. They claimed a combined $10.4 billion in net rental losses (ATO Taxation Statistics, reported by The Conversation). Tax rules remain central to how Australians hold investment property. They keep accountants and advisers in the investor decision loop.

How investors actually behave (PIPA 2025 survey)

• 43% have used a mortgage broker, the top professional in the survey.
• 28% bought a property in the 12 months to August 2025, up from 24% the year before.
• 16.7% sold at least one investment property in the year, the highest exit rate in the survey's recent history. Churn creates buyers and sellers at once.
• 59% believe the coming 12 months is a good time to invest, up from 45.7%.
• 90% use a property manager.

Paid advice is the norm, and that is the headline. Four in ten investors have paid a buyer's agent, and more use brokers and accountants. Investors expect to be sold to by experts. The contest between firms is who reaches an in market investor first. That is the problem verified investor leads solve.

The size of the prize

More than half a million dwellings change hands each year. Investors are behind about 40% of new lending. So hundreds of thousands of those sales involve an investor who needed finance, advice, a buyer's agent or all three. For the playbook on winning them, read how to get property investor clients.