More than a third of consumers are planning to purchase an investment property in the next three years, according to new research.
New research from non-major bank Great Southern Bank (GSB) has found that 38 per cent of Australians are considering buying an investment property in the next three years, the highest proportion recorded in recent years.
According to the latest No Place Like Home report from GSB, 38 per cent of Australians are thinking of buying a property for investment reasons, higher than the 27 per cent recorded in 2025 and 24 per cent in 2024.
The shift comes as more Australians look to build wealth through property and follows near record levels of property investment across the country.
Indeed, statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics recently found that new investment loans reached a record number and value.
There were 60,445 new investment loans approved in the December quarter 2025, a 5.5 per cent (3,176 loans) rise compared to the previous quarter, and 23.6 per cent higher than the December quarter 2024, driven by a rise in demand across all states (particularly in Tasmania and Victoria).
The total value of new investment loans was $43.0 billion in the December quarter, a rise of 7.9 per cent ($3.2 billion). The average loan size rose over the quarter by $31,008 to $716,711.
According to GSB, the desire for long-term financial security continues to drive interest in real estate investment, with a growing number of people seeing property as a stable investment.
Rentvesting (where people buy an investment property but live in a rented home in their desired location) continues to be popular among younger generations, with Gen Z (those born between 1997 and 2012) more likely to consider rentvesting than the average Australian.
GBS found that 21 per cent of Gen Z would consider rentvesting, compared to 14 per cent of other demographics.
For this younger cohort, their motivations for considering this strategy include wanting to generate rental income (36 per cent), wanting to get into the market sooner (22 per cent), and seeing it as a lower risk option than buying a home to live in (17 per cent).
The findings come as owner-occupier affordability continues to tighten.
Driven by high interest rates and rising prices amid high demand, Australian first home buyers can now afford a record-low 17 per cent of properties on the market despite a typical household income of $129,000, according to the PropTrack CommBank First Home Buyer Report 2025.
To bridge this gap, buyers are increasingly turning to government grants, “rentvesting”, and more affordable options like units and semidetached homes.
Speaking of the findings, Rolf Stromsoe, chief customer officer at Great Southern Bank, said: “Younger Australians are fuelled by ambition and adaptability.
“While market conditions are shifting the pathways to home ownership, they’re not dampening aspirations – we’re seeing young buyers remain determined to achieve their goals.”
[Related: Regional investor boom masks growing credit strain]
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