10 insights into the investment property market

In recent news, declining vacancies see rents increase while apartment market heats up, tenants take extreme steps to avoid paying rent, and new rental reforms come into effect across Victoria and NSW.

Each month we pull together 10 insights impacting the investment property market. Read on for this month’s instalment…

1. Rents surge as vacancies plumet. Q3 saw national rents rose 1.4%, up 4.3% in the 12 months to September, according to Cotality. Meanwhile, the national vacancy rate hit a record low of 1.47%. National rental availability was down 4.5% from a year ago, according to rent.com.au. Apartments leased in a national median of 18 days, while houses took 20 days. John McGrath noted that although more investors had entered the market, it had little impact on vacancy rates or rents.

2. One in three homes worth over $1M. A record one in three Australian suburbs had a median value above $1 million in September. The number of million-dollar suburbs is up 143% over the past five years, according to Cotality. Five years ago, only 14.0% of Australian suburbs were members of the million-dollar club, now 41.9% of houses and 13.5% of unit suburbs nationally command seven-figure prices. Propertybuyer and Hotspotting revealed  the 10 top Australian suburbs forecast to next cross the million-dollar median mark. Domain forecast property prices to rise across the capitals over FY26: 6% for combined houses and 5% for combined units. Meanwhile, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney were named in the top five most affordable cities globally, according to DWS.

3. Property prices continue to bloom over the spring selling season. House and unit prices across the combined capitals hit new records in the September 2025 quarter, with house price growth the fastest in nearly four years and unit growth double the pace of a year ago, Domain data showed. National home prices were up 6.2% over the year to September, adding around $54,100 to the median home value. The national median house price was now $1,232,063 with the median unit price at $694,076, data from My Housing Market showed. A report by Demographia revealed  Adelaide is now the nation’s second-least affordable city, behind Sydney.

4. High-rise highlights. Unit price growth outperformed houses in Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Darwin across the September 2025 quarter, according to Domain, with unit prices rising over 10%. Prices across capital city markets were up 2.3% over the quarter and 5.8% over the year to a median of $706,579. Ray White noted Gold Coast apartments (median of $956,000) had become more expensive than those in Sydney ($927,000). Apartments accounted for 42% of all property transactions in the year to August, according to analysis by Nuestar and Hotspotting.

5. Regions wrap. Australia now had 98 suburbs where house prices have risen by at least 10% annually over the past decade, with 55 of those high-performing suburbs in regional markets, according to PropTrack data. Ray White noted buyers were abandoning expensive lifestyle hotspots like Byron Bay and Lorne for more affordable regional alternatives. Hotspotting research found regions in Queensland, SA and WA had delivered some of the nation’s best capital growth over the past five years. The Regional Movers Index revealed 26% more people moved to regional areas than those who headed in the opposite direction during the June 2025 quarter.

6. Asking prices flourish as listings wilt. Australia’s total residential property listings in September were 227,671, falling 4.8% according to SQM Research. New residential property listings rose 3.7%, while older listings (180+ days) declined 6.9%. Cotality estimated 44,436 sales occurred nationally in September, with the amount of time taken to sell a property by private treaty increasing YoY to 30 days nationally.

7. On the radar for investors. Two out of five renters had taken extreme steps to cut or dodge rent in the past year, including relocating, house sharing, or borrowing money, according to a survey by Finder. Consumer Protection WA warned landlords about the rising number of complaints about rentals being ‘unfit for living’. Rental platforms in Victoria are set to adopt fixed pricing as the rent bidding ban comes into effect. Air-conditioning topped renters’ search criteria, noted Domain. Global investment into the Victorian property sector had fallen 53% in three years, according to a report by the Mandala Partners.

8. Investor hotspots uncovered. Oz’s top 10 hottest property markets are all in SA, Queensland and WA, according to Hotspotting. Douglas in Townsville and Joondalup in Perth tied for the top spot. Queensland also dominated the top five spots for small-scale developments, noted Propell Property. HIA noted ‘gentle density’ housing options such as townhouses, duplexes, and terrace homes were experiencing substantial growth in multiple states, while PropTrack data showed the average block size was shrinking, and buyers were adjusting their expectations accordingly.

9. Need to know. New rental reforms come into effect in Victoria in November. Changes include a ban on rent bidding, extended notice periods, a ban on no-fault evictions, and giving Consumer Affairs the power to stop excessive rent increases. The state also introduced a bill to establish a portable bond scheme amongst other changes. NSW passed rental reforms to provide survivors of DV with greater protections. WA opened expression of interest for its Build to Rent Kickstart Fund.

10. Market intel. Wellness is the latest trend property investors need to know about, according to Property Update. Australia ranks 10th amongst the world’s top wellness economies. SPI explored whether ‘flipping’ was still worth it, while John McGrath looked at how a garden can boost a sale. Flood-prone properties are collectively worth $42.2 billion less than similar homes without risk, found a PropTrack/Climate Council report. Cotality analysis showed that while 61% of households are one or two people, three- and four-bedroom homes still dominate the housing stock.