10 insights into the investment property market

In recent news, rents on the rise as affordability tumbles; house prices rebound; more suburbs make the million-dollar club as Syndey named 11th most expensive city for luxury;  vacancies edge up; listings rise as reselling profits soar; Victoria passes new rental laws, while NSW sets the date for its new laws to come into play; Federal Budget handed down; and where are the women investors?

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

1. Rents lift. National rents rose by 0.6% in February – the strongest monthly gain since May last year, according to CoreLogic. Figures from SQM Research showed national house rents rose 1.6% in March to $720 p/w while unit rents rose 2.2% to $566 p/w.

2. Rental affordability plummets. According to the PropTrack Rental Affordability Index, rental affordability deteriorated significantly from July to December last year – hitting its lowest point since at least 2008. The report found households earning a median income of $116,000 could afford only 36% of rentals advertised in the second half of 2024, marking a historic low point in affordability. A single person would need to earn $130,000 (well above the median income of $72,592) to comfortably afford the median unit rent, according to the Priced Out report from Everybody’s Home. Data from REIA showed the proportion of income required to meet the median rent was 24.7% in the December 2024 quarter. A report by Compare the Market found buying a house or unit was now cheaper than renting in 300 Australian suburbs.

3. House prices rebound to hit a new record. According to CoreLogic’s national Home Value Index, house prices rose 0.3% in February. The rise broke the short and shallow downturn that lasted just three months and dragged national home values -0.4% lower. Prices rose in every capital except Darwin (-0.1%), with the largest MOM change across the capitals being recorded in Melbourne and Hobart (both up +0.4%). The rebound was slightly higher according to PropTrack’s Home Price Index – lifting 0.4% to hit a new record and take national prices 3.94% above their levels a year ago.

4. More million-dollar suburbs. Research from Propertybuyer and Hotspotting identified the top 10 property hotspots across Australia on the verge of reaching million-dollar median prices. Hotspotting also noted Brisbane and Canberra may soon have median prices in excess of $1 million. Sydney was named the 11th most expensive city worldwide for luxury real estate, with the amount of space purchasable for US$1 million shrinking by a third over the past decade, according to Knight Frank’s The Wealth Report 2025. The report revealed the Gold Coast offers Australia’s most affordable luxury real estate, with US$1 million buying 119sqm of prestige property, followed by Brisbane and Perth.

5. Vacancies lift. According to SQM Research, Australia's residential dwelling vacancy rate rose slightly to 1.3% in February (38,427 vacancies), up from 1.0% (30,161 vacancies) in January. Vacancy rates over the December 2024 quarter increased in Sydney (to 1.9%), Melbourne (to 2.4%) and Perth (to 1.9%), stayed stable in Brisbane (at 1.1%) and Adelaide (at 0.7%), and decreased in Canberra (to 1.9%), Hobart (to 1.9%) and Darwin (to 3.0%), data from REIA showed.

6. Buying & selling buzz. According to SQM Research, total listings of properties for sale rose by 2.3% for the month of February to reach 249,325 listed properties – marking a 4.1% rise compared to February 2024. New property listings recorded a rise of 43.6% compared to January 2025. Properties were taking longer to sell, according to CoreLogic with the national median time on the market rising from 27 days in Q3 2024 to 42 days over the three months to February 2025.

7. Heads up for Victorian landlords. On 6 March 2025, the Victorian Parliament passed new tenancy laws. Key changes include a ban on all rent bidding, prohibiting no fault evictions, and notice periods for rent increases and evictions increasing from 60 to 90 days. Rentals must also meet minimum standards when they are advertised.

8. New laws in NSW. The NSW Government announced the ban on no-grounds evictions passed in October 2024 will come into effect from 19 May 2025. Landlords will be required to provide a valid reason to end all lease types and longer notice periods will apply for some leases. Also from 19 May, landlords will not be able to unreasonably refuse to allow their tenant to have a pet. Approval will be automatic if landlords do not respond to pet applications within 21 days.

9. Women and investing. According to CoreLogic's 2025 Women & Property report, Australia has a ‘gender investment gap’. While there is strong parity in ownership between men and women when it comes to owner-occupied dwellings, fewer females (11.4%) than males (14.2%) own an investment property. Men also outpaced women in the growth of solo real estate journeys in 2024, data from Loan Market revealed. According to JBWere, women will claim about 65% of nearly $5 trillion in intergenerational wealth transfers by 2034, reported Property Update. It noted the number of women becoming millionaires increased by 5.7% in 2024, outpacing the 3.6% growth among men.

10. Snippets: On 25 March 2025, the Federal Government handed down its Budget 2025-26. What it means for investors was explored by SPI, while REIA looked at its impact on the real estate sector, and the HIA on housing. WA Government announced the expansion of stamp duty concessions for first home buyers. Realestate.com.au reported the Olympic infrastructure boom could see home prices double in some Brisbane suburbs. According to a report commissioned by the HIA, the value of taxes and charges in Sydney has increased by 38% over the past five years, accounting for $576,000, or half, of the cost of a new house and land package.

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