The number of Australians declaring rental income has declined by 0.3%, the largest annual drop in more than a decade.
Rental investor numbers fell by 7,081 in 2022-2023, per the Australian Tax Office. This is just the third ever annual decrease, and the largest since 2008-2009, during the global financial crisis.
Housing values rose by 8.1% in 2023, and have continued to gain so far in 2025. “Although value rises have been broad-based, the pace of growth remains mild compared to mid-2023 when the quarterly rate of growth in national home values peaked at 3.3%, and for that matter, positively tepid relative to the extreme 8.1% quarterly peak growth recorded through the height of the pandemic,” said Cotality research director Tim Lawless.
The number of rental investors increased by 18,698 in 2020-2021, and by 22,622 in 2021-2022.
A decline of 333 was also seen in 2019-2020, impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Rental investors owning more than one property dropped significantly in 2022-2023. Investors with two properties fell by 1.1%, while those with six or more fell by 2.9%.
The number of rental investors owning just one property grew by 0.1%, however.
Investors represented 33% of property lending in March 2023, which increased to 37% in March 2025. Home buyers made up 43% of property lending in March 2023, dropping to 41% in March 2025.
In June 2025, Australian housing prices rose by 0.4% nationwide, according to PropTrack and REA Group’s Home Value Index, with the largest increases in Adelaide.
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