Eleventh annual survey · 854 investors · August 2025
The year Australian investors started selling.
The 2025 PIPA Annual Property Investor Sentiment Survey is the most comprehensive read yet on what Australia’s property investors are doing, and why. Rising costs, policy uncertainty and a fourth straight year of investors leaving the market, set against a quiet return of optimism.
53%
of investors said they would stop investing in property if negative gearing were changed.
What the survey found
16.7%
sold at least one investment property
up from 14.1% in 2024 and 12.1% in 2023
53%
would stop investing if negative gearing changed
only 22% said they would continue
59%
say the next 12 months is a good time to buy
up sharply from 45.7% last year
64%
were unaware of Victoria’s vacant residential land tax
and 60% have limited knowledge of tenancy law changes
Why they sold
Reasons given by investors who sold at least one property in the year to August 2025. More than half had held the property five years or longer.
Where they would buy now
The best place to invest in Australia right now, as nominated by respondents. Melbourne’s jump is the largest single movement in the survey.
Where the rental homes went
Of the properties investors sold, 42% went to another investor. The remaining 58% went to owner occupiers and first home buyers, which removes them from the rental pool permanently. That is the structural point behind the numbers.
22.1%
Melbourne
up from 21.7%
19.7%
Brisbane
down from 26.1%
15.8%
Regional Qld
up from 7.4%
11.0%
Perth
first time in the top five
7.9%
Regional Vic
down from 9.3%
6.3%
Sydney
down from 14.9%
Investors are being asked to navigate increasingly complex regulatory environments with little support or clarity, and the consequences are playing out in real time.
PIPA Annual Investor Sentiment Survey 2025
Victoria was named the least accommodating state for property investors for the second year running, followed by the ACT and New South Wales. Western Australia was again named the most pro investment, followed by Queensland.
Why professional standards matter
The survey asks investors directly what they expect from the people advising them. The answer has been consistent for years and it strengthened again in 2025.
believe property investment advice should only come from someone with formal training or education
are aware of PIPA, up from 75% last year
say PIPA membership and a code of conduct would positively influence who they work with
say a QPIA® qualification would influence their choice of adviser, up from 62%
Get the full 2025 report
Seventeen pages, every question, every chart, and the state by state breakdown. It arrives by email within a minute.
- 854 investors surveyed across Australia
- Conducted online in August 2025, published September 2025
- Eleventh consecutive year of the survey
- Drawn from the PIPA and PICA investor databases
Request the report
About the survey
The 2025 PIPA Annual Property Investor Sentiment Survey was conducted online in August 2025. Respondents were sourced from the PIPA and PICA databases of property investors, as well as member and non member client databases. PICA is the not for profit association for Australian property investors.
PIPA’s membership includes qualified property investment advisers alongside financial planners, buyers agents, accountants, mortgage brokers, real estate agents, conveyancers, depreciation specialists, lenders and developers.
Media enquiries about this research are welcome. See the newsroom for contacts and previous releases.