Millennials have emerged as the most active group of property investors in the country, with new data showing they are also not afraid to go it alone to get onto the property ladder.
According to CommBank, 46 per cent of the bank’s new property investors in 2023 were made up of millennials (born 1981 – 1996), followed by Gen X (born 1965 – 1980) who accounted for 37 per cent of all new investment property purchases.
Nationally, the average age of property investors was 43 years, and the average loan size was just over $500,000.
Commonwealth Bank’s Executive General Manager Home Buying, Dr Michael Baumann, said it was interesting to see a significant proportion of millennial property investors opting to purchase property alone.
“From our data, we can see that almost one-third of all millennial property investors actually purchased their investment property on their own,” Dr Baumann said.
Over the past year, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) found investors were the key driver of new lending, with lending growth to this segment reaching 18.5 per cent.
Meanwhile, lending to first-home buyers rose by 13.2 per cent, while owner-occupiers saw a 3.4 per cent increase in lending.
Over the past year, data from the ABS found investors were the key driver of new lending, with lending growth to this segment reaching 18.5 per cent.
Meanwhile, lending to first-home buyers rose by 13.2 per cent, while owner-occupiers saw a 3.4 per cent increase in lending.
According to Dr Baumann, young investors are also prepared to buy investment properties while continuing to rent.
“Interestingly, what we continue to see from many Aussies is the inclination to ‘rentvest’, buying property where they can afford and then renting where they wish to live,” he said.
“Rentvesting gives Australians the chance to get their foot on the property ladder sooner rather than later and purchase a property in a lower cost area without having to give up the lifestyle they have become accustomed to when renting.”
Nationally, the top postcodes for new property investment purchases in 2023 were 2000 (Sydney CBD, including Haymarket); 3029 (West Melbourne, including Hoppers Crossing); 2765 (North West Sydney, including Marsden Park), 3064 (North Melbourne, including Craigieburn), and 2155 (North West Sydney, including Kellyville).
Dr Baumann said the majority of the top performing postcodes had been popular since 2019.
