The latest Mortgage Insights report from Money.com.au, shows 192,843 investor loans were issued nationwide, compared to 322,273 owner-occupier loans which grew by just 6 per cent.
If current trends continue, investor loans could reach approximately 234,000 nationwide in 2025.
New South Wales has seen investor loan numbers reach a record high, now accounting for 41.7 per cent of all new loans in the state, up from 29.6 per cent at the end of 2020.
This represents the highest investor loan share in NSW in five years of available data.
The growth in NSW has been largely driven by investor loans for newly built properties, which jumped 34 per cent year-on-year.
These loans also have the highest average loan size in NSW at $872,306, compared to $827,099 for existing homes.
Money.com.au’s Property Expert, Mansour Soltani, said he’s seeing a shift in investor preferences in NSW.
“We’re seeing more housing density in regional areas outside Sydney, where new estates are offering strong opportunities for investors who want to avoid overcapitalising,” Mr Soltani said.
Victoria has seen investor loan growth catch up to owner-occupier growth for the first time in two years, with both rising 10 per cent year-on-year.
Despite this, Victoria still maintains a higher-than-average share of new loans going to owner-occupiers at 69 per cent.
The Victorian uptick is largely driven by a 22 per cent rise in construction loans and increased lending for existing properties.
However, investor loans for new housing fell by 20 per cent as investors continue to favour states with lower taxes on new builds.
Mr Soltani said Victoria’s slower investor growth was due to high property costs.
“Victoria is the most heavily taxed state in the country when it comes to property.
“It has the highest stamp duty of all states, and land taxes on investment properties and second homes are among the most expensive,” he said.
Queensland has emerged as the second-largest state for investor loans by market share, surpassing Victoria by 8 per cent.
The Sunshine State recorded 45,872 new investor loans compared to 42,567 in Victoria, with 26 per cent year-on-year growth in investor lending.
Most of Queensland’s growth came from loans for existing properties, which increased by 29 per cent.
Land loans for investors and construction loans also saw solid gains at 22 per cent and 18 per cent respectively.
“The Sunshine State is shedding its lifestyle-only reputation and emerging as a serious hotspot for property investors, with strong growth in loans for land, construction, and existing homes,” Mr Soltani said.
Western Australia led the nation in investor loan growth last year, surging 35 per cent year-on-year to 25,660 loans.
Investor lending in WA is now 58 per cent higher than in the previous nationwide loan cycle peak.
The state also saw the largest increase in average annual loan size for both owner-occupiers and investors, rising 16 per cent to $557,261 and 15.3 per cent to $525,553 respectively.
South Australia hit a record 13,685 investor loans last year, with investor lending driving the market through a 22 per cent annual increase.
Investor loans now account for 39 per cent of all loans for existing properties in the state.
Tasmania remains the furthest from its 2021 mortgage peak among the six largest states, with total loan numbers still 28 per cent below that level.
Investor loans make up just 26 per cent of Tasmania’s total loan market, the lowest share of any state.
