75% of investors say government property policies swayed their vote

Furthermore, almost 60 per cent of participants in the national survey said they’re now also considering non-bank lenders, largely due to the fallout from the banking royal commission.

This coincides with the survey also finding that 27 per cent of investors had secured a loan from a non-major bank lender over the past 12 months, with the top two reasons being “cheaper interest rates” and “increasing borrowing power”.

“Given tight lending conditions and the financial sector’s response to the banking royal commission, a staggering 25 per cent of respondents have found they were unable to refinance an amount they were able to borrow previously,” PIPA chairman Peter Koulizos said.

“This situation is potentially one of the reasons why the number of investors in the market has fallen dramatically – with 34 per cent of investors purchasing a property over the past 12 months, down from 43 per cent in the 2018 survey.”

The report also found that around 82 per cent of investors believe that now is a good time to invest in residential property, which is up from 77 per cent in 2018.

“Long-term capital growth beat out cash flow – both long and short-term – as the most important aspect when choosing an investment,” Mr Koulizos said.