Investors looking far and wide for ideal properties
Around one in five clients of a landlord insurance company own rental property outside the state or territory in which they currently live, and Queensland is their preferred destination, new data has showed.
Figures from Terri Scheer Insurance show that Australia-wide, 20 per cent of its insured landlords own rental property outside the state or territory they call home, with 51 per cent choosing Queensland as their preferred destination.
This is followed by Victoria (14 per cent), New South Wales (12 per cent) and South Australia (11 per cent), the company said.
“These figures show that today’s property investors are not afraid to ‘think outside the state’,” Terri Scheer Insurance manager Carolyn Majda said.
“They are very astute and not limiting themselves to properties within their home state or territory borders. This suggests that investors are doing their homework and choosing rental properties in areas they believe will give them the best returns, regardless of where they live.”
The ACT and Tasmania have the highest proportion of investors who own interstate rental properties. More than half of all ACT-based landlords – 57 per cent – own property outside ACT borders, while 50 per cent of all Tasmanian-based landlords own rental properties on the mainland.
This is followed by landlords in the Northern Territory (39 per cent), New South Wales (28 per cent), Western Australia (27 per cent) and Victoria (23 per cent).
Queensland and South Australia have the lowest proportion of landlords with interstate properties at nine per cent and 10 per cent respectively, the company said.
Ms Majda said there could be a number of reasons behind the trend.
“With Queensland the preferred destination for interstate property investment, this research seems to be pointing them towards the sunshine state,” said Ms Majda. “They might also be investing in property they can rent now and holiday in or retire to later.
“Technologies such as real estate websites and Google Earth are making it easier for investors to look for and research interstate properties online.
"While it’s difficult to gauge this from the figures, it’s possible that some people are moving interstate for work and lifestyle reasons but keeping their existing properties to generate rental income or in case they intend to return.”