The Australian property investment market bounces back
More property investment means more supply for tenants amid a rental housing crisis
2 min
Investors are returning to the property market after an exodus in early 2023 and a significant decline in investor buying between 2015 and 2020. The lack of investor activity has been seen as a contributor to today’s massive undersupply of rental homes. That five-year decline began after the banks applied higher interest rates to investor loans in a bid to slow investor loan growth, as requested by the prudential regulator.
However, the latest lending data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows a 20.4 percent increase in the value of investor loans over the past year, indicating more investors are buying property. This is welcome news for renters across the country, who are finding it exceedingly difficult to secure affordable accommodation amid rapidly rising rents and record-low vacancy rates of about 1 percent.
Last year’s surprisingly strong price growth across most of Australia’s markets has likely inspired more investors to look at property again. Capital growth is typically the primary goal of new investors, with yield seen as simply a way to help pay off the mortgage over time. However, yield becomes more important when interest rates are rising, and a 40 percent increase in rents since the pandemic means many city and regional markets are now delivering healthy yields above 5 percent.
Investors are also increasingly looking beyond their own neighbourhoods for more attractive property investment opportunities, typically in cheaper markets. Research by MCG Quantity Surveyors shows the average distance between landlords’ homes and their investments was 1,502km in the year to November 2023. Prior to the pandemic, that average distance was just 294km.
Western Australia provides an example of this trend, and is one of the hottest markets among out-of-area investors today. This follows a 15.6 percent lift in Perth’s median house price to $691,100 in 2023 – the highest capital gain of any capital city – along with an 8.2 percent increase in regional house values to a median $477,690 – the third highest gain among Australia’s regions, according to CoreLogic figures.
“WA and Perth have caught the eye of Eastern States investors,” said Joe White, president of the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA). “They’re drawn by the value our market offers. Despite increases over the past few years, our property prices are much more affordable than the east coast and we’ve had significant rent price growth. This means properties have the potential for very good yields.”
Total returns including capital growth and rent on investment houses reached a staggering 20.8 percent in Perth last year, and 14.5 percent in regional areas, according to CoreLogic data.
BNW Developments has established a Sydney presence, joining Arada and Sobha Realty among the growing number of UAE developers pursuing Australian buyers and development opportunities.
Australian shares fell on Thursday as Wall Street weakness, rising oil and persistent rate concerns weighed on most of the market. The S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.72 per cent to 8,702. The All Ordinaries lost 0.66 per cent to finish at 8,897. Mining stocks were hit particularly hard, while real estate also dragged on the index. …
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A vibrant 1954 Palm Springs home featuring eight colorful murals by late artist Shawn Savage is on the market for $2.295 million. The 2,237-square-foot property features bold hot-pink doors, three bedrooms, a pool, mountain views and playful interiors blending modern glamour with classic Palm Springs style.
3 min
A bold 1950s home in Palm Springs, California, adorned with eight colorful murals by the late artist Shawn Savage, is coming to market ahead of the city’s annual Modernism Week.
The white stucco home on El Camino Way, built in 1954 and recently renovated, has an asking price of $2.295 million. Its staggered facade features three playfully abstract murals on either side of double-height hot pink doors.
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The sellers are Los Angeles-based partners John Freeman and Mathieu Faure, who knew it was “the one” when they saw it after several months of searching in the winter of 2023. “It’s a happy house,” Freeman said. “We really liked the feel of the house: the uniqueness, the openness, the brightness—and the art.”
Located in the Mesa neighborhood of Palm Springs, which backs up to the San Jacinto Mountains, the 2,237-square-foot house features three bedrooms, an angled bonus room and a yard with a pool, desert mountain views and another colorful mural running alongside the pool.
“I never thought in my life I would have a house with pink doors,” said Faure, a producer at Apple TV who is originally from Paris. “It’s so colorful, it’s so different. And so Palm Springs.”
The layout of the home creates a smooth flow from the front doors through the open-plan common area—a foyer, bar, and living and dining room—into the kitchen around a fireplace wall and out to the yard. A corridor leads to a private bedroom wing, where the primary suite has floor-to-ceiling windows and the primary bath is only a tad smaller than the bedroom.
Faure has filled the home with Jonathan Adler furniture, rugs and accessories, riffing on the energetic California vibes of the house to create an aesthetic of “modern American glamour,” he said.
“It was enjoyable for me to play with different types of furniture and make this house ‘happy chic,’ as I describe it,” he said.
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“He did a fantastic job,” said Freeman, who is an attorney and consultant. “It does kind of bring a smile to my face whenever I walk into the house.”
Since the furniture and decor were chosen for the particularities of the space, the couple is open to selling them with the home. Their West Hollywood house is already furnished; the collection doesn’t match the vibes of a Houston loft they bought near family; and Faure can’t imagine these pieces in New York—where he’s lived in the past—he said.
The duo bought the Palm Springs house for $1.925 million in 2024, according to property records, and will list the home Monday. They are represented by Stewart Smith, Patrick Jordan and Kevin Stanley of Bennion Deville Homes/Luxury Portfolio International.
The previous owners had purchased the home in 2021 for $975,000 and then spent more than two years and $700,000 on the renovation, according to Realtor.com. They commissioned Savage, a local Palm Springs artist and painter known for his joyful abstract work, to decorate the home.
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Savage, who died in 2024, lived in the Coachella Valley from 2003, and his work can be found in various local institutions and is on exhibit at the Illumine Gallery in Palm Springs. “Some artists pass through a place. Shawn Savage became a part of it,” the gallery’s description states.
Unsurprisingly, the murals invite lots of friendly conversations, as well as guided tours and interested lookers, but never to a degree that it disturbed the peacefulness of their home or the neighborhood, the sellers said. “It felt like living in an art gallery, and you have the exterior that you would share with the world,” Faure explained.
The neighborhood also played a role in their decision to buy, because of its access to the hiking trails of the San Jacinto Mountains, the lack of through-roads and the neighborly environment.
“It’s a very friendly place,” Faure said.
Porsche has revealed a one-off 911 GT2 RS that brings the extraordinary silhouette of its 935/78 “Moby Dick” racing car onto the road. Created by Porsche Sonderwunsch with Manthey, the commission began with a near-new GT2 RS. The owner requested greater performance, a Slantnose profile and a rear wing influenced by the limited 911 GT3 …
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A 30-metre masterpiece unveiled in Monaco brings Lamborghini’s supercar drama to the high seas, powered by 7,600 horsepower and unmistakable Italian design.
