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Investor loans for the construction of new housing have risen to record levels in the aftermath of the Albanese government’s major changes to tax settings for investors.
Aussie property investors notched a record number of loans for the construction of new dwellings in the June quarter.
Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows an unprecedented 8468 investors signed up to build a new home in the June quarter, 454 more than the previous record set in the previous three months.
It also came with a record of almost $5.994bn in loan value being borrowed for the builds, more than $1.32bn above the same time a year ago.
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The figures are completely against the grain of the wider investor pool around the country, with a 5000 loan plunge.
It follows Albanese government changes to property investor tax settings that now mean the only way to access negative gearing is to build a new residence, while a 50 per cent discount for capital gains tax is also now tied to boosting housing supply.
However, industry figures released after June have suggested new builds are now going backwards, and the pipeline will get worse.
Yesterday, Housing Industry Association stats showed a 3.7 per cent decline in new home sales in July — the third straight month of declines.
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However they are still up 17.1 per cent compared to a year ago.
HIA senior economist Tom Devitt said recent figures showed a broader decline in new home sales over the past three months, including two months beyond the ABS data, the expectation was that new home building would continue to fall away this year.
Towards the end of the year, when HIA are expecting the established housing market’s values to resume climbing, the boost in confidence is expected to begin leading new land sales up.
While it was hard to isolate if investors were a major factor in the latest new home sales trajectory, Mr Devitt said investors pulling back “would be a factor”.
The economist added that despite strong fundamentals to get more homes built in the future, government interventions would risk eroding the nation’s housing future.
Government interventions could risk the nation’s ability to reach housing targets.
“The goal of building 1.2 million homes will become increasingly unachievable if governments continue to restrict who can build, invest in, or finance new homes,” Mr Devitt said.
“Policies that add uncertainty, reduce investor participation, or constrain finance will only make it harder to deliver the homes Australians need.”
Loan Market chief executive and executive chairman Sam White said the ABS figures would include investors who had decided to make a move after the federal budget in May.
But while their numbers appeared to have risen, Mr White noted that had already been the trend in May.
“That June quarter would have reflected a lot of activity that was put in prior to the May budget,” Mr White said.
Loan Market applications data shows that the share of investors out of all their loans for new builds had peaked in May or June, depending on which state you were in.
Share of Investors Building New Homes
| Period | NSW | QLD | SA | VIC | National |
| July 2025 | 4.00% | 4.33% | 3.24% | 7.85% | 5.14% |
| March 2026 | 4.41% | 3.83% | 4.51% | 9.12% | 5.78% |
| April 2026 | 4.87% | 4.52% | 5.78% | 8.31% | 6.24% |
| May 2026 | 4.81% | 5.42% | 7.27% | 11.23% | 7.13% |
| June 2026 | 5.76% | 4.78% | 7.80% | 10.18% | 7.38% |
| July 2026 | 4.31% | 4.60% | 7.02% | 8.25% | 6.01% |
Mr White said this was likely a reflection of other buyers pulling back in response to rate cuts and investors being more resilient in that space — even as they pulled back from established loans.
Across the country, Loan Market recorded a 24 per cent drop in wider investor loan applications.
“Based on the budget, some of the investors are continuing and they want the tax benefits (from building new),” Mr White said.
“But what we have seen since the budget has been a lot of people saying they would like to wait.”
He added that the expectation was that investors would account for an increasing share of new build lending ahead — despite signs that their share of loan applications through the firm had retreated in July in most states.
Loan Market chief executive Sam White believes the share of investors behind new build loans could as much as double in the coming years.
“That figure will become much more interesting in the future,” he said.
“I think it will keep increasing as a share of the new build market.
“I would be surprised if we are not seeing double the numbers than what we are seeing today.”
The top spots investors were looking for loans to build new homes were currently still house and land postcodes, according to Loan Market data.
“But it’s also a map of where tenants will be more focused … as this is where more investors will be buying in the future,” he said.
However, Mr White said it was possible that the prospect of investors achieving better tax concessions in established suburbs by bulldozing and replacing existing homes with dual occupancy residences could start to shift that in the future.
“We will start to see more contract builds in established areas,” he said.
“I definitely think a lot of people will be looking at buying and knocking down and building a duplex.
“That will happen as a consequence of these changes, but I don’t know how much.”
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