Business · Economy · 5 hrs ago
Investor home loans fall by a record 31% in Australia
New loans to Australian property investors fell by about 31% in Australia from June to September, the biggest quarterly drop on record.
Overall home lending fell by about 15%, while loans to people buying homes to live in fell less sharply than investor loans.
The figures come as house prices have fallen from their March peak and the Reserve Bank has raised interest rates five times this year.
In May, the federal government announced plans to limit negative gearing to new homes and change the capital gains tax concession from July 1 next year.
The Reserve Bank governor said tax changes appeared to be reducing investor demand, alongside higher borrowing costs and expectations of lower prices.
The government says the changes are intended to help homebuyers, while the opposition says they are damaging the market and has pledged to repeal them if it wins government.
Investor lending may remain under pressure, and Australia’s biggest lender has also reported that a higher share of its borrowers are behind on mortgage repayments.
Investor home loans fell 30.6 per cent in the three months to September, the biggest recorded drop, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures.
Overall new home loans fell 15.5 per cent in the quarter, while loans to first-home buyers fell 8.6 per cent.
The federal government’s planned changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax have been blamed for worsening the decline in investor lending.
The government says the figures show a shift towards people buying homes to live in, while the opposition says the tax changes are hurting the property market.
Five Reserve Bank rate hikes and falling property prices have also contributed to weaker lending.
- Who
- Property investors, homebuyers and the federal government are affected.
- What
- Investor home loans fell 30.6 per cent in the three months to September, a record decline.
- When
- In the three months to September 2026. The figures were released on November 11, 2026.
- Where
- Australia; investor lending also fell sharply in several states, including NSW, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia.
- Why
- Sources cite planned tax changes, higher interest rates and weaker property prices. The government says the changes are intended to shift support towards owner-occupiers.
Federal government
Liberal opposition
Tax changes
Federal government
Housing Minister Clare O’Neil says the figures show a shift from investors towards Australians buying homes to live in.
Liberal opposition
Andrew Bragg says the government’s tax policies are hurting the property market and should be repealed.
Market impact
Federal government
The government has framed the changes as a way to advantage homebuyers over investors.
Liberal opposition
Bragg argues that no one benefits from the new taxes.
The federal budget announced plans to limit negative gearing to new builds and change the capital gains tax concession.
The Reserve Bank began lifting interest rates, and national property prices began a decline that was in its seventh consecutive month by November.
Investor loans fell 30.6 per cent and overall new home loans fell 15.5 per cent.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics figures were released.
- Investor loans
- Down 30.6 per cent in the three months to September
- Investor loans over 12 months
- Down 38.6 per cent
- Overall new home loans
- Down 15.5 per cent in the quarter
- First-home buyer loans
- Down 8.6 per cent in the quarter
- NSW investor loans for existing homes
- Fell by almost 50 per cent in the quarter
- Planned tax changes
- Negative gearing limits and a return to an inflation-adjusted capital gains tax basis are due to take effect July 1 next year
3 sources
What people are saying
suggests that there's something else going here, and the something else going on is the tax changes
These numbers show the balance is shifting back towards Australians who are buying a home to live in, and especially to our first home buyers.
No one wins from the new taxes, not first homeowners, not owners, not renters and not investors. Time for them to be repealed.
likely to remain a structural drag