The latest PIPA Annual Investor Sentiment Survey suggests growing caution among the property investors surveyed, with buying intentions falling as higher holding costs, tighter cash flow and tax changes reshape investment decisions.
But there’s another side to those numbers and they tell an interesting story about the growing divide between financially constrained investors and those who remain well positioned to act now.
The investor opportunity gap is growing
The 2026 PIPA Annual Investor Sentiment Survey provides an interesting snapshot of investor attitudes following significant changes to Australia’s property investment landscape. The online survey, conducted in August 2026, captured the views of 626 respondents sourced from PIPA and PICA’s property investor databases, as well as member and non-member client databases.
While the findings provide valuable insight into the experiences and intentions of those surveyed, they should not be interpreted as representing every Australian property investor. As PIPA Chair Cate Bakos explains, the latest survey suggests some respondents who previously indicated they would reconsider investing if the Federal Government’s tax reforms became law are now following through on those intentions.
For financially prepared investors with a long-term strategy, fewer active buyers can potentially mean less competition. At the same time, investment properties moving from investors to owner-occupiers can further constrain rental supply in markets already experiencing tight vacancy rates.
The opportunity isn’t simply to buy because others aren’t. It’s to be in a financial position to act selectively when the right opportunity appears.
That’s where research, portfolio planning, borrowing capacity and maintaining appropriate financial buffers become increasingly important.
Investors under pressure vs strategic investors
Among PIPA’s survey respondents, 18.3% sold at least one investment property in the year to August 2026, the third consecutive annual increase recorded by the survey.
Some 62.3% of respondents reported being negatively cash-flowed, compared with 56% in the previous year’s survey.
Buying intentions have also weakened.
Only 27.8% of respondents said they planned to purchase another investment property. Interestingly, just 7.6% believed now was a good time to sell, compared with 36% in the previous year’s survey.
When asked how the negative gearing and CGT reforms had affected their investment intentions, 21% said they were unlikely to buy unless the reforms were reversed, 12% had paused their plans, 10% had cancelled buying plans altogether and 13% said they were less likely to buy.
Only around 3% said the reforms made them more likely to buy opportunistically.
For financially prepared investors, however, reduced participation by some buyers may create a different set of opportunities.
When some investors lose either the capacity or confidence to participate in buying more property, it opens the door for those who have deliberately protected their borrowing capacity, maintained appropriate financial buffers and retained the capacity to invest. These investors may find themselves in a stronger position to act selectively for the remainder of 2026.
Market uncertainty doesn’t remove opportunity – it increases the importance of being prepared to recognise it.
What does this mean for strategic investors?
Investing may feel harder in 2026, and that’s precisely why good advice and careful portfolio planning have become increasingly important.
At inSynergy, this means looking at the portfolio as a whole – how existing properties are performing, where future growth may come from, how debt is structured and where the next acquisition could strengthen rather than simply add to the portfolio.
While market conditions and policy settings change, the fundamentals we assess remain critical – including location, housing supply and demand, rental yields, vacancy rates, affordability, infrastructure investment and future growth drivers.
After all, Australia isn’t one property market.
Different cities and regions are experiencing very different conditions, which makes identifying markets with the right combination of affordability, rental demand, constrained supply and long-term economic fundamentals increasingly important.
For strategic investors, this reinforces the value of looking beyond familiar markets and assessing opportunities nationally. The strongest opportunity may not necessarily be in the city where you live, but in the market where the underlying fundamentals best support the next stage of your portfolio.
What could investor selling mean for rental supply?
The PIPA findings also raise an interesting question about Australia’s already constrained rental market.
Of the survey respondents who sold at least one investment property, 51.6% sold at least one property to an owner-occupier, while a further 12.4% sold to a first-home buyer. These properties consequently moved out of the rental pool.
PIPA also found that 9.7% of respondents had already withdrawn one or more properties from the long-term rental market, while 82% expected the reforms to reduce rental supply in their local area.
Crucially, that 82% figure reflects respondents’ expectations rather than an observed reduction in rental supply.
If investor participation and rental supply continue to decline, this could add further pressure in markets already experiencing significant housing undersupply.
Other factors influencing the rental market include:
- low vacancy rates across many Australian markets;
- constrained dwelling supply and challenges bringing new developments to market; and
- continued population growth, migration and household formation.
The interaction between these factors is important. A shortage of rental properties doesn’t automatically make every property a good investment. Property quality, purchase price, future supply, rental depth, affordability and long-term demand all need to be considered.
Property and Professionalism
One of the strongest messages from the PIPA survey was respondents’ support for greater professionalism in property investment advice.
Among those surveyed:
- 96.1% believe providers of property investment advice should have formal training or education;
- 77% said PIPA membership and adherence to a code of conduct would positively influence their decision to work with a property investment professional; and
- 66% said a Qualified Property Investment Adviser (QPIA) qualification would influence their choice of adviser.
As property investment becomes more complex, informed advice becomes increasingly valuable.
At inSynergy, our QPIA Property Wealth Professionals work collaboratively with clients to consider the whole picture – portfolio structure, finance, cash flow, financial buffers, market research and property selection – helping them make informed decisions with confidence.
The takeaway
The PIPA survey shouldn’t be interpreted as saying that all Australian investors are retreating from property.
Rather, it provides a snapshot of 626 property investors at a particular point in time, and their responses suggest that higher costs, tighter cash flow and changing policy settings are influencing the decisions of a significant proportion of that group.
For financially prepared investors, there is another side to that story.
Maintaining borrowing capacity, appropriate financial buffers and a clear portfolio strategy can provide something increasingly valuable in a changing market: choice.
Choice about when to invest. Choice about which markets to consider, and the ability to assess opportunities based on their fundamentals rather than being driven by short-term sentiment or financial pressure.
As the investment landscape becomes more complex, being prepared may prove to be one of an investor’s greatest advantages.
- Read the full results of the PIPA Annual Investor Sentiment Survey here
- Read the PIPA media release here.
Review Your Portfolio Strategy
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Speak with the team at inSynergy Property Wealth Advisory.
