New search data suggests a small but persistent share of first-home buyers are considering investment pathways to access the housing market, particularly in higher priced markets.
For decades, the traditional pathway into homeownership has been relatively straightforward - save a deposit, buy a home to live in, and gradually trade up over time. But as housing affordability pressures have worsened to historic low levels, first-home buyer behaviour appears to be adapting.
New analysis of realestate.com.au search and enquiry activity suggests a share of first-home buyers are also signalling investment intent, consistent with rentvesting strategies.
While rentvesting remains a minority strategy, and the majority of first-home buyer search activity remains owner-occupier focused, the pattern of search behaviour aligns closely with ABS housing finance data and offers insight into how some first home buyers are navigating market conditions.
Measuring rentvesting intent
Using search and enquiry signals on realestate.com.au, first-home buyers were identified based on their declared intent when submitting property enquiries. Within that cohort, we measured how many also signalled investment intent over the same period. Allowing us to answer, of first-home buyers active in the market, what share appear to be considering investment?
Over the latest 12 month period to the end of January 2026, around 7% of first-home buyers searching in Greater Sydney also signalled investment intent. The share was lower in Melbourne (3.7%) and higher in regional Queensland (6.4%) and Brisbane (5.9%), likely reflecting affordability pressures and deposit hurdles.
Importantly, the geography reflects the location of properties being searched; the destination market rather than where buyers themselves reside.
While rentvesting intent is most pronounced in higher priced markets such as Sydney, elevated shares in some regional areas and in Adelaide and Perth suggest a broader dynamic at play.
In more expensive capital city markets, rentvesting is often a response to affordability constraints where buyers seek access to property while continuing to rent where they live.
Watsons Bay a Harbour side suburb in the Eastern Suburb's of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
In Adelaide and Perth and regional WA and SA, however, relatively higher shares of rentvesting intent may instead reflect stronger rental returns and yield focused behaviour or investor style market dynamics, where the behaviour may be about opportunity.
How this compares with lending data
Search behaviour captures intent, but this may not always translate into real outcomes.
Australian Bureau of Statistics housing finance data provides a benchmark that shows that nationally, around 5.4% of first-home buyer loan commitments are classified as investor purpose in the 12 months to December 2025, with further state breakdowns, while the search and enquiry data on realestate.com.au imply an incredibly similar 5.5% share also signalling investment intent in the corresponding period.
Aerial view of established Adelaide north-eastern suburb with hills and CBD in distance, looking south down Galway Ave with 6-way roundabout (traffic circle) in the foreground. Broadview, looking towards Collinswood, Walkerville.
According to the latest ABS new lending data, NSW shows the highest share of first-home buyer investor loans, while search and enquiry signals on realestate.com.au can further localise showing Sydney search behaviour shows the highest rentvesting intent share (7%) within NSW.
Encouragingly, the investor purpose first-home buyer lending data from the ABS closely mirrors the search based rentvesting intent data. Victoria records lower shares across both datasets and markets that record higher investor purpose first-home buyer lending also show higher rentvesting intent shares in search activity. The alignment between behavioural signals and realised lending outcomes strengthens confidence that the search data is capturing a genuine pattern.
Why rentvesting is more prevalent in higher priced markets
At first glance, it may seem counterintuitive that rentvesting intent is highest in Sydney, the most expensive housing market - wouldn’t first-home buyers target cheaper regions?
But in practice rentvesting is not simply about buying where property is cheap. It is typically a response to affordability constraints in the location where buyers wish to live.
Aerial view of suburban neighborhood with solar panels on roofs and a swimming pool surrounded by lush green trees and houses
In high-cost cities, deposit hurdles are larger, price-to-income ratios tend to be higher and purchasing a preferred home may be out of reach.
Rentvesting allows buyers to gain exposure to the property market potentially in a smaller or different location, while continuing to rent in their preferred location.
A minority strategy but a persistent one
Rentvesting remains a minority pathway. The vast majority of first-home buyers still signal owner occupier intent only and the ABS lending data confirm this in the final realised purchase decisions.
However, the presence of a consistent just-over-5% cohort nationally and a higher share in more expensive markets suggests rentvesting is an established secondary strategy.
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Still, from a structural perspective, this reflects behavioural adaptation rather than a shift in tenure preferences – as affordability constraints grow, flexibility in tenure and purchase intent increases.
Over the past 12 months, around one in fifteen first-home buyers searching in Australia’s largest most expensive market have also signalled investment intent.
Rentvesting is not replacing traditional first homeownership but it is increasingly part of a toolkit buyers may be using to navigate affordability pressures or capitalise on the opportunity investment in property may provide.
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