As someone wise once said, ‘buy in gloom, and sell in boom’.

Savvy property investors in Australia remembered this adage, knowing that long term capital growth is the prize. Not being overly excited by good or bad news in the moment, is key to not be knocked off course.

A year ago, in August 2020, with some parts of Australia having some sense of control with the pandemic, and others less so, most property investors were upbeat.

Indeed, the annual Property Investment Professionals of Australia (PIPA) survey may have foreshadowed the property boom that was to follow.

Looking back now, we can see that mid-2020 may have been the ‘bottom’ of the market, with smart investors seeing it as a good time to get into the market.

The annual survey is on again, billed as the “most comprehensive snapshot of the nation’s property investor community”.

Highlights from 2020

• 67% said it was a good time to invest (down from 82% in 2019)
• 8% applied for mortgage payment pause
• 22% looked at regional markets (up from 19%)
• 12% looked at coastal markets (up from 8%)
• 17% were considering moving, mainly (78%) for lifestyle factors
• 98% of investors had an investment plan
• 77% said falling prices would not put them off investing
• 74% would buy a house as an investment
• 44% were actively looking to buy an investment property in next 12 months
• 45% said Covid made it more likely they would invest
• 18% said the economy was the greatest concern, 9% said the coronavirus

“While there is no doubt that 2020 was one of the toughest in living memory for everyone around the globe, property investors remained resilient in the face of the unprecedented uncertainty that we were all experiencing.”

Peter Koulizos, PIPA Chairman

“Indeed, about 67% of investors believed that it was a good time to invest in residential property in August last year, according to the survey results.”

Last year, some 77% of investors said any concerns about potential falling house prices wouldn’t cause them to put their investment plans on hold, the survey found.

Mr Koulizos said about 44% of investors indicated they were looking to purchase a property in the next six to 12 months in last year’s survey.

“Plus, about 71% of investors said that the pandemic had made it less likely they would sell a property over the next year, which was another factor that helped to underpin property prices,” he said.

The latest CoreLogic data shows strong property price growth across the nation over the past year, with housing values 14.1% higher over the first seven months of the year and 16.1% higher over the past 12 months.

Charlie Gunningham, The Property Tribune, 17 August 2021
https://thepropertytribune.com.au/property-investment/2020-investor-survey-foreshadowed-boom-that-followed/