Residential property investors are taking a bigger share of the property market this year compared to 2024, but are paying less for the properties they are buying.
The latest Property Pulse report from property data company Cotality says mortgaged investors accounted for 23.5% of residential property purchases so far this year, up from 22.0% last year but still well below the 27.1% market share they enjoyed back in 2015.
Around the main centres they are the most active in Hamilton where they have a 28.5% market share so far this year, and least active in Tauranga with a 20.6% market share - see the table below for the full main centre figures.
Wellington is the only main centre where investors' market share so far this year has declined compared to last year.
Investors are also making a strong showing in several regional centres where prices tend to be lower, including Gisborne with a market share of 30%, up from 23% last year, followed by Rotorua 28%, Invercargill 27% and Hastings 25%.
While investors have mostly been increasing their share of the market this year, they are paying less for the properties they are buying.
The median price paid by mortgaged investors so far this year is $759,000, down from $770,000 (-1.4%) last year.
At the national level they tend to prefer stand alone houses to multi-unit developments, with stand alone properties making up exactly two thirds of the properties purchased by investors this year, according to the Cotality report.
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Investors' Share of Residential Property Purchases in the Main Centres
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