I did own 2 properties within 10km of Brisbane, sold 1 a month ago in all the frenzy that happened here after Christmas - people afraid of missing the boat as prices rose 20% in one year. You talk about rents increasing and investors buying as rents go up... What I can't understand is how anyone who buys an investment property now can jusify it based on such low yields. The rental increases you are expecting (based on fundamentals seem to make sense) will have to be quite significant to justify the negative gearing, especially as holding costs/interest rates may not have peaked yet. If prices at best just level out a bit investors who bought recently will start to find it hard to justify holding unless they are committed to a long term hold I am choosing to rent for a while for about 40% of the weekly cost of owning the house I'm renting!! If rent were to double I'd still be better off renting! Something has to give. Rents to go up as you say and house prices come down perhaps? What's been happening is not sustainable particularly if the economic cycle turns
