The 2026 PIPA Annual Investor Sentiment Survey records the highest rate of investor selling in its recent history. The survey shows where pressure is building on people who own rental property. Read as a signal of when to buy or sell, it misleads, and that misreading is how sound portfolios are sold at the wrong time.
As Vice Chairman of the Property Investment Professionals of Australia, which runs the survey, I read the results closely each year. The twelfth survey drew responses from 626 investors in August and was released on the 11th of September 2026 (PIPA). What follows separates what the figures show from what they are often taken to mean.
Holding costs are now the main reason investors sell
Of the investors who sold, 37% cited higher holding and compliance costs and 30% cited land tax or other government charges. Only 14.4% said they sold to reduce debt, compared with 41.7% a year earlier. The motive has moved from caution about borrowing to the cost of keeping a property.
The cash flow figures explain why. Almost two in three investors now hold a portfolio that costs more to run than it earns, more than double the share in 2022. Over 40% reported cost increases of between 11% and 20% in the year, while most passed on 10% or less through higher rents. For many owners the question is how long they can carry the property comfortably, and the answer has shortened.
Sales are reducing the supply of rental housing
When investors sell, the property often leaves the rental market. Owner-occupiers bought 51.6% of the properties sold by respondents, up from 37% a year earlier, and another investor bought 42.3%. A further 9.7% of investors have withdrawn at least one property from long-term rental. SQM Research measured a national vacancy rate of 1.4% in September, so each property that leaves the pool is removed from a market already short of rentals. The guide to the 2026 rental reforms covers the state rules adding to those holding costs.
The tax reform is now law
In the 2025 survey, the risk of federal reform was the concern investors named most often, and 53% said they would stop investing if negative gearing changed. That concern is no longer hypothetical. The Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026 received Royal Assent on the 26th of June 2026. From the 1st of July 2027, net rental losses on established residential property bought after 7:30pm AEST on the 12th of May 2026 can no longer be deducted against salary and other income, and indexation of the cost base replaces the 50% capital gains discount for individuals and trusts. Property held before Budget night keeps the existing negative gearing treatment, and new dwellings are treated differently. The definition of a new dwelling is still being settled.
The survey shows how strongly the change has registered. Of the investors with no plans to buy again, 63% said the reforms influenced that decision, and 82% expect the reforms to reduce rental supply in their area. Those expectations are understandable. The figures also show how far an announcement can move behaviour before anyone has worked through how the rules apply to their own holdings.
Why sentiment is a poor guide to timing
Sentiment reflects recent prices and recent headlines. It is usually most negative after values have already fallen and most positive after they have already risen, so acting on it tends to mean acting late. National dwelling values are 5.2% below their March peak (Cotality, September 2026), while advertised rents are 7.6% higher than a year ago. The survey describes how investors feel about those conditions. It cannot say what a particular property, held for ten or more years, will do.
The fall in buying intentions has a practical consequence. With 27.8% of investors planning to buy, compared with 41% last year, a buyer whose finance, structure and strategy are settled faces less competition and has more time for due diligence. That is an observation about conditions, and no one can say where values will go next. The sensible response is to prepare, and to buy only when a property fits the strategy.
Questions for investors who already hold property
A decision to sell made because others are selling often costs more than it saves. Selling crystallises any capital gain, ends the holding of an asset that may be grandfathered under the old rules, and buying back into the market later carries stamp duty and other costs. Advisors across our network are speaking with investors who were close to listing a sound property in response to the headlines rather than to their own figures.
For each property, write down three figures: the annual holding cost after tax at a cash rate half a percentage point higher, the proceeds after tax and costs if it is sold this year, and the cost of buying a comparable asset in two years. If selling still makes sense after that comparison, the decision rests on your own numbers.
Your accountant should confirm how the 2027 rules apply to each property you hold and to your ownership structure. A property portfolio review tests each existing asset against the new settings before anything is sold or added.
Questions for investors considering a purchase
The same discipline applies in the other direction. Confirm your borrowing capacity with a mortgage broker at today's rate and the lender buffer, model the holding cost on a cash flow basis rather than relying on a tax refund, and ask your accountant how the new rules treat a new or established property in your circumstances. The four tests in is late 2026 a good time to buy an investment property set this out in more detail. If the preparation has stalled, breaking the costly do-nothing cycle explains how to turn it into a decision.
Checking the standard of advice
The survey found that 96.1% of investors believe anyone providing property investment advice should hold formal training, and 66% said a QPIA qualification would influence their choice of advisor. Property investment advice is not specifically regulated in Australia, so these checks fall to the investor. Ask whether the advisor holds the QPIA qualification and PIPA membership, and ask for every fee and referral payment in writing before any work begins. The professional standards ASPIRE Accredited Advisors follow are published on this site for that reason.
Test the survey against your own position
An ASPIRE Accredited Advisor can review your holdings and holding costs against the 2027 settings with you, so that a decision to hold, sell or buy is made on your own figures.
General information only, current at the 29th of October 2026. It does not take account of your objectives, financial situation or needs. Property investment involves risk, and past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Survey figures: PIPA 2026 Annual Investor Sentiment Survey (626 respondents, August 2026) and the PIPA 2025 survey. Market data: Cotality Home Value Index and SQM Research, September 2026. Tax settings are summarised from the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026. Confirm how they apply to you with your accountant, your finance with a mortgage broker and any contract with a solicitor or conveyancer.