The NAB Residential Property Survey 3Q 2023 has found that the overall market share of first home buyers (FHBs) in new housing markets dropped to a "near eight-year low" of 30.3 per cent in the third quarter from 35.9 per cent in the 2Q23. The overall number of FHB in new housing markets is now tracking "well-below" the survey average of 38.5 per cent, according to NAB.

At the same time Lending activity from investors drove housing lending growth in September, the ABS has found. According to the latest Lending Indicators data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the value of new investor loan commitments for housing rose 2 per cent to $9 billion in September 2023, up 2.6 per cent on the same period last year. ABS head of finance statistics Mish Tan said total growth in investor loans has exceeded owner-occupier loans as the value of new housing loan commitments has trended upwards since February 2023. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) economist Stephen Wu said investor lending activity has driven up the value of new housing loan commitments since the beginning of the year. "The upturn in investor lending has coincided with the rebound in property prices since February," Mr Wu said. "Dwelling prices have increased by 8.9 per cent since their February trough. Trend investor lending has increased by 13 per cent over the same period.

Interest from overseas property seekers surged as migration had returned to pre-pandemic levels, PropTrack has reported. The PropTrack Overseas Search Report in October revealed that searches from abroad had continued to increase since the last report in July, with buy searches up by 11.5% in the past three months and rent searches up by 7.8%. Karen Dellow, PropTrack senior data analyst, said both buy and rent enquiries have surpassed pre-pandemic levels and are expected to keep increasing due to the resurgence of migration to previous levels. A quarter of overseas buy and rent searches originated from New Zealand, with interest from this neighbouring nation steadily growing each month. Rent searches from across the Tasman have surged by 38% compared to last year, while buy searches have also increased by 7%. Interest from China took a hit in 2020, plunging 53% in the year up to September 2020. However, searches for properties to purchase in March jumped and have now bounced back to pre-pandemic levels. Rental searches from China tell a similar story, with volumes nearly doubling compared to the levels observed prior to the pandemic. "This increase is primarily driven by the return of students and migrant workers to our shores," Dellow said.