Investment Opportunities Tighten

Competition for investment properties is tipped to intensify, with predictions that new development supply will remain lower than historic levels until at least 2030.

CBRE’s Pacific Real Estate Market Outlook 2026 says new development supply is forecast to remain 20% to 50% percent below historical levels for the rest of the decade.

Head of Pacific Research Sameer Chopra says with reduced property choice, the alternatives for investors and renters are increasingly limited. As a result, competition for existing assets is expected to intensify.

Chopra says the best opportunities for investors is to buy premium assets that will outperform on both rent and capital growth or buy existing assets, as the costs of construction are high and rents could take up to a decade to catch up.

He tips apartments on the Gold Coast and Perth, as likely to outperform as well as premium assets close to emerging infrastructure.

The report predicts that the future supply of apartments is likely to hover around 60,000 per year between 2026 and 2030, which is below demand for about 75,000 to 85,000 per year.

It expects median rents to grow by $180 per week (24%) between 2025 and 2030.