Australian Investors Pivot from Property to Diversified Assets

Australian investors are diversifying their portfolios to reduce a traditional reliance on residential property. This shift follows reforms by the Parliament of Australia to negative gearing and capital-gains tax concessions, which, alongside higher borrowing costs, have slowed residential property price growth.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicates that household wealth reached a record 19.2 trillion dollars in the March quarter of 2026. Of that total, nearly 13 trillion dollars remained concentrated in residential property, a level of concentration significantly higher than in other developed economies such as the United States.

Economic pressure and an aging population have further accelerated the trend, as younger generations find it increasingly difficult to acquire multiple investment properties. This transition toward diversified assets is evidenced by record inflows into index-based equity-income ETFs, which saw 309 million dollars in June.