REIWA President Suzanne Brown today said supply was the key to a fair and balanced rental market, not constantly targeting investors.
"Investors play an important role in supply at two levels," Ms Brown said.
"Firstly, they do the heavy lifting when it comes to rental supply. In WA they provide over 86 per cent of rental properties. Without investor participation, there is no rental market.
"When enough investors leave the market, the supply of available rentals falls, vacancy rates decline and rent prices rise.
"This is not speculation, it is fact. The WA property market has already felt the effects of a mass exodus of investors.
"Our market has not fully recovered from that loss, with estimated supply remaining 1.6 per cent below the peak recorded in early 2021. WA has recorded strong population growth since then. We need to exceed that peak, not just match it. We certainly don't want to see it decline again.
"The key to that is ensuring we have a legislative environment that supports investment.
"Secondly, investors play a significant role in boosting new supply, which benefits everyone over time. This adds to rental supply and to the pool of overall supply.
"According to ABS data, in 2025, investors made up nearly 40 per cent of loans for the construction of new dwellings. It is in areas where investors have bought house-and-land packages that we have seen the greatest percentage increase in rental supply."
Ms Brown said investors were facing a triple threat and many were considering their options.
"Interest rates are rising again, it is extremely likely there will be changes to taxation policy settings at the Federal level, and there are growing demands for changes to no grounds terminations in WA," she said.
"Our members are seeing an increasing number of enquiries from investors considering selling. With strong demand in WA and significant price growth over the past five years, it is an opportune time for them to do so. This will be detrimental for the rental market and for renters.
"There will always be people who need to rent – they may not be able to afford to buy, they may not want to buy at that point in their lives – until that changes, and until governments find another way to provide enough rental properties, we need investors.
"Policy reforms have a real market impact, and need to be based on market evidence. In a delicately balanced market, these reforms will do more harm than good and ultimately hurt renters through fewer options and higher rent prices."
