The latest lending data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows, despite a monthly fall of 1.8 per cent, national housing investor lending was up 55.8 per cent for the 12 months to February 2022.

In the ACT, the value of new investor loan commitments was $238 million for the month of February 2022, compared to $175 million in February 2021.

While the ABS data shows where investors themselves are located, it doesn't indicate where the investment properties are.

Data released by mortgage broker aggregator Loan Market, commissioned by Ray White, breaks down loans from their customers based on where their investment properties are located.

The volume of lending to Loan Market customers for Canberra investment properties reached approximately $160 million in the 12 months to March 2022, compared to approximately $40 million the year prior.

Canberra saw the fifth highest growth in investment value, according to the Loan Market data, following Darwin and the regional areas of Tasmania, Western Australia and South Australia.

Ray White chief economist Nerida Conisbee said it was no surprise Canberra was high up on the list. She said growth in property values and rental prices has made Canberra an attractive market for investors.

"The main driver of what's creating this growth isn't likely to end soon," she said.

"It's been a lot about jobs growth and population growth and, at this point, it does look like that will continue, hence the strong growth in investor interest."

The median price for a rental property in Canberra is currently $674 per week, according to CoreLogic.

Meanwhile Canberra's vacancy rate was most recently reported as 0.9 per cent for the December 2021 quarter, according to the Real Estate Institute of Australia.

Ms Consibee said given the supply constraints in the rental market, strong investor activity is welcome.

"When we start to see rental levels going up at that rate, it's also good that investors are being attracted to Canberra," she said.

"Rental [price] growth is problematic for younger people, problematic for people on lower incomes and also it does restrict the growth of the economy.

"We know that people, when they move to a city, rent before they buy so if they do get a job within Canberra but they can't get accommodation it does restrict them from moving to the city."

Nitish Kumar from Loan Market Horizon, based in Canberra, said many of his client are second-time buyers who are reaping the rewards of capital gains.

"What we've seen is a lot of young couples who bought their first home [three to five years ago] now buying an investment property because they don't have to physically put down a deposit they can just use the equity in their property. That's been a big shift," he said.

While the ACT government's plan to phase out stamp duty has yet to impact investors, Mr Kumar said ACT investors are eligible to claim stamp duty as an immediate tax deduction (due to the leasehold structure), which is another enticing factor.

Despite talks of a looming interest rate rise, both Mr Kumar and Ms Conisbee say investors are yet to be deterred.

"We are continuing to see a rise in investor lending even though there has been a lot of talk about interest rate rises. So, you know, at this point it does look like investors are still pretty okay with what's happening and still pretty confident that they can withstand higher interest rates," Ms Conisbee said.

"I don't think we'll see a slow down in the investor market. [However] I think we will see a bit more of a shift for investors towards apartments rather than houses," Mr Kumar said.

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