The 2015 Australian Property Investor Survey of prospective property investors, produced by MRD Partners, has revealed the locations in which Australian investors are most likely to purchase next.

The state that has emerged as the new hotspot is Queensland, with 50.26% of respondents opting for it ahead of the next most-popular choices, Western Australia (13.61%), Victoria (12.56%) and New South Wales (12.04%).

In terms of timing, the survey found that 51.69% of respondents were planning to acquire an investment property within the next 12 months. Some 86% of those questioned already owned at least one investment property.

Nick Lockhart, managing director of MRD Partners, said that southeast Queensland was an area that was most due for an upturn in its property cycle. “Investors know all markets go through a property cycle,” he says, “where there is typically a boom, followed by a flat market and some price correction before it lifts again. Brisbane is the only capital not to have experienced a substantial lift since the GFC [Global Financial Crisis].

“The Brisbane market has moved from recovery to growth but has not yet entered what we could call a ‘boom’ market, so there is plenty of opportunity for people to get in now and buy before that growth comes.”

Brisbane aerial photo