In New Zealand’s long and storied romance with the property market, the “mum and dad” investor has always been a central character.

With equity ready to draw on, they’ve traditionally accounted for between a third and half of all residential sales – driving a flow of bank credit, but also a steady rise in house prices.

In 2026, however, there are strong signs these market movers are sticking to the sidelines, or getting out of the game altogether.

A recent survey of 200 mum-and-dad landlords by independent economist Tony Alexander points to a sharp shift in sentiment, with a record number (38%) planning to sell and relatively few (12%) seeking to buy.

The latest Cotality data suggests they’re still somewhat active in the market – investors with mortgages were behind a quarter of national sales in the first quarter of the year – but not at the levels seen in the past.

At the same time, various pressures have been changing the economics of property investment.

Those 200 surveyed investors singled out concerns about higher running costs, rising council rates, ongoing challenges in securing reliable tenants and economic uncertainty over the Iran war.

That uncertainty is further illustrated by new figures showing sellers have been slashing asking prices by tens of thousands of dollars, with some still trying to offload........

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