Childless couples are driving a turnaround in the property market, but baby boomers still housing children aren't buying as much, a new study has found. A survey commissioned by mortgage provider Wizard Home Loans found the number of people who intend to invest in real estate in the next year rose by three per cent in the three months to December, 2005, to 583,000. In the September quarter, the rise was just one per cent. Wizard Home Loans chairman Mark Bouris said the research pointed to a long-awaited turnaround in the investment property market. Mr Bouris said couples with no children were leading the march, with 32,000 more people in that group planning to buy property in the next 12 months. "More than half of this group are over 40 years old and have years of savings to invest," Mr Bouris said. "Now with improving market conditions, they're once again choosing to invest in property for their retirement." But baby boomers whose children were still living at home were finding it increasingly difficult to invest, he said. Potential buyers in this category fell to 77,000 in the three months to December from a peak of 142,000 just over a year earlier. "Whether supporting their kids means they can't downsize their property to free up some cash, or their available savings are being eroded, the impact on their retirement plans may be severe," he said. Overall, South Australia and Northern Territory showed the greatest increase in the number of potential investors, with a 29 per cent pick-up in numbers to 66,000. In second place was NSW and the ACT, where property investment intentions rose 15 per cent to 217,000. A total of 6,000 people were questioned for the survey, which was conducted by market research company Nielsen Media Research. Source:AAP