Property investors' concerns about rising interest rates and recession have slightly backed off

The Crockers Tony Alexander Investor Insight for January shows 23 percent of 274 respondents are thinking of buying a residential property over the next 12 months - up from 18 percent in December.

For the first time since June a net positive proportion of investors say it's easy to find good tenants.

Independent economist Tony Alexander says investors aren't as concerned about prices falling as they were in December when the Reserve Bank warned of recession.

He says when central banks issue these strong warnings the greatest negative impact is right away - then it calms.