“Whenever property is in the news, be it good or bad, people search for more information on it and find the chat group. After an article on helping first-time investors a couple of years ago we had 1000 people sign up in one day.” Investors were highly critical of the Government’s tax policy changes and the NZ Property Investor Federation estimated that the cost of providing a $600,000 rental property will increase by around $6000 a year. But while concerns over Government changes could be a contributor, the ongoing growth of the chat group’s membership showed how many people were either investors or interested in investing, Fowler said.