The Australian property industry, including billionaires Harry Triguboff and Frank Lowy and development groups, has overwhelmingly supported the Coalition and other conservative groups, with a total of $6,512,572 in political donations pouring into their pockets in the past financial year.

Labor and progressive outfit GetUp fared much worse, according to a new analysis of Australian Electoral Commission donations data for 2018-19, which includes the lead-up to the last federal election in May. These groups attracted only $823,902 over the same period, which is just more than an eighth of their opponents’ haul.

The Coalition received $6,371,572, with $141,000 going to the conservative “anti-GetUp” Advance Australia, Cory Bernadi’s Australian Conservatives, Australian Christians and the Christian Democratic Party.

The lion’s share of the progressive donations went to Labor, with just $20,700 going to GetUp from a single individual, Karen Loblay, who used to head her family’s property business Loblay Group. No property-linked entities appear to have donated to the Greens.

Sugolena, owned by property tycoon Isaac Wakil, donated a staggering $4,162,448 to the Liberals and the Liberal National Party in Queensland. Mr Wakil himself donated $32,073 to the NSW Liberals.

Meriton Properties, owned by outspoken billionaire Harry Triguboff, donated $270,000 to the Liberals and a more modest $60,000 to Labor.

Billionaire John Gandel’s Gandel Group, the part-owner of Chadstone shopping centre, gave $259,000 to the Liberals, and $40,000 to Labor.

Labor’s biggest property-linked donor was the Star Entertainment Group, which owns casinos and was in the process of developing Queen’s Wharf in Queensland. It gave $126,704 to Labor and $114,703 to the Coalition.

The next biggest donor to Labor was LFG Services, a private vehicle of the Lowy family, the founders of the Westfield shopping empire. They gave Labor $100,000 but made a more substantial donation of $150,000 to the Coalition.

Nepalese billionaire and sometimes developer Shesh Gale donated $33,000 to the Liberals, with some cash coming through the Melbourne Institute of Technology.

Michael Hintze was another billionaire benefactor, dropping $35,000 on the Liberals. He has some of his fortune tied up in Australian agricultural land.

Domain economist Trent Wiltshire said it was of little surprise the Coalition was the favourite of property players because proposed changes to negative gearing and the capital gains tax became a bogeyman for the sector.

“The property industry was concerned with Labor’s negative gearing and capital gains tax policies and their impact on the property market,” he said. “Labor’s policies were aimed at pushing prices down, which might have slowed investment activity.”

Mr Wiltshire said this fear might have been misplaced because the changes would have favoured new homes, which some analysts suggested could have boosted the construction industry.

But he conceded old ideological differences could explain the discrepancy.

“The property and construction industry may have historically donated to the coalition due to their opposition to unions,” said Mr Wiltshire.