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Suppose you’ve got $2 million to invest in property. What would your approach be? Spend it all on one house? Or split it across a couple? Have you ever considered how price point can impact a property’s performance? One House or Many? Each approach has distinct pros and cons.

In our previous article, we described the current window of opportunity for investors, particularly within markets like Brisbane.   Among other things, our theory of continued momentum is built upon the ongoing supply-demand imbalance, coupled with the apparent market resilience displayed during the current rate hike cycle. With expectations that interest rates will soften by late 2024, the market seems poised for an imminent bump in prices – making now a seemingly excellent time to buy.   But, looking closely at Brisbane, what indicators are there of growth beyond the next few years?

As we edge ever closer to the new year, Australian property just might be shaping up for an impressive surge in late 2024. To understand why 2024 will be such an important year for property, read on: Demographic Drive It’s been shaping the property narrative for some months now, and Australia's burgeoning population will remain the cornerstone of the property’s price ascension. The Demography group, Informed Decision, estimates that by 2041, Australia’s population will burgeon by 7.4 million, mandating the construction of two million additional homes.

As of most recent mid-2022 figures, it was reported that Australia has “the third-highest house price-to-income ratio in the world” up at 8.5. Back in June 2001 this figure was just 4.5. In Tasmania, an average wage is currently enough to afford just 5% of homes, the lowest percentage of any state, though it isn’t a whole lot better elsewhere. According to a recent PropTrack report, even a six-figure income is enough to afford just 13% of homes, while a household income of $64,000 a year is enough for only 3%. Current forecasts indicate that these figures will continue to deteriorate.

Everyone knows the old adage, “crime doesn’t pay”. But is it true for the property? And how much attention should property investors pay to crime rates? You might expect that fewer people want to live somewhere with a high crime rate, meaning high crime causes the property market to suffer. But this isn’t always the full story. A large body of academic research indicates an obvious causal relationship between property prices and crime, and some similar results have been identified here in Australia.

This is the ASX’s “30 Day Interbank Cash Rate Futures Implied Yield Curve”, and, as well as having an egregious word salad of a name, it can be a pretty useful tool for understanding what the RBA is likely to do with interest rates. How? Well, the key concept at play here is in the title – “futures”. Futures are a clever type of financial contract that can help to hedge against risk. To explain, let’s take a quick example: Imagine you're a farmer who grows apples. For a variety of reasons (say, new competitors, weather, anything really) you’re worried that when it's time to sell your apples in a few months, it looks like prices are going to be lower than normal, and you’re heading straight for a loss.

In an earlier article, we explored some of the ways in which government spending can have a positive effect upon local economies, and real estate markets. Using HMAS Stirling in Perth as a sort of case study, we also threw out a few ideas for how defence spending may be unique compared to other forms of government stimulus. Overall, local government spending is typically a positive sign for a property market – simple. But before you begin to anticipate growth in every region where a government is throwing money around, it’s vital to understand a few exceptions to the rule and be aware of how it can sometimes go wrong.

Statistics reveal that many investors never venture beyond their initial property acquisition, despite their lofty ambitions. While some deliberately choose to maintain a single property as a means of supplementing their income with minimal financial risk, the majority of investors find that achieving their goals necessitates a more expansive approach.   In this article, we delve into the reasons why we believe it's worth thinking big and expanding your portfolio. We also provide valuable insights on growing your property investments and avoiding the pitfalls of relying solely on a single property.

Over the next decade, the Australian government will have sunk $8 billion into expanding Perth’s HMAS Stirling – already the largest naval base in the country. Estimates predict that the plan will create around 3000 new jobs and provide a significant economic boost to both local industry and the rest of the state. Except for some outlying cases, it is generally true that government investment is a positive thing. When a government starts pouring money into their economy, many of the important numbers (things like GDP, unemployment, exchange rates, etc) begin to move in a positive direction.