Investing to Maximise Your Returns
Thank you once again for taking the time to read what I have to say! As always I have a lot to share but am typically struggling for the time and the right moment to put it all into written form.
We are already well into 2007 and as this is our first newsletter for the year I trust you had some sort of enjoyable break over Christmas and the New Year and are now well and truly back into the swing of things.
So let’s get straight into it…
New Website Launches
A couple of days ago my web developers switched my website over to its exciting new and improved platform, showing off a new, more refined look and feel, as well as some greatly enhanced functionality.
The big plus for me is the launch of my online shop, making product and workshop ticket purchases a breeze, both for you, and for Jocelyn and me in the office.
We’re still working on it, but we have a “clients-only” area under development which will offer previous workshop attendees and product purchasers access to a range of resources and data that others won’t see. Stand by for more information about that coming soon!
If you like what you see, or you can think of further improvement in what you see online, please drop me a line. I’m always keen to improve how we do things and I warmly welcome your feedback and suggestions.
Amazing Movements in the
National Property Market
“Property Issues” are being reported on a lot more as we get into 2007. Property markets and related issues continue to get the headlines, and for good reason. Here’s my spin, for your information…
As you will recall, we went to Western Australia some time ago; in particular, an under-valued growth/transition location, namely Geraldton. That was now 3 and a half years ago, and the rest — as they say — is history!
We are now looking at property values in Perth and other urban areas in Western Australia that are the consequence of amazing and sustained growth rates that have not anywhere near been matched in other States. Market forces will now apply to the good locations in the Eastern States, to bring them up to a level that is closer to the new “benchmark” set in Western Australia.
Here’s a stunning example: In the Perth suburb of Wembley (near Subiaco), a small three-bedroom house I visited had recently sold for $820,000. It was rented for $370 per week! Compared to a similar home in a comparable suburb of Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane, it was valued at least 40 per cent higher. Amazing stuff!
We’ve concluded that we cannot buy that house — or similar — or do a development there, as the land content is now simply too prohibitive. We’re therefore looking to identify the next location somewhere in Australia that is set to experience major growth…
Investing to Maximise Your Returns
It is universally agreed that well located residential property is a great investment. How can investors maximise their opportunities in today’s market?
Investors have, for a long time, found tried and true properties in and around capital cities. Capital growth in these locations statistically doubles in value in a seven-to-10 year period. Thus, investors who want their properties to grow at a faster rate need to take account of locations where demand way outstrips supply and where capital growth is prominent.
In a recent article in the Australian newspaper Bernard Salt, well known Australian demographer, pointed to ‘regional locations on the east coast – particularly between Bundaberg and Townsville in Queensland – where the jobs growth and money is at the moment. These areas are being driven by the masses of wealth concentrated in the mining communities’. The article predicted strong growth in towns such as Yeppoon and Bowen, in Central Queensland, and Esperance in southern Western Australia as the resources sector continues to surge. Your own due diligence as an investor is essential, if you are to profit from opportunities available in the market today. It is no good saying I should have invested in Western Australia three years ago. Rather you need to look for the next potential massive growth location.
Other than finding the right growth location, investors can help to maximise their property portfolios by doing the following:
- Creating the correct structures to protect their existing assets.
- Learning how to access the tax benefits they are legally entitled to.
- Seeking out and learning from mentors who have invested successfully themselves.
- Accessing the best funding for their investment.
- Buying investment property from a reputable source. We have all been made more aware of ‘rip offs’ that have occurred and still occur in the market place. It is in the buying of a property that we make our potential profit, so make sure you don’t pay inflated prices. Take responsibility for the due diligence on the Real Estate Agent, the developer, the marketers, even the investor clubs who all offer property at over inflated prices. The purchaser often still pays commissions of five per cent or more and it is not unheard of to find commissions of up to $40,000 being added to the purchase of a $300,000 property. Overpaying for an investment property can put you behind the eight ball from day one and it may take several years to make up the over inflated price, leaving you unable to access equity to re invest.
- Confirm the value of your proposed investment property. The lenders valuer is the best person to assess the true value of your property.
- Rental income is an important element, make sure your property is going to appeal to the market, and that there is an ongoing demand for it.
- The property cycle can help the investor to find properties poised for accelerated growth. A great time to buy is at the end of a property slump and the beginning of an upturn. Now three years after the down turn at the end of 2003 in the eastern states of Australia. Melbourne and Brisbane are showing signs of recovery. There are a number of potential growth areas that will significantly outperform the market over the next five years. You need to have a balanced property investment portfolio, with some properties in more traditionally consistent growth locations, and some in the regional growth locations where demand way outstrips supply.
Buying investment property is not a short-term investment strategy; properties need to be held for at least five years. After that period you will be in a position to know whether to retain the property or not. Advanced property investors end up with a portfolio of properties they will never sell. In fact, they eventually plan for them to transfer to their children who in turn can benefit from the future income and equity growth.
Click here for the PDF version.
FREE Property Investment Seminars
To help investors make more educated and informed investment decisions, we are running a very limited number of free investment seminars. These seminars will give you the opportunity to delve into the specific details of our own development projects, to closely assess their value as an opportunity for your own investment, and to discuss your concerns and questions with me personally.
Click here to view the introductory leaflet for our first FREE Melbourne event…
Click here to register your interest in attending this Monday night’s FREE presentation.
Alternatively call us to find out more on 03 9893 4757.
Click ‘Forward‘ in you email viewing program to send this information to a friend.
Click here to receive notifications of future presentations both in Melbourne and Interstate.
Introductory Property Development Workshops
We are again running our introductory property development workshops this year. Our first for 2007 was in Sydney just last weekend, and was very well attended. I am constantly amazed at the calibre, commitment and enthusiasm of those who have attended our past workshops, evidenced both on the day and in subsequence months as they put their new-found learning into action.
Click here for the dates of our next Property Development Workshops and to register online…
I am convinced the best way to share this energy with you is via testimonials and case studies, which we’re presently collecting and sorting through.
Stand by for more soon…
— Peter Comben, Property Developer