There’s a new ‘L’ word when it comes to the property market. Location has long been considered one of the most important factors in deciding where to buy your primary residence and investment properties. Now, many experts are tipping that lifestyle factors could be key to identifying where the best place to invest in property is. Read on to find out why lifestyle is trumping location.
Look for Income Growth
Areas where the population are earning above average wages are likely to experience significant growth in their property value. It is important to identify these areas as the wages start to rise – if you wait until a high proportion of the population are on the better money, the real estate price tags may have already risen.
Keep An Eye On Where New Display Homes Are Being Built
Construction companies don’t invest money in building a display home if they don’t think they’re going to make their money back in that area. Sign up to find out about upcoming house and land packages from builders like Coral Homes who are established in multiple areas other than your home town. You can inspect the workmanship on a property in your area and expand your investment portfolio in another town or even interstate.
Look for Fringe Suburbs
Often some of the savviest investments are in the suburbs surrounding the trendy hotspots in a town or city rather than in those locations themselves. You can save up to $100,000 on the purchase price just by choosing the suburb next door. Demand is still as high to live in that area, because people get the benefits – i.e. proximity to the CBD, major shopping centre, restaurant strip or other drawcards – without having to pay the high price tag. Over a number of years, house prices in the neighbouring areas will steadily climb as the supply (or affordability) diminishes in the more popular postcode.
Follow the Big Projects
There is often a spike in housing demand in areas where large infrastructure projects are underway as a number of people will move to the region for work. These investments need to be managed carefully – you need to get in and out at the right time, or make sure that the property will continue to perform well as a rental on the general market after the project finishes. In some mining towns, people who bought at the cusp of the boom later had to suffer extended (and expensive) vacancies or had to sell at a loss when production finished and the mine closed down.
While it can be very profitable to identify where the next boom will be, there are a number of factors that impact how much of a good investment each home is, so make sure that you do your due diligence. Thorough research and consideration are essential to ensure that the investment property you’re thinking about is right for you.
What do you look for in an investment property?
