Sam Saggers

Investing is a lot about you and your ideals. You’re going to need to sort out your finances and determine what kind of properties to look into, but first and foremost you’re also going to have to choose a location to invest in.

In Australia, property investors are quick to jump at the big two markets: Sydney and Melbourne. It makes sense, that’s where most of the urban population live so demand is clearly there.

Sydney and Melbourne are global cities meaning they are overrun by people and struggle to keep up with infrastructure and change. They have no room to grow.

As our economy becomes more decentralised, we’re starting to see real estate investors become smarter with where they choose to buy.

Rather than seeking out areas of population growth – savvy investors know to look for neighbourhoods where knowledge is a big source of growth.

Knowledge areas are populated by smart businesses, smart governments and above all, smart people. These are people who are skilled, and generally come with money to spend which in turn results in a strong local economy.

During the first quarter of any new year, it’s a good time to look back, reflect and see what we learned in the previous 12 months that can help us keep moving forward. As property investors there was a lot to take away from 2020.
The impact of COVID-19 on the economy, falling interest rates, a drop in foreign investment and a stall in new-build construction all collided to make 2020 one of the most challenging years in real estate we’ve seen in decades.
But with every challenge, comes opportunity. Taking what we learned and saw in 2020 and making it work for us this year (and into 2022!) is what makes smart investors successful portfolio profiteers.
Let’s look back and see what we can learn from last year to propel our goals and outcomes that much faster in 2021.