The must-have factor your property needs to be successful!
More than ever before, property investors need to take into account the environment in which they buy and how that will affect the long-term success of their investment.
One of these factors is called The Third Place, and it’s crucial you get this right when purchasing your next piece of real estate.
The concept of The Third Place was originally coined in the late ‘80s and means an area of community or social interaction close to your home.
In terms of property, you can look at it like this:
- The first place is your house or apartment.
- The second place is your balcony or garden/courtyard.
- The third place is where you socialise or interact with the community.
While the third place has always been important, the impacts of COVID-19 – primarily people spending much more time working and socialising close to home – could mean it’s the most important aspect to consider when purchasing an investment property.
Global predictions estimate that up to 40 per cent of the workforce will be working from home by the year 2025. People are going to start to live by the ‘work, live, play’ rule of not being more than 20 minutes away from anything they want to do.
Long commutes to sprawling areas that are far away from culture, infrastructure, employment opportunities and social drawcards, will no longer be appealing.
Small cities will serve all of our purposes and The Third Place will be the primary attraction for living in a property, maybe more so than bedroom count or garden size.
So, what does an ideal Third Place need to make a property more attractive, and of a higher value?
SOCIAL DRAWCARDS
Expensive Uber rides are out, walking is in, even on a night out. It’s important your third place has entertainment options. Bustling coffee shops and cafes during the day. Maybe a small cinema or bowling alley for the kids. Great restaurants and cocktail bars for the evenings.
A FOCUS ON WELLBEING
Despite being something we’ve always done, walking is now its own buzzword and so is accessibility to green space, bush or beaches. Any of those will make your Third Place very attractive. Open space also makes people feel more relaxed, less stressed and better able to escape the confines of their homes easily. If you’re working from home you don’t want to spend an hour in the car to see some trees and get a bit of fresh air.
CONVENIENCE AND ACCESSIBILITY
Access to healthcare, retail, education and employment has always been important, but now we want it close by.
While it might be tough to find an investment property that has all of these attributes on the doorstep, each one adds significant value, both in property price, and potential rental yield.
Remember that when you’re buying a house or an apartment, you’re also buying The Third Place -the lifestyle that the person living there will get to experience.
LEARN MORE
Sign up for one of our free property investing seminars and learn exactly what constitutes a good investment property.
Book your spot now and find out what you need to know about the current market landscape and how you can make it work for the ultimate wealth creation opportunities.
Sam Saggers
Co Founder Positive Real Estate
