Property Investment, Success & Money | The Michael Yardney Podcast

A common property investing rule-of-thumb is that you should “buy property and never sell”. That’s because property prices always trend higher over time which means you benefit from compounding capital growth.  Of course, the rule-of-thumb should be adjusted to include “buy quality property and never sell” to ensure you maximize investment returns. But the reality is, that sometimes the smartest thing to do is to sell a property, even if it is a quality asset if it helps you move forward towards achieving your goals. So, in today’s show, I chat with independent financial adviser Stuart Wemyss and discuss how to decide if your investment property is a dud and you should sell it, or even if your property is performing well what are the common scenarios where we would recommend you sell your property. Links and Resources: Michael Yardney Stuart Wemyss – Prosolution Private Clients Stuart’s Books – Rules of the Lending Game & Investopoly Get the team at Metropole to help build your personal Strategic Property Plan Click here and have a chat with us Get you a bundle of free eBooks and reports www.PodcastBonus.com.au Shownotes plus more here: Should you ever sell a property? Here are 4 times the answer may be yes with Stuart Weymss

As our population grows, and it surely will, this will place an increasing demand on our infrastructure and maybe we won't be able to keep up. Of course, it’s much more than just being stuck in the traffic or wedged in overcrowded public transport just to get where you need to get to, according to my guest today, Ross Elliot.  So, whether you’re a property investor wanting to understand how future development and infrastructure are going to influence demand for housing or you’re a business owner needing to understand what's ahead, I'm sure at the end of today's show you'll have more clarity from the insights Ross Elliot is going to share. Links and Resources: Michael Yardney Ross Elliott – subscribe to Ross’ blog – The Pulse Read Ross Elliott’s blogs on Property Update here Get the team at Metropole to help build your personal Strategic Property Plan Click here and have a chat with us Get your bundle of free eBooks and reports at www.PodcastBonus.com.au Shownotes plus more here: Can we trust the powers that be with the looming infrastructure shortage? With Ross Elliot  

If you’re a property investor, today’s episode is a must.  Why? Because the taxman is after you – you and all property investors.  It’s not long until tax time and the Australian Taxation Office is already preparing its so-called “hit list” of priority areas due for a crackdown in the 2021-22 financial year. Property owners, crypto investors, and those working in the gig economy will be front of mind for the tax office plus a number of other areas, so today Ken Raiss and I are going to look at this hit list in the hope that you’ll be able to avoid a nasty surprise at tax time. What the taxman is looking for? Repairs vs. maintenance Interest expenses Property divestments Personal expenses including holiday homes Renting part of your home Double claims for interest expenses Incorrect Apportioning of rental income Weak claims for new rental properties Substantiation of expenses - receipts Links and Resources: Michael Yardney Ken Raiss- Director Metropole Wealth Advisory Get Ken Raiss to build you a Strategic Wealth Plan Get the team at Metropole to help build your personal Strategic Property Plan Click here and have a chat with us Get your bundle of eBooks and Reports at www.PodcastBonus.com.au Shownotes plus more here: Attention property investors, the tax man is after you. Here’s what he’s looking for, with Ken Raiss  

In this episode, Brett Warren discusses three questions with us, during this month's Q&A Day.  These questions are:  Why invest in affluent areas rather than cheaper more affordable areas? What will rising interest rates do to our rental markets? How do you stay positive when there’s so much negative news in the media now? Links and Resources: Michael Yardney Brett Warren – National Director Metropole Property Strategists Get the team at Metropole to help build your personal Strategic Property Plan Click here and have a chat with us Get a bundle of eBooks and reports = www.PodcastBonus.com.au Shownotes plus more here: Q&A Day – Why not invest in affordable properties, rising rates and rents PLUS more, with Brett Warren    

The Reserve Bank thought it had time on its hands and could be patient in lifting interest rates. However, evidence of strong inflation caught the RBA by surprise and it has raised its forecasts for inflation and cut its forecasts for economic growth and unemployment. The RBA forecasts that the economy will expand by 3.5 per cent over the year to June 2022, before picking up to a 4.25 per cent annual growth rate in December 2022. Underlying inflation is expected to exceed the top of the 2-3 per cent target band through to December 2023. Links and Resources: Michael Yardney Get the team at Metropole to help build your personal Strategic Property Plan Click here and have a chat with us Dr. Andrew Wilson, Chief Economist My Housing Market Subscribe to our weekly Property Insiders videos – www.PropertyInsiders.info Get your bundle of eBooks and reports at www.PodcastBonus.com.au Shownotes plus more here: The RBA forecasts what’s ahead – and it has flip-flopped, with Dr Andrew Wilson  

What are the big influences in our property market today? The main one is one you probably haven’t thought about. We often talk about price growth and supply and demand and the economy, but the one I’m going to share with you today may change the way you think about buying your next investment. So hopefully, at the end of today’s show, you’ll have some clarity on the big influences and what we at Metropole research when we help make our recommendations. Is this the most significant factor driving our property markets? What is the little secret behind whopping price growth? It’s not the economy, even though that’s important. It’s not supply and demand, even though that plays a role. It’s not infrastructure spending, availability of finance, or population growth either. Although all of these things are important and undoubtedly impact our real estate markets, the truth is there is one major factor that drives property values more than anything else. And that factor is homeowners or as we sometimes call them – Owner Occupiers. Fact is: they own close to 70 percent of all the properties in Australia and therefore dominate our market and without them, it simply falls over. So, it’s interesting that while owner-occupiers are one of the most significant influences on property, they are commonly overlooked. Here’s a relatively current snapshot of the national property market according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and CoreLogic: There are 10.7 million residential dwellings Australia-wide with a total value of $9.8 Trillion Spread across around 15,000 suburbs An additional 130,000 to 160,000 new dwellings are added every year The total debt against these dwellings is $2 Trillion (giving an overall Loan to Value Ratio for residential property of just over 20%) Residential real estate makes up 55.6% of Australian household wealth Investors own around 27% of Australian dwellings by number, and 24% by value. There are more than 2 million individual property investors in Australia Each property investor in Australia owns an average of 1.28 properties This is why I always give the following advice to investors who are searching for a strong property performer: Buy the type of property that will appeal to owner-occupiers. Owning a property with an element of scarcity that is located close to amenities, jobs, transport, lifestyle features and cultural, social aspects like cafés, bars, and arts precincts will always attract home buyers. But these are features that appeal to tenants, too. In general, the more established suburbs with better infrastructure, shopping, and amenities tend to be close to the CBD and the water and that’s where the wealthy want to and can afford to live, and they’re prepared to pay a premium to live there. The rich do not like to commute. Overall, by focussing your research on what those often-overlooked owner-occupiers are doing, you may just find an investment that outperforms the market and delivers strong value and growth over the long term. The 7 biggest influencers of our property markets Regardless of the economy, cycle, or market conditions, property is always a hot topic of conversation. The reality is that the property market isn’t an independent economy sector. Rather, it’s inextricably linked to a myriad of other financial, social, and political factors, all of which impact what your family home, or your next investment property, might be worth. So, what are these factors? Household formation This oft-overlooked factor is actually more important than overall population growth because what increases the demand for housing isn’t the number of people living in a city (or country), but the number of dwellings needed to accommodate them. Demographics It's likely that now that we're moving into a Covid normal life our borders will open meaning more and more people will want to come and live in the safety of Australia. The population growth corridors of our cities tend to be poor capital growth locations. At the same time these locations tend to be where new families and migrants move, and this demographic, which tends to have a little spare cash left at the end of the month, are areas where there is little ability to push up the value of properties – these are not high wage-earning areas. Affordability Investors should avoid blue-collar areas or young family suburbs and seek out suburbs where wages growth is higher than the state averages. These are locations where people can afford to and will be prepared to, pay a premium to live. These are often the gentrifying middle ring suburbs of our capital cities. Credit policy Over the past few years, we’ve seen the significant impact changes in credit policy can have on our property markets. The fact is people simply can’t buy properties if they can’t access the cash. And while interest rates are unlikely to rise in the next little while, APRA is likely to interfere to try and slow down our property markets. National wealth, wage growth, and job creation Artificial intelligence experts have estimated that anywhere from 20 to 40 percent of all jobs could be taken over by robots in the future, meaning there will be fewer employment opportunities for unskilled workers or those who perform repetitive tasks. This means we will have fewer people doing more productive work. All of this could impact buyers’ abilities to save deposits, secure finance, and pay mortgages, and in turn, influence house prices. Supply of dwellings As I’ve already explained, increasing the supply of dwellings is going to be paramount as our population increases. But people won’t buy a house and land package 40km from the CBD if they can’t get to work, or if local schools, shops, and medical facilities are lacking. Consumer confidence Regardless of how readily available credit is, or how fast the population is actually growing, people’s perception of these things is just as important. Buying property is an emotion-heavy process, and buyers – both owner-occupiers and investors – often let their heartstrings pull them in directions their heads might not. Links and Resources: Michael Yardney Get the team at Metropole to help build your personal Strategic Property Plan Click here and have a chat with us Get a heap of eBooks and reports here: -  www.PodcastBonus.com.au Shownotes plus more here: What are the big influences in our property market today? Some of our favourite quotes from the show: “While investors look at all types of drivers of capital growth, they often forget that it’s owner-occupiers who primarily drive our property markets forward.” – Michael Yardney “The research that we do is looking at where more household formation is going to occur.” – Michael Yardney “Currently, the media is full of negative headlines scaring off potential buyers.” – Michael Yardney PLEASE LEAVE US A REVIEW Reviews are hugely important to me because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes - it's your way of passing the message forward to others and saying thank you to me. Here's how

Australia’s economy and our property markets don’t operate in isolation, and Inflation is occurring all around the world, so that’s why each month I take time out to have a look at the big picture, the macroeconomic factors affecting not just Australia’s economy, but the world economy, to help us understand what’s ahead for us, and I record these Big Picture Podcasts with Pete Wargent once a month. Will inflation send interest rates sky-high?  Australia's inflation rate has predictably increased sharply again over the March quarter to the highest level reported since the introduction of the GST impacted prices back in 2000. So, what does this mean for interest rates, property markets, and their economy in general? Inflation We really must start the discussion today with the high inflation number - headline CPI increased 2.1% over the last quarter giving us an annual rise of 5.1%. This came in to be higher than what most market commentators expected. The primary driver of the inflation outbreak was related to increases in the price of fuel and housebuilding costs. Supply constraints are struggling to match demand from Covid stimulus policies The Ukraine war raised the price of oil to record levels in the March quarter Is it time for a rate rise? Interest rates will start to go up because of the inflation rise. It's not surprising that some commentators are looking back at the 1970s and 1980s when the Reserve Bank used interest rates to stop rising inflation which eventually led to a recession in the early 1980s and then again in the early 1990s. Interest rate hikes should be considered and gradual, the Reserve Bank has learned from the past. Interest rates will need to rise to keep Australia’s dollar stable Inflation is a feature, not a bug. It’s there by design and it’s useful for those who own assets This is what will reduce the fall in house prices While it is well known that falling interest rates stimulate our housing market and push property prices up, and in time cash rate hikes have a negative impact on housing prices, that does not mean that cash rate hikes always cause a fall in housing prices. Strong employment and wage growth outlook will cushion the fall in house prices. Indebted households have very high savings levels which will limit the possibility of mortgage stress. Stronger regulation has reduced financial stability risk. A small percentage point increase in rates will have a relatively stronger impact on interest payments than when the cash rate started higher. Residential property borrowers have squirreled away a record $232 billion in offset accounts in the past 12 months The property boom is cooling down House price growth across the combined capital cities is 10 times slower this quarter compared to last, suggesting the property boom is on the cool down. Despite a slowing market, combined capital median house prices are at a new record high of $1.07 million. Units across the combined capital cities declined (1%) for the first time since June 2020, recording a median price of $616,942. Regional Australia is outperforming the cities for house price growth as the regional median house price increased by 3.1% over the last quarter and 20.8% annually. House prices in Melbourne and Canberra fell 0.7% and 0.9% from last quarter's record high. This is the first quarterly fall since the June 2020 quarter for Melbourne and the March 2020 quarter for Canberra. Perth has achieved a new record high house price for the first time since 2014. Brisbane and Adelaide are the only cities to have record-high unit prices, while Sydney, Melbourne, and Hobart units fall from the record high achieved in the previous quarter. This is the first time unit prices have declined in Sydney and Melbourne since mid-2020. Environmental risks are higher on the property market agenda. Have you ever considered climate change in the context of your property investments? Bush fires and floods have been very significant events in Australia over the last few years, and while the recent floods in Queensland and New South Wales were labeled a once-in-a-century event, I remember the Brisbane floods of 2011 very well. Climate experts have suggested that severe weather events may occur more frequently in the future. Moving forward, some areas may cost a lot more to insure. Others may be uninsurable. 3.5% of dwellings in Australia could be exposed to an elevated risk of climate-related events, and by the end of the century, that could increase to 8%. You have to consider these things, especially in high-risk areas. Links and Resources: Michael Yardney Metropole’s Strategic Property Plan – to help both beginning and experienced investors Get a bundle of free reports and eBooks – www.PodcastBonus.com.au Pete Wargent’s new Podcast Shownotes plus more here: The Big Picture – economic and property trends you must understand with Pete Wargent Some of our favourite quotes from the show: “Everyone knows that the cost has gone up. It’s not just the petrol, even though that’s come down a bit, but the cost of everything.” – Michael Yardney “In the past when interest rates went up, they went up too much too fast – easy to say in retrospect.” –Michael Yardney “Even though we’re borrowing more, overall, Australian’s households are in very good condition.” –Michael Yardney PLEASE LEAVE US A REVIEW Reviews are hugely important to me because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes - it's your way of passing the message forward to others and saying thank you to me. Here's how

If you were asked to list the top global news stories of the last year, off the top of your head, what would they be? Chances are you’d come up with some combination of COVID-19, lockdowns, economic woes, political conflict, floods, and other natural disasters, and maybe Free Britney thrown in for good measure. What’s probably missing from your list is any good news, which seems pretty strange. Even in the midst of a global pandemic, surely a few positive things happened over the last year. So today I chat with Mark Creedon and we’ll show you the world is not such a bad place to live in. Good News In 2021 It’s not hard to find bad news in the media, and it’s been said our brains are hardwired to look for the negatives. Today we’re going to share some positive news stories you might have missed to brighten your outlook for the future. Now we could start off with the fact that the average Australian is wealthier than ever before and that over the last two years of the pandemic, the value of many homes has increased by at least 20% and in many cases 30%. And we could talk about the fact that anybody who wants a job can get a job in Australia. And we could of course talk about how while, unfortunately, some businesses are still suffering many businesses doing really well and will get to these at the end. But let’s start with some big-picture good news stories. Let’s kick off with by far the biggest good news story of the year: the COVID-19 vaccines.  This is by far the most successful global health initiative ever undertaken. In less than two years not only did we come up with a way to overcome a brand new disease but rolled it out to more than half of humanity. Lots of good news on cancer this year. The American Cancer Society said there was a 2.4% decline between 2017 to 2018 — the largest one-year drop ever — and that between 1991 and 2018, cancer mortality has fallen by 31%. A lot of that is down to less smoking. The latest data on AIDS revealed there were1.5 million new HIV infections last year, a decline of 30% since 2010, and the lowest total number since 1990. 4. Stroke is the second-leading cause of death worldwide, and the third-leading cause of death and disability combined. New research released in September this year revealed that quietly and largely uncelebrated, we’ve made amazing progress, with the age-standardized number of cases decreasing by 17%, and deaths by 36% in the last two decades. Life expectancy has improved around the globe. Today most people in the world can expect to live as long as those in the very richest countries in 1950. The United Nations estimates a global average life expectancy of 72.6 years for 2019 – the global average today is higher than in any country back in 1950. According to the UN estimates the country with the best health in 1950 was Norway with a life expectancy of 72.3 years. Life expectancy in Australia continues to rise, with a baby boy expected to live to 81.2 years and a girl to 85.3 years, according to the latest figures released from the Australian Bureau of Statistics Worldwide, democracy appears to be under threat, but remember — bad news travels, good news doesn’t. When Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country, produces the planet’s most effective democratically elected leader — Joko Widodo — almost no one hears the story. Some of Australia’s most beautiful natural sites, including the Daintree, the oldest tropical rainforest in the world, were returned to their traditional owners this year. A significant majority of people in wealthy countries now believe that having people of different ethnic, religious, and racial backgrounds improves society. In India, millions of people have gained access to clean water in the last two years. About 11.2 million, or 38% of all households in disease-vulnerable regions now have access to clean water, up from 2.9% in 2019. Look how many electric cars are being sold: 10% of global vehicle sales are now electric. More than a third of new German cars sold are now plugins, while in the world’s largest car market EV sales have reached nearly 20%. In October 2021, the Tesla Model 3 was the bestselling car in Europe - not the bestselling electric vehicle — the bestselling car, overall The average Australian is wealthier than ever It’s been suggested there is a war chest of $230 Billion in household savings Many homeowners have 30% more equity in their homes than they had 2 years ago Aussie super funds and shares portfolios are performing well Overall the total residential property market is worth close to $10 trillion and there is only $2 trillion worth of loans owing against all residential real estate. Links and Resources: Get the team at Metropole to help build your personal Strategic Property Plan Click here and have a chat with us Why not join Metropole’s Business Accelerator Mastermind Learn more about Mark Creedon – Business Coach to some of Australia’s leading entrepreneurs  Get a copy of Mark’s new book here – Have a business not a job Get your free bundle of reports and eBooks – www.PodcastBonus.com.au Shownotes plus more here: What went right over the last year. Some good news stories with Mark Creedon Some of our favourite quotes from the show: “I recently read a study that said that scientists found that living near leafy green areas cuts your risk of stroke.” – Michael Yardney “Pessimists are usually not successful in life.” – Michael Yardney “I think with our borders being open and more migrants coming in, that’s only going to push up our economy, it’s going to push up our housing market, it’s going to fuel businesses, give people the opportunity who aren’t getting staffed to get jobs.” – Michael Yardney PLEASE LEAVE US A REVIEW Reviews are hugely important to me because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes - it's your way of passing the message forward to others and saying thank you to me. Here's how

If you’re interested in becoming a successful property investor, my chat today with leading demographer Simon Kuestenmacher will be of real benefit to you, because we’re going to talk about a demographic trend that is critical in understanding how our property markets will work moving forward. What is this trend? Probably not the trend you’re thinking about. It’s homeownership. Considering homeowners make up 70% of our property markets, I think you’ll benefit from today’s chat. Home Ownership Demographic Trends We often talk about Australians' passion for homeownership and how we are different from other parts of the world but are we really? Is Australian home ownership comparable with homeownership internationally? BY international comparison, the Australian homeownership doesn’t appear to be overly high or low. Largely agrarian and industrial economies like Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria have high homeownership rates, while highly urbanized service economies (Switzerland, Germany, South Korea) have relatively low homeownership rates. What does the census say about the percentage of renters in Australia? In 2006, only 26 percent of Australians (individuals not households as measured by the OECD) lived in a rented dwelling and by 2016 this number increased to 30 percent. Sure, today more people choose to rent as they move frequently for work opportunities (especially in their 20s and 30s before they have kids). What’s happened to the percentage of homeowners based on age group over time? People born in the late 80s/early 90s have a homeownership rate of 37%. Their parents’ generation was 50-55%. Every generation has a lower homeownership rate than the one before it. The two big benefits of homeownership: 1.) Owning a home is the most important factor in staving off poverty in old age. 2.) A homeowner builds the best house they can possibly afford. An investor or developer purchases the cheapest thing they can get away with. Homeowner homes are therefore of better quality. The type of houses Australians built in the past is very different from the modern home of today. Migrants have brought their preferences and styles with them and have changed the way homes look and the way we live. That is likely to continue. With our governments having a business plan to increase their population by around 40 million people by the middle of the century, that will impact what the home of the future looks like? Links and Resources: Michael Yardney Simon Kuestenmacher - Director of Research at The Demographics Group Simon’s article on Home ownership in The New Daily As our markets move forward why not get the team at Metropole to build you a personalised   Strategic Property Plan – this will help both beginning and experienced investors. Shownotes plus more here: Homeownership trends property investors must understand, with Simon Kuestenmacher Some of our favourite quotes from the show: “Australians seem to be obsessed with homeownership.” – Michael Yardney “The modern home of today is very different.” – Michael Yardney “You’ll never regret taking a vacation, engaging in a new hobby, or spending a day with those who make you happy.” – Michael Yardney PLEASE LEAVE US A REVIEW Reviews are hugely important to me because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes - it's your way of passing the message forward to others and saying thank you to me. Here's how

How should you choose the location of your next investment property? And what are the floods going to mean for Brisbane property values? Those are two of your questions we answer in today’s question and answer session with Brett Warren. In the end, you’re going to learn a little about how we put our strategic property plan together to help Russel B left the following question – “Thanks for the great Podcast – I really love it – can I please ask a hypothetical question? If an investor had a spare $1m, where and how should they spend it? In the bigger capital city markets where the median property prices are now $1m (or close to) - where would their money be better spent? In the capital cities or further out where they can get more bang for their buck? Any areas that should be avoided at all costs?” While that’s a good question - I’m afraid that’s the wrong question, a shallow question, even though that’s where most property investors start their journey. However, statistics show that around 50% of all property investors sell up in the first five years, and of those that stay in the market, 92% never get past their first or second investment property. So, if you want to outperform the average investor, if you want to develop financial freedom through property investing, then don’t start by selecting a location, or looking for that ideal property. What makes a great investment property for you is not likely to be the same as what would suit a different investor at a different stage in their investment journey or with a different risk profile or with a different size portfolio behind them. The correct order is, to begin with, the end in mind - what do you want to achieve with your property portfolio and then build a Property Plan to get you there. So, my first recommendation to anyone asking where to invest is to sit with an independent property strategist to formulate their plan. When you invest in property there are really only three major levers you can pull: Your budget – and that is usually determined by the banks. Location and you can’t afford to compromise on that. The right property in that location. And unless you have an unlimited budget, and that applies to very few of us, investors usually need to compromise on at least one of the above. So back to the original question – what makes a great property investment location? It’s impossible to say this location is perfect for everyone. When selecting a location, I would initially start by eliminating locations. I suggest you should only consider investing in Australia’s big three capital cities. I’m also saying that it’s important to be very selective in choosing suburbs in these cities – investment grade suburbs that are likely to outperform. I recommend looking for an area that has a long, proven history of strong capital growth and is likely to continue to outperform the averages. In general, there are 3 types of property. A-Grade homes and “investment grade” properties are the type of assets you want to own, and the type of properties where great tenants want to live, not because they need to, but because they want to and are prepared to pay extra to live there. B grade properties still have a lot going for them, and during hot property markets like we are currently experiencing they still perform well, but their second location within their suburb or the less than perfect attributes of these properties mean they will slump more in downtimes. C grade properties – these are to be avoided unless they’re in a great neighborhood and your intention is to demolish the property and replace it with something more appropriate for the location. Having said that can you give us some thoughts about how to invest that hypothetical $1million Sydney With the median house price in Sydney being well over $1 million, it would be hard to purchase an investment-grade house in a great location in Sydney, however, this budget would secure a family-friendly apartment in one of Sydney’s high-growth suburbs. This makes “family-friendly” low rise, medium density apartments a great investment in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, the Inner West or Lower North Shore. Melbourne Like in Sydney, $1,000,000 won't buy an investment house to get a great Melbourne, however, it would buy a townhouse which would make a great long-term investment. As rising property values create affordability issues more Melburnians are moving to townhouse living and getting modern large accommodation on compact blocks in Melbourne’s inner-ring suburbs. Brisbane Brisbane has been one of Australia’s top-performing property markets over the last 2 years and moving forward, Brisbane house prices are likely to continue to grow strongly. The Sunshine State is shining and strong demand for detached houses and outstanding demand for lifestyle areas means as an investor, if you buy the right investment property in the right location, you could be primed to supercharge your growth. $1 million would be a good home in an inner Brisbane suburb. The Bottom Line Rather than asking where I should invest or what sort of property should I buy, the questions you should be asking are: What do I want to achieve from my property portfolio? What do I need to do to get those results? And… Who do I need on my team to help me achieve the financial freedom I want with minimal risk? The Brisbane Floods and What They Mean for Property Prices Moving Forward. What will flooding mean for the Brisbane property market? Flooding was supposed to be a once in a 100-year event and here we are just a decade out from the last round of floods. In the past few weeks and the coming months, it is important to support those in need of assistance and provide a level of compassion. But for property buyers and investors, one can’t help being anxious about what another flood event will mean for our property markets moving forward. But, by understanding several key factors, you can gain back a greater level of control and certainty and move forward with confidence. Economic Environment In 2011, there were barely any jobs being created and this trend continued with further natural disasters and mining downturns throughout the decade. Employment growth then started to ramp up significantly from late 2017, with an estimated $16 billion dollars of infrastructure spending set to create 100,000 jobs alone in Brisbane. With jobs on offer migration steadily started to build from circa 5,000 in 2011, skyrocketing to the north of 16,000 today and creating record demand for housing in a low supply environment. Demand has been consistently at above-average levels for quite some time now, especially when compared to 2011, while supply has fallen. I would not expect to see demand fall too much, but with the floods now taking a layer of supply away from the market these flood-free suburbs will just see greater demand. Put simply, we are in a considerably better position to bounce back more quickly from these floods this time around. Moving forward, how do you invest with confidence in this post-flood environment, and what are the lessons from the past? From a macro perspective, start with the bigger picture, understand the driving factors for property prices and invest with greater economic and employment activity. From a micro perspective, do not take any chances and only invest only in dry, flood-free, and stormwater-free locations. While history will show us that areas that are flood-affected will still recover, it will just take time and in this environment, likely less than before. It emphasizes that property should be a longer-term investment and that time in the market is much more important than getting the timing right in the best possible locations. Links and Resources: Michael Yardney Brett Warren – National Director Metropole Property Strategists Get the team at Metropole to help build your personal Strategic Property Plan Click here and have a chat with us Get a bundle of eBooks and reports - www.PodcastBonus.com.au Shownotes plus more here: Q&A Day – Where should I buy my next investment property? With Brett Warren Some of our favourite quotes from the show: “In my mind, property investing is a process, not an event. And it has to be done in the right order.” –Michael Yardney “Townhouses are really in strong demand in Melbourne with owner-occupiers and definitely with tenants.” – Michael Yardney “When you do your due diligence, it’s not just floodwater that you’re looking at, it’s also stormwater and overlays that don’t occur as much in other states.” – Michael Yardney PLEASE LEAVE US A REVIEW Reviews are hugely important to me because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes - it's your way of passing the message forward to others and saying thank you to me. Here's how