I’m back… back researching that is…

And Wow hasn’t technology made this easier for me each and every time I get my head into the numbers.

But I still keep it real and use some good old fashion magazines for data and drawings on paper…

 

 

 

Even only a few years ago, I remember this process would take me weeks.

Well I am glad to say that this time it has only taken me one week to collate and process all the data. I felt like I have missed something… but I went back and rechecked everything, and Nope… nothing missed.

So it seemed appropriate to talk about some fundamentals I look for and what’s on the cards for wHere…

We are still buying in our WA location, but I am getting a feeling that this area will be only viable to invest in for a short amount of time, maybe up to 6 months at best. Interest rates lowering have accelerated this timeframe, hence I monitor on each and every visit and my gut feel tells me when to walk away.

We all then sit and wait for the good times to arrive… and our properties to increase in value.

The fundamentals for what I look for are still the same:
• High population growth
• Houses only – under $330k
• Depressed property market

Sure there are definitely other factors that are considered and they vary with each and every location… that’s where the Common Sense part comes into the Algorithm.

But the way I narrow down Australia to only a few possible locations has changed… in the past I started with population stats… and potential suburbs that made the first cut off was quite large, sometimes over 100 suburbs.

I guess that also contributed to the huge amount of time to get down to one or two locations.

I now start at the other end… I look for locations that are currently not performing. Locations that have experienced negative growth over the past 5 plus years.

Now this may not make sense… why buy a property in a bad market???

Why would you buy a property in a good market??? To pay more for the property???

How does that make sense???

I buy in depressed markets, where the location has all the attributes of a great location but is currently experiencing negative growth. This happens to all property markets.

Not only can I buy the property at its cheapest but also have no competition… now that makes sense…

So the fastest way to find these locations is in the back of Smart Property Magazine where they post all the stats. The data comes directly from RP Data. The problem with RP Data and having access to this, is that they sell data on a per location basis. Real Estate agents subscribe to their immediate area, eg Sutherland Shire. If they want the St George region as well then they pay extra. This way it is much more profitable for them. SPI magazine has access to Australia and kindly make it available for FREE in their magazines… and Yes, I use it often!!!

I list all the suitable suburbs in an excel spreadsheet and then use Google Maps to see where these suburbs are, if I don’t already know.

If they are regional and have a small population under 25,000 people then they are eliminated. Census data will tell you the population along with a quick Google search of “What’s the population of………………”

Patterns will start to emerge… you will see groups of neighboring suburbs appear on your list. That’s a good sign.

One bad performing suburb amongst a group of performing neighboring suburbs would raise suspicion in my eyes… why is it so?

So for the first time, wHeregroup will look to be selling this research in a pack that investors can purchase. For our investors we buy for, it will give reassurance by way of hard data and for those wishing to go it alone, a resource point that they may add to their own research. But don’t fear, I have no intention of creating my own opposition by way of many investors fighting me for the same properties. For those investors who wish to go it alone, the reports will only be available once we have been and done with an area. There are certainly deals available after we leave but not in volume that would make it commercially viable for us to continue to investing there.

In upcoming Blogs I will go into population stats and what to look for along with why I price point at the level I do.

And by the way… I haven’t spent a cent on research or reports; it’s all free… just your time and knowing where to look.