This is not a ‘how I became a property millionaire in 2 years and own 50 homes’ story. From watching my own clients over time and continuing to educate myself, I have learned what I believe is a safe, low maintenance and stable process for property investing, and one that has minimal impact on your lifestyle. From my own property investing, I can certainly say that the approach I outline below is what has worked best for me.
Active approaches to property investing, such as renovating or subdividing and building, can be very effective, but they require large amounts of time and effort and things can go wrong if you aren’t experienced. Those approaches can be exciting, and TV shows like The Block and House Rules are always popular.
However, in my opinion, investing, when done properly, should be pretty boring. It should involve safe, predictable capital appreciation with time on your side.
I believe the best results are obtained by building an entry-level house and land package in a new land release area in a capital city. Then, repeating this every few years or as you grow sufficient equity and rental income.
You should have at least a 15-year investment horizon, the longer the better.
In my opinion, no investment strategy is as safe and predictable as this. There should be no significant financial sacrifices required and, if followed, provide you the maximum chance of a very healthy (and possibly early) retirement. It keeps your investment in your hands, so you can be as actively or as passively involved as you choose. This approach also provides a good balance between your cashflow and capital growth.