It is little wonder that there are so few genuine high achievers in society. Too many people either do not set goals, are forever making excuses, have a glass-half-empty mindset or they get easily distracted with things that are happening around the periphery.
2-arms, 2-legs, 1-attitude and 24-hours in the day. It is what one does with these resources that counts.
I’ve always been a goal-setter with a can-do attitude.
Very high on my list of life priorities has always been financial independence.
That’s why I added to my investment portfolio within the last couple of months.
Big goals are achieved from repeating good behaviours. From several little things, big things grow.
My family’s future will be much better for recently buying this investment property than without it.
The major regional city that it is located in has all the fundamentals that Propertyology focus on. I have the equity and cash flow to support the asset purchase.
Everything else that’s happening in the world is little more than a distraction from my big-picture goal.
If it is meant to be it is entirely up to me.
The end goal
‘To become financially independent at an age that I am still very active and able to properly enjoy the freedom that comes with independence.’
I was only 18-years old when I set myself that goal.
The ambition and determination came from the brutal realisation that my parents and practically everyone that I knew from their generation would be consigned to a modest existence funded by an aged pension and superannuation.
Financial literacy (still) is not taught anywhere in society – in the classroom, in the workplace or at home.
‘Existence’ and ‘enjoyment’ are two *very* different experiences.
During my late teens and earning a modest single income, the household budget did not allow for many luxuries, but I was on a mission to save a deposit and buy my first home as soon as possible.
I remember walking to my neighbourhood newsagent, buying an exercise book and setting out a structured budget. I accounted for every single dollar that I spent. Very few discretionary items survived the cut.
At 21 years of age, I purchased my first home.
It was a simple 2-bedroom house on the outskirts of town.
I did not allow the recession that Australia had just entered to distract me. Ditto for the 10.5 percent going rate of home loans back then.
A decade later, I put the equity in my principal place of residence to good use and purchased my first investment property.
Fast forward a further 20-years to now, my latest investment property decision drew upon the first-hand experiences of investing in 20 individual townships across 5 completely different states along with the knowledge from a lifetime of studying Australian real estate history to the absolute nth-degree.
During the journey to date, there have been entire decades when inflation was well above 7 percent, long stretches when interest rates were in double-digits, recessions, a GFC, major terrorism attacks, oodles of tax changes, moments of political instability, umpteen wars, several stock market crashes, a global health pandemic, multiple commodity price downturns and natural disasters every single year.
Many people got distracted by the daily (often negative) commentary of each of those events and became a prisoner of the moment.
Meanwhile, the value of a standard Australian house progressively increased from $122,000 in 1990 to currently sit at circa $1 million.
My lifetime of property market learnings has taught me to disregard media commentary and the opinions of other so-called ‘experts’.
Instead, I remain focused on my End Goal and place great trust in the very structured Propertyology process which has stood the test of time.
Real estate performs very different to share markets. Housing is an essential commodity.
Currently, and for quite some time into the future, there’s a dire shortage of housing in many locations across Australia.
Related article: 20 fascinating facts about Australian real estate
The statistical evidence in this graphic compares the current housing supply volumes ‘for rent’ and ‘for sale’ in Sydney and Melbourne with six (6) of individual townships in a variety of states that Propertyology is currently investing in.
Comprehensive analysis of current fundamentals, particularly in the context of the dire shortage of rental accommodation, makes it highly likely that an investor-driven property boom is inevitable, potentially as soon as 12-months’ time.
Why did I invest in this location?
My Golden Rule of all financial decisions is to ‘never place too many eggs into one basket.’
With 400 individual townships across Australia, I began by eliminating a big bunch of locations to maintain acceptable balance within my own property portfolio.
This risk mitigation strategy involves not having too much exposure in any state or to individual industry sectors (manufacturing, tourism, agriculture, mining, etc).
Related article: Don’t get trapped by imaginary lines on a map
From the best property market seat in the country, I landed on the location of my latest investment because it ticked these non-negotiable boxes:
- A diverse local economy,
- Essential infrastructure,
- Affordable housing (relative to broader Australia),
- An exciting economic outlook (supported by evidence),
- No medium-term concerns regarding a future over-supply of housing (supported by evidence)
Why this property?
In my role as Propertyology Head of Research, I have conducted an extensive Field Trip of the subject city.
That included interviews with various key stakeholders of the city, investigating a variety of town planning considerations, and, after driving down *every* street in this city, cataloguing every street.
I then placed full faith in Propertyology’s Head of Property Acquisitions, Bryan Loughnan, to hand pick and finalise the purchase of this property on my behalf.
Bryan selected the property pictured below because it ticks the following boxes:
- It is situated on one of the streets that passed Propertyology’s Field Trip assessment,
- It is a conventional, detached house,
- The price bracket is achievable for a large portion of local residents,
- The property is structurally sound,
- The property is low maintenance,
- The purchase price was supported by evidence
- The property passed the rigorous quality controls that Propertyology has administered for many hundreds of properties in locations all over Australia
As with almost every property that I’ve invested in over the years, I’m yet to step a foot inside this property. ‘Feelings’ and ‘fundamentals’ are two very different objectives.
On the balance of probabilities, the value of my property is currently on trajectory to have increased by circa 10 percent over the first year of ownership, while Sydney and Melbourne asset values look like declining by 10 percent over the same period.
5, 10 and 15 years from now, the same property will be worth much more than what I paid for it, meaning it helps me to progress towards my end goal.
Focus
Those who get caught in Group Think end up becoming a prisoner of a moment in time.
They never realise their full potential because their focus is somewhere other than the true goal and controlling the controllables.
The only thing to be accomplished from sitting on the sidelines is splinters in the bum.
Let the numbers in this last graphic be a compelling reason to not become complacent.
Propertyology are national buyer’s agents and Australia’s premier property market analyst. Every capital city and every non-capital city, Propertyology analyse fundamentals in every market, every day. We use this valuable research to help everyday Aussies to invest in strategically-chosen locations (literally) all over Australia. Like to know more? Contact us here.
