Five things every investor should learn this spring selling season

Five things every investor should learn this spring selling season
Jennifer DukeDecember 7, 2020

The spring “selling season” is upon us and no doubt many investors and home buyers are thinking about real estate more now than through the rest of the year.

This provides a great opportunity for investors to up their game and get ahead over the next three months.

Here are five things you can quickly learn this season:

  1. Know how to calculate a rental yield

    You may have a go-to online calculator for this, however it’s not only crucial to know how it is calculated, but also to boost your understanding of how you can improve your rental yield later.

    Here’s
    our simple ‘how to’ for calculating a rental yield. If you want to go even further, then here are some ways to boost that rental yield.

  2. Prepare yourself for an interest rate hike

    You may already be factoring one in, but if you haven’t then it’s time to learn how to manage if the Reserve Bank, and/or the lenders, start increasing their interest rates.

    It may be time to consider fixing, or putting some money aside, and even though rates are low with predictions from
    a number of experts suggesting that hikes will come in 2015 – it’s time to consider it.

    Here are a number of
    Property Observer’s tips on how to prepare for a rate increase.

  3. Start looking around for experts to build your investing team

    It’s all well and good to start off learning about real estate on your own, but at some point you’re going to need to get some expert help – be it a broker, property manager, buyer’s agent or real estate agent.

    Property Observer regularly compiles guides to teach you how to select the best professional in each area, what to ask and what to look out for.
    You can see them here or type the name of the expert into the search function.

    If there's an expert we haven't covered that you're keen to know more about, email
    jduke@propertyobserver.com.au with your suggestions.

  4. Figure out your investment strategy

    Every investor is different and there’s no one size fits all philosophy that can be put into place. You will have your own unique goals, aims and comfort level, particularly around risk. This means that you need to come up with your own investment plan – either on your own or with an expert.

    If you’re confused as to what the different strategies are, we recommend starting with
    Cameron McEvoy’s eight strategies for residential property investment for a basic understanding.

  5. Understand the best way to research a suburb

    Finding the next “hotspot” to buy an investment in can be a tricky process. It involves a lot of data, understanding of market drivers and time. Here are the five ways people usually start with their research, according to a realestateview survey.

    We recommend getting started on learning how to choose a suburb by reading
    this piece about why understanding demographics is so crucial, as well as this explainer about what you can learn when walking the streets of an area.

    You can also
    read our suburb spotlights here to see if your local area has been covered.

Jennifer Duke

Jennifer Duke was a property writer at Property Observer

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