Research the key to nailing property

EVERY property “expert” who writes, speaks, blogs or tweets about how to get the most out of the Gold Coast property market and avoid mistakes should always make it very clear to do your research before you buy, sell or invest in a home to rent.

The first element of that research should really be about the area’s demographics.

For example, knowing the total number of dwellings within a suburb will help you to understand what percentage of the area is on the market.

You’ll need to compare the demographic number to an online search of the suburb to discover how many homes are for sale.

Compare the number of homes for sale with neighbouring suburbs to give you an insight into the local supply, noting some homes listed may be duplicated and some may be old listings or under contract.

It can take a bit of time, but that time is teaching you all about the homes in that area, which is the point of the exercise.

Short supply in your area could mean that is not the time to buy, but the time to sell. Looking in the papers then will add to your insight even more.

Perhaps you are researching the rental market as a potential landlord. What you need to find out is how many homes in the area are rental stock?

What rents are they paying typically?

It is even better if you can obtain an insight into the typical average earnings and the amounts of income that is spent on rent.

All these statistics help you decide if the rental figure you are hoping for is reasonable and if there are good chances of retaining 95 per annum occupancy or better.

Another good way to discover a true insight into the type of area you are considering, is to establish how many dwellings are owned outright, owned with a mortgage, or just rental stock?

Then you should look at the typical household mixes of that suburb.

How many people typically live in a home? How many cars do they have? How many children on average? What age group is the population? Marital status?

All these factors help you to understand the choices you will need to make in relation to the type of property you should be seeking that will be most attractive as a rental in that area.

It is even more useful if you can compare this suburb with others similar in the state and nationally.
One generalisation that you should be aware of is that with research, you often see information about your post code as opposed to your actual suburb.

This can be misleading as your postcode could be home to a selection of vastly different suburbs, varying from family areas due to proximity to schools, to more built-up areas favoured by singles and couples.

It is useful to be aware of how long it takes for homes to sell in the market and the price range of those sales. How do you get hold of this information freely and easily? Well, the Australian Government supplies it.

If you recall, we had a Census only two years ago, making much of this information pretty up to date. This is a great guide it is free and incredibly informative.

Not only will you find information on the suburb you may be considering purchasing in, but you will be drawn to learn about the suburb you live in now, where your mates live, your parents, and for fun, check out the areas where any “high rolling” pals call home.

Anyway all these fascinating facts are a click away at www.abs.gov.au at Quick Stats, where you can search your suburb and the whole world opens up.