Last updated: March 14, 2014



Investors charging back

Investors charging back


$10m to live like a king

$10m to live like a king

ALWAYS dreamt of living like a king? Well you can, it will just set you back about $10 million.

How to work out what to sell for

Studio Dinkus

WITH most homeowners entering the property market on only a couple of occasions in their lifetime, how do you know if your agent is quoting you the right price to list at?

Wacky places to spend the night

Wacky places to spend the night


Real estate

Tips for finding an investment hotspot

Identify locations experiencing urban renewal, population growth and gentrification.

Identify locations experiencing urban renewal, population growth and gentrification. Source: News Limited

THERE are so many vested interests in promoting particular locations to invest in that it's increasingly hard to differentiate between real estate data that is realistic or promotional.

We asked property academic and author Peter Koulizos how he finds the best growth locations and how you can too.

Before zooming into a particular area, Koulizos says he first identifies locations experiencing urban renewal, population growth and gentrification.

Outside of metropolitan areas, Koulizos also notes that strong and growing employment opportunities need to be present.

"There are so many sources of research information available for investors but you can conduct a wide variety of analysis just by using one reliable website - the Australian Bureau of Statistics," Koulizos says

"Of particular interest to property investors is the demographic and housing data."

To help determine if a suburb is worth investing in for capital growth, Koulizos looks at the following indicators:

Occupation: The number of people in high paying occupations such as professionals and managers should be increasing. The higher people's income, the more they can spend on buying or renting property.

Median income: The rate of growth of incomes in the suburb should be greater than that of the state/nation. This indicates a wealthier group of people moving into the suburb.

Education: The percentage of university/tertiary qualified people is increasing at a faster rate than the state/national average. University qualified people generally earn a higher salary than those who don't have a higher education qualification which means they can afford to pay more for a house.

Employment: House prices and rents will continue to move up with stable employment opportunities. The opposite will happen with high unemployment

Landlord type: You should be looking for areas where the percentage of homes rented via government housing commissions/trusts is either below the state average and/or the rate of decrease in government housing is faster than that of the state.


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