Buying? Research the Area

When buying property, the age-old priciple "Location, Location, Location" is more true now than it ever has been. However, new investors constantly fall into the trap of only appraising a property in its current state.

Why is this a problem?

Queensland is a rapidly growing and expanding state. This growth will result in changes to infrastructure (such as utilities, transport, etc) and decisions around where people will live, work and play.

When holding property long term, these changes are likely to have some impact on the value of your property. A wise investor will attempt to anticipate where the services and infrastructure changes will result in some benefit over time.

There are a number of resources, studies and references, which may be relevant. For example, infrastructure and planning activities may have a significant impact on real estate value. At Morpheus Property, we will often talk about property as it relates to the "South East Regional Plan" or the "Ipswich Regional Centre Strategy".

So, where's a good place to start your research?

If you're looking to buy in an area, I recommend you start with the Department of Infrastructure and Planning website (http://www.dip.qld.gov.au/) and move to the relevant council website.

Another very useful information source are the real estate agents in the area. At Morpheus Property, we have spent years building our relationship with agents across Queensland. This has taken time, yet proven invaluable to build our 'street intelligence', which cannot be replaced by websites or databases. We recommend you talk to all the agencies in the area to get a balanced opinion of the property you're looking to buy.

If you want to talk more, call 1300 727 586.

Yours in property!