Population Growth Case Study

Population is a key indicator of demand for a particular property market. Population growth will be impacted by overseas and interstate migration, and natural birth and attrition rates – births and deaths.

Population shifts in a property market are a strong indicator of longer term, sustained demand, and in turn capital growth driven by demand.

The big question is what makes it attractive for people to live in a particular suburb in a major capital city or regional centre?

Affordability is a driving factor of demand in the current property market. Right now, most major capital cities are pushing beyond the half a million median price threshold.

Well-planned government and private infrastructure projects can also attract new residents and

The prioritisation of short, medium and longer term investment projects will generally align with population growth of the area.

What you’re looking for is evidence of enough existing infrastructure for now as well as planned infrastructure projects in the short and medium term. This means there is confidence that the area will be a growth corridor.

How are the states property sales looking as an indicator of supply and demand?

Housing supply is driven by land availability, construction costs and profitability for developers.

Infrastructure costs such as water, power, sewerage and public transport can impact housing supply.

Housing demand is driven by the number and type of households looking for housing. Demand is driven by factors such as household income, employment trends, preferences for house size, location, preferred type of property and current interest rates.

The supply and demand of the property sales market of a specific area can be subjective. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) population figures can lag the number of properties listed on real estate websites. However, putting the two figures side by side can give you a general feel of the current sales market as a ration of the

When talking to the agent ask how many properties they manage as opposed the amount of properties they currently have advertised for lease.

The number of rental properties being managed will give you a good sense of vacancy rates. There are free tools available to explore this criteria further, such as SQM Research vacancy rate (SQM Research > Free Property Data > Research Reports > Vacancy Rates.

This is just a starting point. We just wanted to share some of the basics to help you on your way. Make informed property investment decisions. Expert guidance will move you closer to your goals with more certainty and speed.

Is the rental yield showing a good return?

If you’ve applied all the other criteria we’ve talked about so far, a rental return of at least 4% to 6% will give you enough income to support the investment property purchase.

How can you choose a property to minimise your tax bill?

The government incentivises new construction by offering tax deductions to cover off set the wear and tear on an income producing property asset – depreciation.

You can claim depreciation of a newly constructed investment property against your taxable income at a higher rate than a property that is