Empower Blog Location

Population Growth = Value Growth? – NOT ALWAYS

At our final Property Wealth Forum event for 2011, my team and I busted a dozen myths about what drives property values. One of the biggest myths we busted centred around the view that if you get population growth you will naturally get growth in property prices.  Not entirely true - let me explain. Population is seen as a demand driver of value,...

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Reducing the ‘Fear Factor’ in property investing

Without a doubt, one of the biggest reasons people hold back from investing in property is fear of risk. This fear shows up in many different ways, from well thought out objections to procrastination itself. There are books on the shelves, magazines on the racks, shows about investing and presenters advertising the merits of investing. There are...

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Property Selection Myth

Location, Location, Location was and still is the catch cry from most Real Estate agents when it comes to which properties outperform and which properties don’t. When a property investor is looking to make a property selection for investment, maybe we should adopt this principal but with a little more creative license.   Location One: Id...

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Will House Prices Slow Over the Longer Term?

I read with interest an article relating to a study by the Switzerland Bank for International Settlements, which indicated that house price growth may slow by up to 30% over the next 40 years due to Australia's ageing population.  The study highlighted that demographics factors resulting from the baby boomers pushed up Australian House Prices by...

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Holiday Homes as Investment Properties

Its holiday season and that time of the year we all head to the beach or the bush for our Christmas and New Year breaks. It’s a time we get to read the paper from front to back and also even pick up the local papers for a catch up on what's happening in our favourite Christmas holiday destination. It’s also a time we get to wander up and down t...

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“NETTELS” Grow Property Values

Intrigued by the headline? - What are NETTELS? Well it is the new demographic term used for higher income earners with kids yet no time, as termed in a recent article I read written by Bernard Salt. So what does the abbreviation NETTELS stands for? Not Enough Time to Enjoy Life. They are aged between 30 & 49 years of age and both work full t...

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‘Time is Profit’

Last month I wrote about how timing of a purchase was not so critical if you have a long term view of your investment property and you bought in a sound location, such as a major city like Melbourne close the major employment centre. This month I am focusing on the message that time is profit when it comes to the capital growth measure for property...

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The ‘NOISE’ is back – Property Prices Falling

The latest REIV median house prices for Victoria were released on Saturday and the media responded with all the noise we have come to expect.  Toorak properties prices fall by over 20%, Albert Park down over 10% for the quarter etc, etc.  However, as usual the ‘details’ were somewhat overshadowed by the sensationalist headlines and 30 seconds...

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