Last year we produced our annual locations report, in which we predicted a handful of suburbs which were poised for massive growth.
Our predictions included Wanneroo in Western Australia, and in the 12 months which followed, house prices surged 27.6% at rents soared 14.03%.
We also identified Mandurah in Victoria where prices climbed an astonishing 25.22% and rents went up an incredible 14.59%.
We also identified Playford in South Australia, and it saw gains of 17.61% and rental increases of 5%.
And those who invested in Ipswich accumulated 14.3% capital gains along with rents which shot up 8.99%.
Of course it’s too early to report on the suburbs in the 2025 edition, which was released late last year.
However, early results tell us we got it right.
Again.
The million dollar question (literally) is …
How Do We Keep Identifying Boom Suburbs Before Anyone Else?
There’s no magic to it.
It comes down to having access to a mountain of data, and the knowledge to turn this data into gold.
Here are the most important things we look for.
Hot Markets (which we avoid)
You might be surprised to know that we avoid ‘hot’ markets.
But there’s a good reason.
Hot markets are where everyone’s investing. They’re the ones you read about in the media. They’re the ones going up like gangbusters because they’re crawling with investors.
By the time this happens, most of the growth has already gone, and new investors face years of low growth.
Markets with boom potential coming
We look for markets with the potential to boom in 12 – 24 months’ time.
This doesn’t mean we invest in them immediately.
It means we know what suburbs promise enormous growth potential, and start investing just before they move.
The suburbs we recommend to our clients may have been on our radar for a year or more, waiting for the timing to be perfect.
And we know them back-to-front by this stage, and this gives us an edge when it comes time to purchase.
We use tried and proven key indicators
As you might expect, our list of key indicators are a tightly held secret.
However, what I can tell you is that it’s not just what they are, it’s how they’re weighted.
By knowing how important each indicator is, and how they interact with each other, we continue to identify hotspots in advance which outperform the market by miles.
Go to the micro level
Being able to identify a region is important.
However it doesn’t end there.
Within each region are individual suburbs, with some outperforming the others in the area.
Then within each suburb are different pockets which are going to outperform other pockets.
And finally, different estates and developments within these pockets offer better growth and rental yields than others.
That’s where the gold is.
The more localised you go, the better deals you find.
Understand the story, not just the numbers
Would you invest somewhere with a 10% vacancy rate?
You’d have to be insane, right?
Well, this is exactly what happened in Clyde North.
When we identified it, we knew the high vacancy rate was extraordinarily high.
10.1% in fact.
However, we also knew this was because of how much new construction was taking place.
Lots of new houses meant lots of vacant homes.
But we knew how popular it was going to be.
And we knew that as soon as construction slowed down, Clyde North would fill up with residents and the vacancy rate would drop.
As a result, many of our clients invested here and they were thrilled with their decision.
Over the next 12 months, everything happened the way we knew it would.
New residents moved in, the vacancy rate fell, prices soared 11.2% and our clients found themselves in one of the highest growing areas in Victoria.
Metrics such as population growth, stock on the market, time on the market and clearance rates all help to tell the story.
And experienced analysts like our team can ‘read’ the story which the numbers tell, and this allows us to uncover gems long before DIY investors wake up.
This is how we picked Perth in 2020, Townsville in 2022 and why we identified Melbourne over 12 months ago as a great place to invest.
Built for investors
While most houses are very similar, there are a few differences we look out for specifically for investors.
One is that it’s built to be low maintenance, which means an emphasis on functional items rather than more expensive, elaborate finishes which an owner occupier might want.
This keeps your ongoing costs down.
We also look for a low maintenance house which is easy to look after, is practical to live in and easy to move in and out of.
We think about broad appeal, not individual tastes.
And this extends outside too, with a preference for simple landscaping which tenants prefer.
It’s important not to over capitalize on the house by including expensive items just for looks.
Often, less expensive items will be more practical, require less maintenance and last just as long.
This style of housing doesn’t just cost less to maintain. It also attracts more tenants and higher rents.
Cashflow and growth
Every investor is different.
And depending on where you are in your journey, your needs may differ.
When we prepare a client’s strategic plan, we do it so you can keep investing.
On one hand, you need enough cashflow so the banks will keep lending you money. If you’re too negatively geared, they’ll end up rejecting your application.
On the other hand though, you need your properties to go up in value so you have access to equity for your next investment.
And since typically, higher growth properties tend to have lower rental yields, you need to strike the right balance.
Your strategy guides us as to what property you need next, and our acquisitions team makes sure they have access to the best properties which meet your specific criteria.
It’s how you keep acquiring high growth properties over and over again.
Can You Do This Too?
I’ll be frank with you.
It’s hard for a DIY investor to pick locations like we do.
The amount of data we rely on is insane.
And we have decades of combined knowledge in our team who live and breathe real estate day in and day out.
The good news is, you don’t need to do all the work to get the best locations to invest.
We’ve done it for you, and listed 10 of our favourite suburbs in our 2025 Locations Report which is our current edition.
Take a look and see our methodology in action as we identify the best places to invest.
Once you’ve downloaded it and read the top suburbs, make sure you make an appointment with our team.
We can help you create a strategic investing plan which helps you replace your income sooner by investing in real estate.
And this plan will guide you on where to invest first, and where to invest after that.
You’ll get a link to book an appointment when you download the report.
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