Answer is yes, just need to understand the markets and what is out there in them.
I thought I would show a few of my own personal buy and hold additions over the last 6 months.
1) House in Western Sydney Purchase price $205,000 Comparable sales $260,000 Rent $320 No renovation
2) House in Orange NSW Purchase price $135,000 Comparable sales $N/A as house is inhabitable Rent $N/A Property could do with $50k reno and rent for $650pw+ and be worth $250k+ however am knocking the house over and building 3 x villas for $530,000 with a final value of $310 + $280 + $280 ($870k) with rent of $2000pw
3) Land in Western Sydney Purchase price $11,000 Resold for $30,000 in 1 day on market after settlement
4) House in Muswellbrook Purchase price $105,000 Comparable sales $260,000 (after reno) Rent $380 Did a $30,000 renovation and have potential to add a second dwelling to the front of the yard.
5) Unit in Cairns Purchase price $90,500 Comparable sales $130,000 Rent $190 $2000 of repairs to leaky taps new blinds etc…
6) House in Regional town of 10,000+ (NSW) Purchase price $50,000 Comparable sales $80,000 Rent $140 No renovation
7) House in Regional town of 10,000+ (NSW) Purchase price $60,000 Comparable sales $80,000 Rent $130 No renovation (rent should be $150 – $160 with no work)
House in Western Sydney Purchase price $180,000 Comparable sales $240,000 Rent $320 Needs $7000 paint, carpet, fence, and tidy up.
9) Unit in Cairns Purchase price $112,000 Comparable sales $140,000 Rent $200 No renovation
10) House (undisclosed at this point) Purchase price $58,000 Comparable sales $Hard to compare Rent $230pw $20,000 renovation
11) Villa in satellite city of Sydney Purchase price $97,000 Comparable sales $160,000 Rent $190 No renovation
12) House in Regional NSW Purchase price $8,000 Comparable sales $140,000 Rent $230 Needs $30,000 renovation
So there’s a dozen properties at an average of 2 x properties per month.
Can it be done in today’s market? Yes. Can anyone do it? Yes.
How? You need to be proactive, need to know your numbers, and need to buy well.
All these properties are bought with upside, are low capital, with strong cash flow and equity built instantly.
I will be driving to inspect a few of these this week and will post some videos of my journeys.
my mate just purchased a positve geared property in inner city last week. about a 11 or 12% yield. positive on borrowing 105% with huge potential for capital growth + reno possible to add on.
I'm still purchasing the good ones in Albury, the good ones in Bathurst and the good ones in Orange. I'm getting good tenants in, having fantastic returns. And on avg with my 20% factored in .. i'm getting about 9.3% to 9.7% gross on my borrowed money. And yes that means for most of my deals, its near neutral or cash positive.
I have two small developments on the go in South East Melbourne bought on cheap land. I also have been doing enquiries on a couple of boarding houses that need a bit of a refresher but are solid, and still licensed (there is a current squeeze on licenses for boarding houses due to issues with effecting arrangements to the surrounding atmosphere. People still NEED this service !)
There is no such thing as a dead market unless everyone leaves it totally. As long as there are people still trading on the market and there are opportunities to be had, there will be people smart enough to take advantage of them.
Just take a look thru Steve's books. The people pluck out properties often which other people would have not seen, have not realised were good deals, or did not realise the potential. THIS is what makes you a good property investor. Recognising what you can do and what can be done with what you have got.
By the way, to anyone who is going to explain to me that Albury, Bathurt, Orange are more risky than usual, I have them only as a small part of my whole portfolio. So for me the risk is ameliorated by the sheer fact they are only a portion of a larger set of properties. They are being balanced off against quality properties and are being paid off with the profit from the cash positive outcomes. I expect most of them to be fully owned by me within 6 years.
I've just purchased a 2 x 2 BR duplex in Townsville. Renting for $1000 per week short term, Fully furnished – Average 90% occupancy over the year – $46K return.
Paid $540K And the cream is that it has another 500sqm of land on the back that i'm going to build two townhouses on!
I was reading through a back-issue API that featured you, and it had a quote along the lines of: "you won't find these deals on the internet or an agents window, you need to do the legwork.". I'm wondering if you can expand a bit on that, what kind of legwork? Is it just visiting as many properties as you can? Talking to as many agents? For someone starting out, how do you recommend they go about finding deals like these?
Jamie is right, I have built rapport with agents all around NSW and Australia over the lat 8 – 10 years and its a matter of building rapport and completing deals to get first bite of the cherry when stuff comes on the market.
I actually launched a product to help people find deals easier called Deal Finder to tap into my resources.
Other than this, I would suggest poundng the pavement talking with real estate agents and buy when the numbers stack up by being both below market value and with strong cashflow. If one is missing, then you must question whether the deal is right for your goals and understand how you are to benifit from acquiring it.