Of course they make commission from Property Sales. If you go to a lawyer or an accountant you pay fees for advice. However if you do your own research and buy through an agent the agent makes a commission which you are indirectly paying for.

So the question you should ask is the property good and value for money. In this day and age you can do lots of research yourself and know whether the deal is ok.

If you blindly buy without doing your own due diligence you only have yourself to blame if it goes wrong.

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Most of these groups make commission so do agents what it comes down to is you should always do your own due diligence. That means researching everything in the area via the internet. I also strongly recommend if you are from interstate take the time to go to the location and see it for yourself. I this day and age there is no excuse if you buy something site unseen then you could be taking a risk.

When we look at the Melbourne market we have more than 100,000 people a year moving to Melbourne. That includes the highest net migration from NSW to Victoria since 1888. Why are so many people moving to Melbourne, the worlds most liveable city helps and it is still much cheaper than Sydney. Even new home areas such as Mernda are only around 25km from the CBD and you can buy homes in the $500,000 to $600,000 range. So I see prices levelling out I do not see anything that will cause prices to fall. Now their is the unknown factor such as war or recession but in the long term Melbourne looks like a good bet. The next market to rise should be Brisbane but it may still be a few years off.

Hi Micky

Apart from population growth their is also a shortage of titling land. Even if you buy a block in some cases you may be waiting a year of more.

The other thing is we also have the highest net migration from interstate since 1888. When I talk to people from Sydney I am told that many people are moving from Sydney to Melbourne because Melbourne is still far more affordable than Sydney and even if you live in a new area like Mernda you are still less than 30km from the cbd. There are lots of people also wanting to migrate to Melbourne especially with the tag of Worlds most liveable city.

So I cannot see any downward movement in the market here for some time. However it does not necessary mean that the market will keep going up at the rate that it is today. When i talk to investors i say that you need to buy for the long term if you buy on the basis of selling in a few years you are speculating. However if you are waiting for the market to fall you may still up paying more than you would today.

In my view Melbourne has another to 4 years in the current cycle. Most estimates are that Melbourne will add another 1 million people to the population. Thats nearly 2000 a week and they are currently building only around 300 houses a week. In many cases land is in some cases as much as 12 to 18 months away from being titled.
In Brisbane prices have only gone up 15% in 5 years. While I think Brisbane will be the next market to move my feeling is that still may be a few years away. When it does go it will be Brisbane not Ipswitch

I do not necessary think all new property is bad however it depends on what is recommended. Certainly Student accommodation is not good. Look at the finance you get to start with. The banks consider these a risk. Now if your accountant has good apartments that are cheap that may be different. However the CBD, Dockland and Southbank have really not performed.

Hi Steve

I could not agree less. Apartments especially apartments in the CBD have not been a good investment especially when it comes to capital growth. Also currently funding especially CBD apartments are a major problem with valuations coming well under purchase price. Many apartments in the CBD are tiny. It is important to remember that the property market is driven by owner occupiers not investors.

So it may be true that younger people may prefer apartments however what they should do is rent an apartment but buy a house or townhouse for investment or a larger apartment in a better location. My experience is when people sell out of a large house they do not want to move into a 7 square shoe box but would prefer a townhouse.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 2 months ago by  Nigel Kibel. Reason: spelling

120,000 people moved to Melbourne last year. I would stick to Melbourne to a house and land package. Perhaps buy one that is a few years old you will save a lot of money from brand new and still get great depreciation. Areas like Clyde North are great just a 10 minute drive to Fountain gate which is the second largest shopping centre in the southern hemisphere. Also Mermda is good with three new railway stations going in over the next 12 months. I can not see anything in the short term slowing down the market while demand in Melbourne remains so strong.

Ethan its speculation from the point of view that if you buy an investment and hold for 10 years we know from history that values will go up and perform well. All the things you have said I agree with however why its speculation is that I study markets all the time but no one knows what may happy in the next 12 months. If there is a correction in the next year or two even if its only mild then you could see the profit go. My suggestions is if you are looking at this strategy be prepared to hold the property if you have to. If its in a good area you will not go wrong. I consider 2-3 years to be speculative because short term is impossible to predict.