Hello,
Just wondering what sort of population you can rely on to give you a decent expectation of having tenants. Is 5000 too small? I know you have to look at many other factors also, but in general has anyone bought in a smallish town and had joy?
Rachel.
Rachel,
Many smaller country towns have good demand for rental as a lot of people eg police, teachers, nurses work in the town for 3 years or less and don’t want to buy for that time.
Capital growth is often spasmodic. If you need to sell, it may take a long time to get a buyer.
In some smaller towns real estate agents have stopped managing properties.
Get some good local knowledge eg does the area flood. Get a building inspection. A lot of properties are older, some towns have soil subsidence problems, some don’t.
You can be successful in small towns, but a larger centre might be better. I looked at one block of flats in a town of 3000 last year which was listed for 200K. It was auctioned in 1993 for about 150K. Last year 9% gross return. I looked at another block of flats in a slightly smaller town 220K, potential rent $700 p.w, no property managers in town, issues with some tenants because of lack of background checks.
If you’re getting a better return it is because the risks are higher. If you can cope with the risks you can do quite well. If you’re going to lie awake for years wondering whether you’ve done the right thing look for somewhere else.
Good luck
Look at the Population and economic trends of the area, are people moving into or out of the area.. these statistics are available on the web…
REDWING
“Money is a currency, like electricity and it requires momentum to make it Effective”
where do i find these info for reginal areas?
A good place to get stats is
http://www.doi.vic.gov.au/doi/knowyour.nsf?OpenDatabase&Seq=3#_RefreshKW_selectArea************************************
This seems to be about demographic arrangements.fifi,
I type into google.com.au “population decline NSW” or whatever… then all the studies will come up- including ABS info about which areas are in population decline.
kay henry
I check out the ABS site, but I can’t figure out how to post the link here. ???
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