Property Research

Hello

I have a couple of properties at present and am becoming alot more interested in the process involved in researching and evaluating suburbs, streets and propoerties prior to purchasing an investment property.

I realise there are numerous online tools available providing statistics (RPData, Residex etc) but these can be expensive and only really accessable by professionals in the real estate industry.

Can anybody advise on a basic checklist or starting point as to what statisitcs should be researched and how to go about researching demogrphics and local town planning and government spending without using the costly online tools?

Any assistance is greatly appriciated.

Thanks

There are plenty of free on-line websites available to you for research purposes.

Past sales: www.onthehouse.com.au
Suburb profiles: http://www.myrp.com.au/showProductDetail.do?reportTypeId=1&propertyId=
Vacancy rates: http://sqmresearch.com.au/
(these guys also do demographics)
Rental Yields & 3yrs CG: http://www.investsmart.com.au/property/search.asp
Mortgage interest rates:
http://www.canstar.com.au/
http://www.ratecity.com.au/

Things like town planning etc can be researched on the relevant city's own website.
http://www.abs.gov.au will give you lots of info, census data etc.

These will get you started, there are lots and lots more. Residex for example runs, http://www.findmeahome.com.au/ and will give you 5 free property reports per email address you register.

WhoopWhoop said:

Hello

I have a couple of properties at present and am becoming alot more interested in the process involved in researching and evaluating suburbs, streets and propoerties prior to purchasing an investment property.

I realise there are numerous online tools available providing statistics (RPData, Residex etc) but these can be expensive and only really accessable by professionals in the real estate industry.

Can anybody advise on a basic checklist or starting point as to what statisitcs should be researched and how to go about researching demogrphics and local town planning and government spending without using the costly online tools?

Any assistance is greatly appriciated.

Thanks

Click to expand...

A very simple way is once your have your target area,then just spend the time and walk every street with a small yellow notebook,write down
every property that are on blocks above 800sqm's,not matter what is sitting on the ground just the land then go back and find out everything about those blocks,future development,main roads,future underground
high speed railway line,Private Schools ,future Child Care Centres,,future multi floor units development sites,, %of renters to ppor who will spend most of their life in one house,everything,Sometimes as we have today you can have all the facts but it is all the wrong data property investing is starting in the gutter and working up from there.
welcome to the site..imho..willair..

WhoopWhoop said:

Can anybody advise on a basic checklist or starting point as to what statisitcs should be researched and how to go about researching demogrphics and local town planning and government spending without using the costly online tools?

Click to expand...

I use this high-level checklist:

• When to buy
• Where to buy
• What to buy
• Overview
• Local information
• Agent information
• How much to pay: recent sales

They don't need costly online tools, which probably don't provide the insights that I'm looking for that are the key drivers of my decision making process.

I know i am only learning but i find when no one is buying to be a good time to get bargains. No one buys at election time and sellers can get desperate.

Also look at the area. Drive past, you can see with your own eyes developments that are happening. Just in the street i am in near the CBD there are houses on good land being bought and developed into offices as toowoomba has a bad cbd area for parking and offices so companies are extending into the outer/inner cbd area.

I love the research part. Actually i love property!

Thanks

Thank you all for your comments so far they have been very helpful and informative. I think I am going to enjoy these forums.

Me too woop woop!!

Oh i also forgot. Email agents numerous ones in all the areas you are interested in.

Give them a rough idea of what you want and say you will contract etc (insert carrot) then they will contact you as soon as something comes to market knowing they will get a sale asap.

Also helps to build long term relationships. etc and i like a network of like minded individuals.

As well as what others have suggested, I have found (for myself), research on the ground valuable.

Targetting an area, taking in auctions, familiarising, and re-familiarising (some places I had lived as a child), networking, never underestimate networking, chatting to people, discovering, learning, asking questions...having fun with it, ie take the folks or children for a driveby, different times in an area.

Networking got me some very good value land blocks, got me a little gem of a cashflow IP, got me a great mortgage broker, got me a great handyman, (well until he semi retired).

-The local Shire sites for internet info.

-May have been posted already but Australian Property Monitors:

http://apm.com.au/Default.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

-Home Price Guide, which is a part of APM anyway:

http://www.homepriceguide.com.au/

-DPI site:

http://new.dpi.vic.gov.au/vro

-Most importantly, your brain and mindset.

Some of the best deals I have been able to snare, have been because I could see what I could value add, or improve, (least cost possible to me), to get best possible return.

Sometimes, (and this is just from my investing strategy), I have been prepared to buy something that wasn't so pleasing to others. With a bit of elbow grease it comes up pretty good, and I end up with some handy little nest eggs, pumping up my cashflow.

Leverage and asset base for whatever down the road.

Have fun with it all. And welcome btw.

google maps and google earth are a good way to look at a property without needing to leave your armchair. They have street view as well so you can see the front of the property and the surrounds.

This may not be a substitute for actually going to the property, depending on how you buy, but can help in weeding out which properties to look at in more depth.

Nearmap.com is a bit better than google maps as it is much more up to date. Depending on the area, it has a aerial photography images taken every six weeks over the last year. The latest images for Melbourne were taken 11/7/2010. Its Handy for looking at recent property developments.

Free real estate agents reports

Hi all,

I'm Brisbane based and I have been doing research in properties for a long time with a major property investment company in Sydney.

I specialise in house and land but I have a lot of the tools and know how for established suburbs as well because I am also an active investor.

If you need a property report done with recent sales and rentals in the area - let me know.

I have a property management company in Brisbane so that can also help with background on the kinds of tenants and the changing nature of tenants in an area of interest.

Ask agents in the areas of interest for sales and rental reports - they'll do it.

Lu

Giddyup said:

Nearmap.com is a bit better than google maps as it is much more up to date. Depending on the area, it has a aerial photography images taken every six weeks over the last year. The latest images for Melbourne were taken 11/7/2010. Its Handy for looking at recent property developments.

Click to expand...

Not as up to date for remote areas or small towns

WhWh there are some great posts withing the forum if you search on due dilligence, macro and micro etc

Another great post from Propertunity here with links