How to Secure a Quality, Safe Area in Advance?

How to secure a quality area?

BIS Shrapnel, one of Australia's leading property forecasting firms, predicts considerable capital growth in Brisbane over the next five years. The successful hosting of the G20 Summit, the Asia Pacific Cities Summit and the 2016 World Science Festival, together with the upcoming 2018 Commonwealth Games and the strong bid for the 2032 Summer Olympics, will all inject even more energy into this world-class new city.

As Australia's third-largest city and one of the fastest-growing cities in the world, Brisbane sits at the heart of South East Queensland. Queensland's Infrastructure Plan 2011–2031 shows that the government will invest A$134.2 billion in infrastructure across the Brisbane-centred region, including:

• Transport  A$97.7 billion

• Health  A$6.8 billion

• Energy  A$5.4 billion

• Community facilities  A$3.8 billion

• Education and training  A$3 billion

• Water  A$1.5 billion

• Projects already completed  A$1.6 billion

Right now, Brisbane's affordable house prices are attracting more and more local and overseas buyers. With Teneriffe's median price exceeding A$1.9M, it leads 17 areas including South Brisbane, New Farm and Hamilton whose median prices have passed the million mark. More and more home buyers and investors are asking: how do you secure a quality area ahead of the curve?

1. Pin down the basics such as population and employment

Put simply, get to know the real population of the area you are interested in, along with the age and household structure of its residents, their income levels, and the current employment situation and opportunities. Gather as much data as you can. Where possible, arrange to visit the city yourself to get a feel for employment and commercial activity and to understand the area in depth.

2. The types, quantity and scarcity/median price of housing

Understand the property values in the area. Specifically, you can assess an area using data such as auction rates, clearance rates, rental yields and rental vacancy rates. It is also worth combining this with house prices in neighbouring areas to identify what is common and what is scarce. Just like CBD properties, waterfront properties and homes in a school catchment, these are enduring drivers of capital growth.

3. Understand the real supply and demand relationship

With the growing number of immigrants and international students, the number of people actually living in Australia each year far exceeds the census figures for that year. The supply and demand ratio of an area is a key driver of price growth. Clearly, land is becoming increasingly scarce while demand keeps rising, so prices are bound to climb — and the later you own property, the higher the price you will inevitably pay. Look at an area's population growth and migration trends, and use the annual rental yield to gauge how hot the area is. If an area already has abundant job opportunities, then even a newly developed suburb is worth watching and worth getting into. Because jobs determine where people live; in a sense, the more crowded a place is, the more expensive its housing, and the better secured its future capital growth and rental returns.

4. Lock onto major infrastructure or upcoming significant developments

As is well known, after the 2000 Sydney Olympics and the 2008 Beijing Olympics, house prices in both cities surged, including in surrounding areas. This clearly demonstrates how major events drive up house prices.

Large-scale government projects are also an excellent indicator, because a city's growth is inseparable from government planning, and the government focuses not on changes over a few months or a year, but on the much longer term. The areas the government plans heavily — such as train and bus stations, major shopping centres, arts and leisure venues, and technology parks — are often the first to see house prices rise, for one simple reason: convenience. So if we investors can learn of these large-scale plans as early as possible and look ahead to the area's future development, we can invest and profit far more securely.

Summary  Objective, timely data and precise government planning can all be obtained from property investment professionals. Property investment is not gambling — don't fantasise about buying at the very bottom and selling at the very top. Investing is not speculation; investing is a science, and the right choice often matters more than hard work!

How to choose a safe area?

In Brisbane, whether you are buying to live in or to invest, the first factor to consider is safety, followed by considerations such as convenience. Below we explain how to choose a safe area.

1. Choose newly planned areas with better safety

Areas with new planning tend to attract concentrated government and commercial investment, which to some extent draws in more employment and more families looking to upgrade their homes, resulting in a higher-quality community structure.

2. Choose communities with advanced security systems

New apartment, townhouse and some standalone house projects are equipped with excellent 24-hour security systems, including audio-visual equipment, entry systems for parking and visitors, and round-the-clock property management. Compared with houses in some remote areas and some older homes, this goes a long way towards ensuring residents' safety. Particularly for new immigrants and families with children, safety of living should be placed first when choosing a property.

3. Choose areas well served by nearby offices, commercial facilities and public amenities.

Residents in such areas are usually long-term occupants, especially office workers and higher-income earners, which directly ensures the calibre of the community's residents and in turn secures the community's stability and level of safety.