The Road Less Traveled...

In his best selling book 'Rich Dad Poor Dad', Robert Kiyosaki discusses that property investing is as much about your mindset as it is about your skills, income or property choices. Kiyosaki's 'rich dad' mentor had a mindset that wealth was available to everyone who was willing to abandon the safety of the 'employee' life we are told to have. His 'poor dad' looked at the world with a scarcity mindset and held tightly to the employee lifestyle that he thought was safe. 

We see this choice of following the status quo in everyday life as well as in property investing. Just looking at property as a tool to escape the rat race is worthy of congratulations, although for many, the road to beginning seems long and often unattainable. With high prices and high competition across our capital cities (even Hobart!) people are often identifying that property prices are growing faster than they can save. In addition to this, several property markets across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane are identified by banks as being high risk, partly due to their rapid growth to date. 

Sometimes, regional areas are promoted by capital city property spruikers as being unsafe; lacking in capital growth, being unlikely to get tenants and as having no jobs available for residents. Stories of mining towns that have boomed and busted are frequently told as though the norm, all despite the fact that so many regional areas across Australia have show good, consistent growth over the past 100 years. 

As you save to buy a highly priced investment property in the suburbs of a capital city, your money becomes worth less with inflation and property prices across the nation continue to grow.  Investing in a city that has a strong, consistent population of 40,000 plus, has a range of different industries and that hosts agricultural producers that will become more and more significant as our world population continues to grow, means you can invest sooner, for less. Getting yourself invested in an appreciating asset as soon as possible means your wealth begins to grow as soon as possible. Waiting ten years to have a deposit on a property in Sydney that will continue to grow beyond reach can be put aside by purchasing an investment in regional NSW. Property in regional area requires less of a down payment, but still can command fantastic returns. 

You don't have to (or really even want to) invest close to where you live. Many people invest thinking that they might one day live in the property. Look at the data of regional areas in NSW such as Orange, Wagga, Goulburn, Dubbo and Bathurst and identify good job prospects, good rental demand, high rental yeilds and strong consistent growth. You might not want to move, but many people have and are.

Many prospective investors will regularly ask "when is a good time to invest" to which the answer is often give "yesterday". Invest as soon as you can, in a property that you can afford, in an area with good prospects for jobs and growth. Take Kiyosaki's advice of not following the status quo and look beyond what others are looking at.  In our opinion, this is regional NSW property investment... now.