Best investing for $450,000

If you live in the lower Hunter, it’s getting very hard to find good investment properties for under $500,000, so where do you look instead?

Increasingly people are coming to us at Pfeiffer Property and saying “we can’t afford to invest near Newcastle, so where do we go?” They’re not wrong. Prices in the lower Hunter have skyrocketed. It’s hard to buy a decent house for under $500,000 and cheaper houses are likely to be old, poor quality and expensive to maintain, while attracting inferior tenants.  

Buying an apartment might not be the answer either. The number of new apartments going up around Newcastle points to the possibility of looming oversupply. An empty apartment is an expensive investment, especially if it’s your only one.

In our January update we discussed the risks of investing in coastal property, where the turnover of tenants is likely to be high and the property prone to vacancy. The lower Hunter is also getting expensive even in new estates with limited infrastructure such as Huntlee, while Upper Hunter property is mostly in a slump due to the mining downturn.

This means that the best property investment opportunities are unlikely to be within close proximity to where you live, especially if you’re on a budget. 

Many people think they need to buy property close to where they live, so they can keep an eye on it. This is not true.  A good property manager makes it easy to look after an investment, no matter where you are.  It’s worth paying a bit extra too. A cheap property manager might be fine when nothing is going wrong, but if something needs to be done, the tightness of their margins can make them reluctant to act.  

Your property manager will handle the leasing and maintenance of your property and provide a buffer between you and your tenant. They will conduct inspections, and organise the paperwork of a lease, as well as keep an eye on shifts in the local rental market. That way you can get on with your business while your investment largely looks after itself.

One of the advantages of dealing with Pfeiffer Property is that our experience and network of property professionals puts us in the position of being able to identify and recommend property managers all over Australia. This gives our clients the confidence to invest in the areas which best suit their financial goals and budgets. 

Check out our Properties of the Month article (Click Here) for brand new 4 bedroom houses with good infrastructure and potential for capital growth in areas of Brisbane, Perth and Ballarat. Each of them costs less than $461,000. We can also find you good property managers who’ll help make these investments work for you.