Property Investment & Wealth Creation Australia | The Michael Yardney Podcast

One of the most difficult aspects of being a property investor comes from the fact that we have competing emotions depending on where you are in the property cycle. There's fear and greed, overconfidence and loss aversion, panic and euphoria. We're told there's nothing more important than being disciplined when getting involved in property and investment, but it's not easy when the emotions hang in there. One of them is fear of missing out, like a lot of people are currently experiencing as they feel the market is moving faster than they can get in. And there there's fear of getting in, which a lot of people were experiencing last year when people were talking about property Armageddon. So today I have two segments: the first one a chat with property researcher John Lindeman and we have a little bit of a general chat about FOMO and what you should watch out for. Then I'll share the ten FOMO mistakes I'm seeing many property investors make, to ensure that you don't make them as well. So, today's podcast will be useful for you whether you're looking to get into property or you're already in property anyway, because as we go through these things, there are a couple of great fundamentals and lessons I'd like you to know. Some of the Topics John Lindeman and I Chat About: FOMO is an emotionally based desire. We don't want to miss out on something someone else has. It's similar to greed. You have to respect the market. When things settle down, some people will find they bought the wrong property or overpaid. FOMO can move a boom to a bubble when too many investors become involved. That's why it's better to buy in areas that are mostly owner-occupiers. There will always be another opportunity, so buy with your head, not your heart. Big FOMO mistakes John Lindeman currently sees: Emotion that takes over decision-making. Finding it difficult to wait. Have rules that can help you rationally you decide which property to buy so that emotion doesn't take over. 10 FOMO Mistakes Not really understanding the nature of the property cycle You need to remember that the property market always moves in cycles. So after a boom, you will see a downturn. Acting with heart and not head Allowing your emotions to cloud your judgment means you are more likely to over-capitalize on your purchase, rather than negotiating the best possible price and outcome for your investment goals. Diving in or Dithering FOMO causes some investors to act too impulsively, while others freeze up out of too much caution and never act at all. Not adhering to their property strategy Successful wealth creation through real estate requires you to set goals, determining where you want to end up, and then devising a cohesive plan to get there. Changing their investment strategy. If your aim is to gain financial freedom through property investment this is a critical time to stick to a proven strategy. Speculation over Patience Property investment is not a get-rich-quick scheme. Doing it successfully requires patience. Not having a finance strategy. Strategic property investors have a finance plan to allow them, not just to buy one property but the next and the next. Compromising on Location A property's location will do 80% of the heavy lifting when it comes to capital growth, so don't compromise on it. Taking advice from the wrong people You should take advice, but from proven experts, not just anyone with an opinion. Buying the wrong property Don't make a snap decision on the wrong property. Resources: Michael Yardney Get the team at Metropole to help build your personal Strategic Property Plan Click here and have a chat with us John Lindeman – Lindeman Reports Get our special bundle of eBooks and reports at www.PodcastBonus.com.au Shownotes plus more here: Warning – Avoid these FOMO errors investors make in a hot property market; with John Lindeman Some of our favourite quotes from the show: "It's owner-occupiers that basically create the markets, about 70% of purchases, and it's investors who push it up to its heights - the booms, and even sometimes the bubbles and then also create the slumps" – Michael Yardney "Currently I'm seeing some buyers so worried the market is going to pass them by that they're compromising their selection criteria just to get in the market." – Michael Yardney "By approaching property investment with patience and persistence, you will gain far more success and wealth than if you seek out the next big thing." – Michael Yardney PLEASE LEAVE US A REVIEW Reviews are hugely important to me because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes - it's your way of passing the message forward to others and saying thank you to me. Here's how

You heard me say it before - property investment is a game of finance with some houses thrown in the middle. But the rules of the game are changing in front of our eyes, so today I'd like to explain what's going on with lending, so you have a better chance of the banks saying "yes" to you and lending you more money, with leading finance strategist Andrew Mirams, director of Intuitive finance. I plan to ask him a number of the common finance questions we're asked when clients come to see us at Metropole, but I'm also going to ask Andrew some of the questions you probably wouldn't even think of asking but are important to know the answers to in today's financial climate, so that at the end of today so you'll have a better understanding of how to approach the game of property finance. The changing game of property finance with Andrew Mirams What's actually happening in the world of finance? Are the banks open for business? The banks are always open for business. They've actually been pretty good through the pandemic. They're working on more responsible lending. Are they still talking about loosening the purse strings a bit? Lending restrictions have been over the top a little bit and probably needs more scrutiny. Why is it taking longer to get preapprovals? Applications to banks have gone up a lot mostly due to first-home buyers and now investors are coming back as well. Also, lots of workforces are offshore We discuss some preapproval conditions borrowers need to understand It's important to understand where banks are willing to lend – they restrict lending for certain postcodes and types of property Bank loan officers don't necessarily understand business. You can't go to a bank to get property advice The right time to invest is when it's right for you Interest rates are important, but the right loan rate is more important. Online lenders aren't necessarily the right answer. A finance strategy is much more than an interest rate or fees. Banks are looking at your serviceability as much as your equity. Loan insurance can entice banks to increase the loan, but it protects the bank, not you, and loan insurance costs. So, you have to find a sweet spot that gives you the amount you need without paying too much for the loan. Resources: Michael Yardney Get the team at Metropole to help build your personal Strategic Property Plan Click here and have a chat with us Get a bundle of free eBooks and reports at www.PodcastBonus.com.au Andrew Mirams Director Intuitive Finance Shownotes plus more here: Understanding the changing game of property finance with Andrew Mirams Some of our favorite quotes from the show: "I believe it's important to have a preapproval in place before you go out into the market." – Michael Yardney "I don't think you should assume the bank is on your side." – Michael Yardney "If you do the easy things now, you're going to have a hard life later; if you do the hard things now, you're going to have an easy life later." – Michael Yardney PLEASE LEAVE US A REVIEW Reviews are hugely important to me because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes - it's your way of passing the message forward to others and saying thank you to me. Here's how

We're halfway through 2021 now so it's a good time to reflect back on the year so far and then look forwards to what's ahead. Property values across our capital cities have experienced double-digit growth already this year, in all capitals other than one. And despite the Covid concerns we're experiencing, there's plenty more growth to come. The surge in property value has caused the property bears to go back in their caves and hibernate and our major banks have done an about-face and are now forecasting 20% to 30% rises in property values around Australia this cycle with strong growth continuing for some time. And the economic Armageddon predicted by some didn't eventuate and we didn't fall off the assorted cliffs that were meant to litter our path along the way. So, in today's podcast, I'm going to have a chat with Australia's leading economist, Dr. Andrew Wilson, as we look back on what's happened to price growth so far and give you some thoughts on what's ahead. This year's property growth and what's ahead No one would have predicted the unprecedented record-breaking levels of high house price growth in the first half of 2021. The outstanding performer so far this year has been the Sydney property market where house values have increased 17.8% this year alone. In fact, Sydney home values have increased 24.2% in the last 12 months. Sydney apartment values also increased, but not as much - increasing 7.3% in the last six months and 9% in the full year. Over the six months of 2021 so far: Melbourne property values have increased 11.8% Brisbane values were up 10.7% Adelaide values rose by 10.4% Perth values increased by 8.1% Now it's important to remember the capital city of values set their previous records in September 2017 and today values are only around 10% higher than previous records. In other words, the market did but it always does, operate cyclically with periods of flat or no growth and even periods with property values drop. How FOMO Affects the Markets The other critical factor, of course, is fear of missing out (FOMO), a self-fulfilling cycle where those yet to buy in are motivated to do so by the prospect of having to pay more to do so at a future date. None of these factors look likely to change over the rest of 2021, and it's likely that house prices could rise by another 10% before the end of next year. Of course, this is just average price growth, and the upper end of our property markets are outperforming cheaper properties, and for the last month, capital cities are outperforming regional Australia which performed strongly during the Covid lockdowns last year. In due course, the property markets will slow down as affordability becomes an issue for some homebuyers and investors. Regulation appears to be imminent. Historically, surging house prices have tended to lead to a deterioration in lending standards and risks to financial stability, giving regulators impetus to tap on the brakes. The RBA has given fairly strong indications that they won't use monetary policy to this end, at least not yet, so expectations are instead that they and APRA will look to macroprudential controls such as increased interest rate buffers, and limits on high loan-to-valuation and high debt-to-income ratio lending. Government stimulus measures will continue to be wound back. HomeBuilder, a major driving force for the market through the pandemic, has now ended, and smaller state housing incentives may also be retired over the coming months. More broadly, the indirect influence of fiscal latitude will gradually be reduced as governments seek to move their budgets back towards balance. Low immigration will continue to be a drag. Restrictions on migration have cut underlying demand for housing by around 100,000 dwellings (nearly 50%) this year, and this is one outage caused by the pandemic that won't be switched back on overnight. Even with a vaccinated population, borders will probably be opened gradually with quarantine requirements remaining in place for some or most arrivals. Immigration will recover slowly. But currently, with the lack of new apartment construction it's likely we will have a looming undersupply of apartments once our borders are open. In my chat with Dr. Andrew Wilson as we discuss how despite the doomsayers' dire predictions our housing markets remained resilient last year, but growth was stifled by lack of consumer sentiment The markets turned in October 2020 and have gone gangbusters over the first half of 2021 Those who heeded the negative nellies lost out, while home buyers and property investors who took a long term view have already enjoyed significant capital growth. Listen as we discuss how each state government introduced their own set of temporary measures to stabilise the rental markets, prevent evictions and support tenants in hardship. Rental vacancies in our big capital city CBD's spiked due to the lack of overseas students, no overseas tourists using Airbnb and decreased local

When planning to invest in property, people tend to think about "where should I buy, what should I buy, how much can I afford?" But often they don't think about "who should I ask for advice?" Since investing in property is a significant financial and personal decision, it's really important to make wise decisions, and it's really important to get good advice early in the piece, because getting it wrong can result in significant financial loss, emotional stress, and a huge lost opportunity. And if you're in the middle of your property investment journey, it's still critical to ask for advice to make sure you're heading in the right direction. So, who do you ask for advice? And with so many mixed messages and vested interests out there, who can you really trust? Well, that's the topic I discuss today with Brett Warren, National Director of Metropole Properties and I hope at the end of the today's show, you'll have more clarity in your options and who you can ask for advice, and what you can and can't expect from your advisors. And of course, I will also share my regular mindset message with you. Who Do You Ask for Property Advice? Our property markets are booming at present but we know that now all markets will perform the same over the long term. So as a property investor who do you turn to when looking for advice? A better question may be - with so many mixed messages and vested interests, who can you really trust? Who investors could turn to for property advice: No One— many beginning investors make this mistake. They think they already understand the market. Friends or family— People do this for understandable reasons, but unless you have millionaires in your family, it's probably a bad idea. A real estate agent— It's important to remember, agents work for the vendor selling the property, not you. A mortgage broker— Brokers are helpful in the finance areas, but not experts on investment-grade properties An accountant— You should talk to an accountant! But about things like tax matters and structuring, not the property market. Financial planners— Financial planners sell financial products, but most are not able to advise on real estate. A property marketer— These are salespeople who really selling "product" for a property developer who is most likely going to make the biggest profit out of the deal. Investment seminars and workshops— Is the person leading the seminars an actual expert who made their money in the market? Or do they only make money by teaching others? It's an important question. A property mentor —It's important to have mentors. Just be careful who you choose and ensure they have achieved the results you want to achieve. A buyer's agent— These can be a great help in selecting the right property, but they don't devise a plan that takes into account your family's future needs and your risk profile. A property strategist – Someone who can help you grow, protect and pass on your wealth using property as a vehicle. What a good property strategist can do for you: Get to know their clients' hopes and fears to help them achieve their long-term financial goals. Help remove his client's anxiety by simplifying the complex. Develop a long-term relationship with the client and help them see several steps ahead. Recommend proven strategies that have always worked. Offer a list of potential property options and refer their clients to a buyer's agent who is part of their team. Help their clients select an investment property that is the highest and best use of their funds. Help clients avoid big mistakes. Provide perspective, insights, and often optimism. They will also advise their clients to invest their money the way they do themselves. Regularly and objectively assess the performance of their property portfolio Some things a property advisor can't really do: Predict the future. Find the next hot spot for you. Pick the best time to purchase an investment property. 4. Help you get rich quickly or achieve extraordinarily high returns without taking on extra risks. Resources: Michael Yardney Get the team at Metropole to help build your personal Strategic Property Plan Click here and have a chat with us Get your bundle of eBooks and Reports at: www.PodcastBonus.com.au Brett Warren – Director of Metropole Property Strategists Shownotes plus more here: The right and wrong people to ask for property investment advice with Brett Warren Some of our favourite quotes from the show: "Many beginning investors think they understand real estate because they've lived in a house, they've rented a house, they've rented an apartment." – Michael Yardney "In my mind, it is critical to have a trusted advisor when making property decisions. It's just too hard to do it on your own." – Michael Yardney "A property advisor should actually be part of your long-term journey. It's a long-term relationship." –Michael Yardney PLEASE LEAVE US A REVIEW Reviews are hugely important to me because they help new people discover this podcast.

The Australian housing market is going gangbusters and all the signs are the boom is here to stay for some time. But how do you profit from this current growth cycle? In today's podcast, I discuss 6 property trends that you're going to see – and hopefully take advantage of – in 2021. Then, in the second half of the podcast, I chat with property researcher John Lindeman, who will teach us how to profit from this stage of the growth cycle, because if history repeats itself, lots of investors will unfortunately lose money instead of profiting. My aim is to ensure that at the end of this episode you'll have more direction and certainty to take advantage of our property markets over the coming year. 6 Property Trends to Look for in 2021 Demand from Homebuyers Will Remain Strong: People have saved money, borrowing costs are lower than they've ever been, and interest rates won't rise for a while. Plus, COVID is under control. These factors will inspire more people to buy and FOMO will continue to drive homebuyers into the market. Investors Will Eventually Squeeze Out Homebuyers: Increased competition and rising property values will edge out first-time homebuyers as more investors get into the market. Property Prices Will Continue to Increase: Consumer confidence, low interest rates, economic growth, and a favorable supply and demand ratio will all help drive property values. However, some segments of the market will continue to struggle. Buyers Will Pay a Premium for the Right Neighborhood: People want 20-minute neighborhoods, with the ability to live, work, and play all within a short distance of each other. And buyers will be willing to pay more to get that. Expensive Properties will Outperform: Higher-end properties are leading the way in growth. Upgrading Will Be Common in 2021: After lockdown, small apartments will seem to confine, and people who a deposit by not traveling or spending much on entertainment during the quarantine will be eager to upgrade to a bigger and better place, especially given the ease of borrowing money. How to profit from this growth cycle Profiting from this growth cycle isn't as easy as it seems. Property researcher John Lindeman reminds us of Warren Buffet's famous two rules that all investors must follow if they want to ensure their success. The first rule is never to lose money and the second rule is never to forget the first rule. But if history repeats itself, some investors will lose money even though overall our property markets are booming, Today, John Lindeman and I discuss the things you need to know in order to profit instead of losing money. Subjects John Lindeman and I discussed today: Investors need to make sure they're buying in markets where the growth is yet to come. You can't measure growth by the length of time that price growth has been occurring or the amount of growth that has taken place. Growth is revealed by the types of buyers creating the demand. First home buyers, upgraders, downsizers, and investors have different motives and limits when it comes to buying property If we know which group is doing most of the buying, we can estimate when the growth is likely to end Investors are motivated by profit. Owner-occupiers are motivated by affordability In the current market, most buyer demand is being generated by owner-occupiers, not investors Investors can take advantage by buying property in areas that have not yet experienced growth but have the potential to. As first-time homebuyers reach affordability ceilings are reached and their growth slows down, growth will ripple to more affluent areas as upgraders take advantage of the market. So far, not much of this has happened yet. However, this means that suburbs in desirable locations are likely to be next to rise In general, it's better to be in an area that's going to be stable. You also want an area that's in continuous demand. Capital growth has been stronger in the CBD and flattened out the further away you get from the CBD. It was predicted that a lot of people would move to the country post-lockdown, but that hasn't panned out. Once the pandemic and the lockdowns passed, people realized they didn't really want to relocate to the country and away from their work, family, and friends. Many banks, economists, and other analysts get their forecasts wrong last year. They looked at historical events like the Great Depression and the Global Financial Crisis, saw those caused property markets to slump, and assumed the pandemic would have a similar effect. That assumption was incorrect. Resources: Michael Yardney Get the team at Metropole to help build your personal Strategic Property Plan Click here and have a chat with us John Lindeman – Lindeman Reports Get our special bundle of eBooks and reports at www.PodcastBonus.com.au Shownotes plus more here: How to Profit from 6 Growth Trends in 2021, with John Lindeman Some of our favorite quotes from the show: "If Coronavirus has taught us anything, it was the import

No one likes to fail. In fact, most people would do almost anything to avoid failure. So, do you want to know the real secret to success? It is not dedication, commitment, hard work, smart work, passion, or even habits. You're not going to like the answer. I've heard it said that the real secret to success is managing your failures. In this episode, we'll take a look at some of the lessons we can learn from failure. Failure teaches you that success is never guaranteed. Like Winston Churchill once said, success is moving from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. Failure isn't final. Failures happen, but they're no reason not to start again. Successful people have lots of failures on the road to their successes This too shall pass. Failure isn't fun, but it's also not permanent. No matter how much it stings at first, you can move past it. Failure forces you to embrace change. When you go through failure, this is basically the universe telling you that there is something you should be doing differently. Failure can be a great source of motivation. For people with the right mindset, failure can be a great source of motivation. Failure teaches you to stay humble. Failure isn't unique. Everyone experiences failure, even the most successful people you know of. Criticism doesn't equal judgment. Time is the greatest teacher. Rejection is a powerful tool. You can learn valuable lessons from failure. Failure teaches: Creativity. If you fail by taking a route traditionally associated with success, you might have to embark on a novel path when you try again. Who to trust. When someone – even a friend or family member who you thought you could trust – plays a role in your failure, you learn not to trust them so readily in the future. Value. Failure is a chance to take another look at your value and how you can best present it. You to listen to yourself. Tune out any non-constructive, negative feedback that comes from failing and focus on building self-trust. Over time, failure can build resilience, which is why the pain is a little less each time it occurs. What to do better next time. If you can identify the steps that led to your failure and why they had the results they did, you can form a strategy for future success. Links and Resources: Why not join Metropole's Business Accelerator Mastermind Learn more about Mark Creedon – Business Coach to some of Australia's leading entrepreneurs Get a copy of Mark's new book here – Have a business not a job Get a heap of special reports and eBooks here- www.PodcastBonus.com.au Shownotes plus more here: 10 great lessons successful people have learned from failure with Mark Creedon | Build a Business, Not a Job Podcast Some of our favourite quotes from the show: "I've often said I'm a real success at failure, but it really does come down to resilience." – Michael Yardney "If you get it right first time as a property investor, you probably think you're smarter than you are." –Michael Yardney "Successful people revel in other's success." – Michael Yardney PLEASE LEAVE US A REVIEW Reviews are hugely important to me because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes - it's your way of passing the message forward to others and saying thank you to me. Here's how.

For Australians, real estate is something of a national obsession. That's understandable given our home is often the biggest investment most of us will ever make. I've been investing in residential property for almost 50 years now, and throughout those decades there have been doomsayers and scaremongers claiming the Australian property market was a bubble waiting to burst. Reputations were staked on it, bets have been made and the media has offered these property pessimists more than their fair share of air time. Yet the crash never arrived. Instead, our property markets are booming with a number of capital cities already exhibiting double-digit capital growth this year. And Australia's economic growth has also confounded the pessimists as we experienced the "V-shaped" recovery that, to be honest, very few expected. While much of the commentary is about the micro factors – what's happening on the ground in our property markets - I like to regularly get together with property commentator Pete Wargent in these big picture podcasts to look at the macroeconomic factors affecting our economy and the property markets to help give you some more clarity about what the future holds so you can make better investment and business decisions. The Big Picture with Pete Wargent Since last month Australia's economic recovery has continued to unfold, more jobs have been created, and the property market continues to grow. Australia's economy recovery The latest GDP figures show that Australia has enjoyed a V shape recovery, though that's ancient news now. Our economic output is now higher than it was before the COVID-19 recession hit, with easy monetary policy, booming commodity prices, demand for resources from the rampant Chinese economy and fiscal policy stimulus all playing a part. The public service is doing okay while the private sector has borne the brunt of the Covid 'recession'. Australia's robust economic recovery has merited an upgrade to a "stable" footing from ratings agency S&P Global. This has been matched by enthusiastic bets on interest rate hikes. As the Reserve Bank of Australia's July meeting approaches, when the central bank will review its quantitative easing program. The Reserve Bank at this month's meeting reiterated its position that the cash rate is "unlikely" to rise until 2024 at the earliest. Biggest lift in business investment in 9 years New business investment (spending on buildings and equipment) rose by 6.3% in the March quarter. This together with the strong construction industry points to strong overall economic growth. Why jobs confidence is a big deal Policymakers are pushing hard for a strong improvement that will see a return to 'full employment that brings an end to the persistently low wages growth that has held the economy back over the last decade. There are important implications from Aussies feeling secure about their jobs: Catalyst for spending Additional support for housing demand Budget deficit The economy is in better shape than expected around six months ago and therefore so is our budget. This gives the government options to provide more assistance to have individuals and businesses. The recovery has led to a 4% improvement in the deficit so far this year. Why Australia needs higher-paid migrant workers Recently the Grattan Institute released a report into Australia's migration policy suggesting we focus on increasing the number of young skilled workers, rather than the government's current emphasis on older less-skilled migrants. Grattan suggested this would help boost the economy by as much as $9 billion 8th consecutive current account surplus In the March quarter, the current account surplus widened to 18,300,000 representing 3.5% of GDP. This is the largest surplus on record matching to 3.5 achieved in June 2020. Who needs China when Australia's got Tesla: Why do we need China when we have companies such as Tesla knocking at our door? And don't let Elon Musk's often 'loopy' and weird behaviour distract you! Tesla is a business with a huge future, being a first adopter of the electric car and the biggest proponent of big batteries as an alternative to the power delivered from the grid. A Tesla electric vehicle (EV) has $5,000 worth of minerals and metals in it and Australia supplies 75% of the lithium and 33% of the nickel in these Tesla cars of the future. Resources: Metropole's Strategic Property Plan – to help both beginning and experienced investors Gets your bundle of eBooks and reports here: www.PodcastBonus.com.au Pete Wargent Next Level Wealth Pete Wargent's new book Low Rates High Returns Shownotes plus more here: The Big Picture | Economic & property trends you must understand – June. With Pete Wargent Some of our favorite quotes from the show: "I guess it's fair to say it's probably always been about jobs, but at the moment, the focus is on our labour markets." – Michael Yardney "We've actually got big war chests, and the more comfortable we feel about our

Our current property boom is going to create a whole new generation of wealthy Australians. But since most people who become involved in a property boom don't become financially independent, last week I started this special series of podcasts discussing 40 lessons I learned in the last 40 years of property investment to hopefully help make sure that you're one of the ones who does succeed. Last week, I shared 20 property lessons, and today I'm going to share the other 20. Last week, I asked, with the benefit of hindsight, would you have bought an investment property in 1980? What if I warned you about the recessions, pandemics, and other challenges that were coming? What I wanted to share with you in this two-part series are the lessons I learned in that time period that made me a better investor. No one really knows what's going to happen to the property markets. Don't listen to who most property investors listen to for investment advice. Timing the property market is just too hard. It's much better to buy the best asset you can afford and hold it for the long term. Any property can become an investment property – just kick out the owner and put a tenant in place and it becomes an investment property. But not all properties currently on the market are "investment grade" and will deliver wealth-producing rates of returns. Don't rely entirely on property data – it can be misleading and can be twisted to say almost anything. Property investment is part science and part art – you need to understand and interpret data (science) but you also need an on-the-ground perspective to employ that data (art.) There are 4 ways you make money out of property: Capital growth, rental income, tax benefits, and forced appreciation or manufactured capital growth through renovations or property development. But these streams of income are not all equal. Tax-free capital growth is the most important. Cash flow is important to keep you in the property game, but capital growth will get you out of the rat race. You will never get rich from earned income or savings. Location will do around 80% of the heavy lifting of your property's capital growth. Be greedy when others are fearful and be fearful when others are greedy. Don't do what most property investors do. The majority of property investors fail. Treat your property investments like a business Don't look for fun or excitement in your investing. Diversification is for people who don't know how to invest. Having the right mindset is critical to investment success. While knowledge is important, successful investors take action. There are always risks associated with investing. Don't be afraid of failing, because the biggest risk is not doing anything to protect your financial future. Don't waste your time worrying. Most things you fear will happen never do. They're just monsters in your mind. Never give up. You will have failures along the way – in fact, I'm a real success at failure, but each time I'm knocked down I get up again. You need resilience to be successful. Resources: Get a range of my best eBooks and reports at PodcastBonus.com.au Get the team at Metropole to help build your personal Strategic Property Plan Click here and have a chat with us Shownotes plus more here: 40 property investment lessons I learned in the last 40 years – Part 2 Some of our favorite quotes from the show: "There are too many enthusiastic amateurs out there at the moment offering investment advice." –Michael Yardney "You need to make your money work hard for you, even when you're asleep." – Michael Yardney "Everyone does everything with money, no matter how silly it looks, because at the time it makes perfect sense to them." – Michael Yardney PLEASE LEAVE US A REVIEW Reviews are hugely important to me because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes - it's your way of passing the message forward to others and saying thank you to me. Here's how

It should come as no surprise that the current property boom will create a new generation of wealthy Australians. However, if history repeats itself, most people who get into property investment this cycle won't become financially independent. Just look at what happened during the last property boom, and the ones before that. 92% of those who held onto their property never got past the second property. You can't develop financial independence from just one or two properties. Real estate has soared in value by more than 500% in the last 25 years, but most investors failed to develop a substantial portfolio. So, I've put together a special two-part series to help you make the most of our property markets. In today's show and the next one, I'm going to share with you 40 property investment lessons I've learned in the last 40 years to help you become a successful property investor and create lifetime wealth. Let me ask you a question… With the benefit of hindsight and knowing what you know now, if you had the opportunity to do so, would you have bought an investment property 40 years ago? I bet your answer would be yes. But what if you didn't have the benefit of hindsight and there we both were, back in 1980 and just as you were about to invest in a property I told you that in the next year or two Australia would fall into a recession and that in 6 years' time negative gearing would be removed only to be reintroduced a couple of years later. What if I told you there was going to be a stock market crash in 1987, and a severe recession in the early '90s, meaning that in the first decade of owning your investment property you would have had to face all those headwinds. Of course with the benefit of my time machine and you still being back in the 1980s as you planned to buy your first property I would also warn you about the upcoming AIDS scare and the SARS pandemic, the Asian financial crisis, September 11th, the Global Financial Crisis, the Coronavirus induced world recession. Would still have had the courage to buy that property back then in 1980? The answer for many people would now be: "No…why on earth would I invest in property knowing there are so many challenges, problems, and risks ahead?" Of course, they would have missed out on some amazing wealth-building opportunities, wouldn't they? I was already investing for almost a decade back in 1980 and I did buy another investment property that year. And over the years the capital growth I achieved from my investment properties allowed me to keep adding to my portfolio meaning that today I have a significant "cash machine" that gives me the lifestyle choices I was looking for back then. Of course, along the way, I've had some great investment wins but I've also made more than my share of mistakes. And I learned many lessons that I wish I knew back then, so here are… 40 property investment lessons I learned in the last 40 years The economy and our property markets move in cycles. Booms never last forever, neither do busts. That is mainly because most of us get swept up in the optimism or pessimism of others. Despite the ups and downs, the long-term trend for well-located capital city properties is rising values. Even though they are armed with all the research available in today's information age, economists never seem to agree where our property markets are heading and usually get their forecasts wrong. Every year we get hit by an X factor – an unforeseen event or situation that blows all our carefully laid plans away. Then every decade or so we have a major event and the world "breaks." There are multiple property markets in Australia. Property investment is risky in the short term, but secure in the long term. It is definitely not a way to get rich quickly Since property is a long-term game, don't look for "what works now." Instead, look for "what has always worked." Residential property investment is a high growth, relatively low yield investment class. Don't try to make it something different. At times of poor or no capital growth, strategic property investors "manufacture" capital growth through property renovations or development. Residential investment is a game of finance with some houses thrown in the middle. Taking on debt is not a problem. Not being able to repay debt is an issue, meaning cash flow management is a critical part of wealth creation. Property investment is a process, not an event. Strategic investors not only buy properties, but they buy themselves time to ride out the cycle by having financial "cash flow" buffers in place. Wealth is the transfer of money from the impatient to the patient. I must thank Warren Buffet for that quote. The media is not there to educate you, but its job is to get you to click on their links so that they receive revenue from their advertisers. So don't rely on the media for investment strategy or advice. There will always be someone out there telling you not to invest in property. There will always be people

You're guaranteed two things in life – death, and taxes. While taking care of your physical and mental health can lead to a longer, healthier life and stave of the death part, what can you do to legally minimize your tax? Since everyone wants to pay less come tax time, in today's podcast I chat with independent financial advisor Stuart Wemyss about what options are available to you. Minimizing Your Tax Tax isn't necessarily a bad thing. If you're paying tax, it means that you are making money. But of course, there's no need to pay any more than you legally have to. Minimize your risk Stick within the letter of the law, but explore legitimate ways to minimize tax liabilities Many more aggressive tax minimizing measures delay tax rather than permanently reduce it Implementing these strategies may create costs (tax advice fees and documentation) and complexities Sometimes, it's better to keep things simple Minimize tax pre-retirement Personal exertion income earners have few avenues to minimize tax You can use negative gearing and/or contribute into super, but that's about it Contribute to your super After 1 July 2021, individuals can contribute up to $27,500 per year into super and claim a tax deduction for this expense Borrow to invest Borrowing to invest (to generate capital growth) often makes good sense, especially if you are more than 10 years from retirement Minimize tax on investment returns If there are not many avenues to reduce the amount of tax you pay on your income, then at least make sure you don't pay too much tax on your investment returns. Invest in assets that generate more capital growth than income Make sure the investments are owned in the most tax-effective way Minimize land tax Map out a plan and follow expert advice to minimize land tax as much as possible Consider capital gains tax Self-employment gives you more options Make sure that your business is structured correctly Stuart's new podcast, The Holistic Accountant, is a good way to learn more about this You should aim to pay zero tax in retirement A couple can have up to $3.4 million invested in super, and not pay any tax If you plan well, it is a reasonable expectation to pay little to no tax in retirement If you can't save tax, focus on investment returns If you earn money, it's likely you will have to pay your fair share of tax. That's life Cheating is never worth it The ATO is cracking down on dodgy deductions and the penalties can be up to double the tax plus interest Resources: Michael Yardney Get the team at Metropole to help build your personal Strategic Property Plan Click here and have a chat with us Stuart Wemyss – Prosolution Private Clients Stuart's Book – Rules of the Lending Game Shownotes plus more here: How to Minimize Tax – Your Largest Expense, with Stuart Wemyss Some of our favourite quotes from the show: "Tax isn't necessarily a bad thing. No one likes paying it, but if you're paying it, I guess it means you're making money." – Michael Yardney "If you're going to own a property investment business, you should actually own the best assets you can in best locations you can, and land tax unfortunately is a cost of doing business." – Michael Yardney "Those who invest in their abilities their entire lives, they become the beneficiaries of luck." – Michael Yardney PLEASE LEAVE US A REVIEW Reviews are hugely important to me because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes - it's your way of passing the message forward to others and saying thank you to me. Here's how

What a year it's been. This time last year Australia was heading into its first recession and deepest recession in decades. Yet last week the Australian Bureau of Statistics confirmed the strength of Australia's economic rebound. It was the fastest economic recovery from a recession in 45 years. In fact, we are one of only three countries where our economy is ahead of where it was at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, but today can race and I unpack the statistics and explain what's going on – the truth behind Australia's economic recovery. But don't worry if you're not into economics, my chat today with Ken Raiss, Australia's leading property tax strategist, will be in plain English and we'll unpack what's going on so you understand what's ahead- both the good and some of the headwinds that may slow us down, so that you'll be able to make a better-informed investment, and financial, and business decisions. What you'll be hearing today is a portion of a private webinar we conducted for the attendees of Wealth Retreat to give them some insight before they join us, and while you won't be able to see the slides, I'm sure our description will be sufficient for you to get benefit from our chat. Australia's impressive economic recovery from the COVID-19 recession was confirmed with the strong 1.8 percent rise in March quarter GDP. This followed unprecedented growth of 3.2 percent in the December quarter and 3.5 percent in the September quarter of 2020. Our economic output is now higher than it was before the COVID-19 recession hit, with easy monetary policy, booming commodity prices, demand for resources from the rampant Chinese economy, and fiscal policy stimulus all playing a part. Back in the first three months of this year when we had JobKeeper, enhanced unemployment benefits, and no lockdowns and Australia roared out of recession. The GDP figures released at the beginning of June, which were for the first quarter of the year up til the end of March were for the months leading up to the end of JobKeeper. Australians spent, earned, and produced an impressive 1.8% more than in three months to December, which was itself more 3.2% more than the three months to September, which was itself 3.5% more than the three months before that. Our growth of more than 8% was the most over three quarters since 1968. But it followed a collapse in gross domestic product of 7% – by far the worst since the Bureau of Statistics began compiling records in 1959. The net result over the year to March growth of 1.1%, an extraordinary result which means that, at least until Victoria's (just extended) lockdown, we were producing, earning, and spending more than before the COVID recession. I today's podcast Ken and I discuss: what GDP is and why so much fuss is made about it Why I think that having a single overriding 'economic' health measure such as GDP is flawed What's happening to unemployment, job growth, business, and private expenditure. Here are 7 reasons to be optimistic about the future. Covid vaccines will help in underpinning reopening and recovery Global growth is recovering rapidly — driven by vaccines enabling reopening, monetary and fiscal stimulus, and pent-up demand. Growth in consumer spending is well supported Dwelling investment will provide a strong contribution to growth — the surge in building approvals points to more upside in housing construction this year. Business investment is strengthening - — investment plans for the next financial year are up nearly 15% on plans for a year ago which is consistent with high levels of business confidence, excess corporate cash, and the instant asset write-off tax break. Fiscal stimulus will continue Monetary policy will remain easy However, there are some headwinds. Economic growth should continue this year and then could slow next year as some headwinds are revealed, the effects of the fiscal measures start to fade, and the housing market slows down a little. further coronavirus outbreaks economic ramifications of the international border closure, the potential for further lockdowns due to the slow vaccine rollout, and the geopolitical risks emanating from Australia's "strained" relationship with China. Resources: Michael Yardney Get the team at Metropole to help build your personal Strategic Property Plan Click here and have a chat with us Get your bundle of eBooks and Reports at: www.PodcastBonus.com.au Ken Raiss – Director of Metropole Wealth Advisory Shownotes plus more here: The Truth Behind Australia's Economic Recovery with Ken Raiss

What's ahead for our property markets for the rest of 2021? That's a common question being asked now that our property markets have been booming for quite some time. And that's the question I'm going to ask Dr Andrew Wilson, Australia's leading housing economist in today's show. You'll also hear his thoughts on what's ahead for the rental markets, is inflation on the rebound and should we be locking in on interest rates with the speculation that interest rates are going to rise? Now you probably know that every week I record a Property Insiders video with Dr Wilson where we give you our thoughts and commentary on the property market and our economy, and today's podcast is the audio of last week video show. You'll hear Dr Wilson and I explain how our property markets have been bounding along this year. Buyers are still out in force – owner-occupiers, investors, and first home buyers – at a time when available supply is struggling to keep up, keeping pushes prices higher. In fact, a number of capital city property markets are already showing double-digit capital growth this year. Listen in as we discuss: What's ahead for our property markets for the balance of this year. What happening in our auction markets as they give a good "in time indicator" of what's happening on the ground. How our rental markets have turned around and vacancies are falling causing rents to rise. Why Dr Wilson doesn't believe we'll get sufficiently high inflation to raise interest rates for some time, and… Why some banks are recommending customers lock in their interest rates and why he doesn't think it's a good idea. Resources: Guest: Dr. Andrew Wilson, chief economist of My Housing Market Metropole's Strategic Property Plan – to help both beginning and experienced investors Subscribe to my weekly Property Insider video with Dr Andrew Wilson here- www.PropertyInsiders.info Collect your bundle of eBooks and reports- www.PodcastBonus.com.au Shownotes plus more here: Now what next for our property markets? With Dr. Andrew Wilson PLEASE LEAVE US A REVIEW Reviews are hugely important to me because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes – it's your way of passing the message forward to others and saying thank you to me. Here's how

Why don't most property investors succeed, especially since there's so much information out there and so many people willing to help them? Well, today I've got three separate segments that are going to help you understand why many investors don't succeed, but of course, the intention of that is to even the odds in your favour, to make sure you do succeed. I'm going to share with you probably the worst investment mistake I made, but it turned out to be one of the best investment lessons I made. It was a mistake I made early in my career when I lost 100% of my equity. Boy was it an expensive mistake and a blow to my ego. I guess it shows that I didn't start off as a successful investor. There are some lessons in that alone. I'm also going to share with you a discussion I had with Joseph my hairdresser who learned how to invest like the pros. Isn't that something that you'd like to know? Then, in my mindset moment, I'll help you understand that I'm a real success at failure. So lots about success and failure in today's show, but the intention of it is to make you a more successful property investor and more successful in all areas of your life. How to Invest Like the Pros I was having my hair cut the other day when Joseph, my barber, said, "Michael — I'm going to get into property investing and I'm going to make a fortune because I've learned how to invest like the pros!" When Joseph told me he knows how to invest like the pros, I had to ask — "OK — how are you going to do it?" "Easy," he said. "I've been to a seminar and signed up for a course." Then he pulled out the advertisement in the magazine that attracted his attention. It promised the ability to control millions of dollars worth of property with none of your own money and bypassing the banks. It also explained how the course presenter had made millions of dollars in seven days. At that point, I felt sorry for Joseph and for the thousands of novice (and some experienced) property investors who will be taken by the new breed of property spruikers who are once again out in force. You can't become wealthy in seven days. You probably couldn't even read the course material in seven days. Here is what the real pros know: You can't create wealth through property overnight, but you can certainly become very rich in the medium to long term by knuckling down and seriously applying yourself in a dedicated, disciplined, persistent way. You get there by following a proven system and by having a safe property and finance strategy. You then implement this by buying the right property, in the right location, at the right price, and holding it for the long term. Not by adding hot water to a packet of magic beans and counting to seven. You can and should accelerate the process by learning the strategies of value-adding through renovations and development, but you can't skip the fundamental process. While property spruikers went quiet during the real estate downturn, unfortunately, the new property cycle is bringing out a fresh group of "property pretenders". There are now property "experts" out there selling advice and courses despite never having built their own property portfolios. This makes it timely to remind listeners that seminars promising easy wealth through property have all too often led to financial ruin. It's just the cycle repeating itself. Of course, this doesn't mean you should do it on your own. To become a successful investor, you will need to surround yourself with a team of independent and unbiased professionals — a team of people who are known, proven, and trusted. Then go ahead and take advantage of the new property cycle, because the future is bright for those who invest sensibly in property. My worst investment loss One of my early investments was a complete loss. I lost 100% of my invested capital many years ago, way back in the 1970s, and the investment mistakes I made that created this disastrous result. But first I want to explain the 2 main reasons why I'm sharing this story. Losing investments can be great teachers You'll not only learn from the investment mistakes you make, but you can also learn from other people's investment errors so that you don't have to make the same mistakes yourself. Losses are a natural and normal result of making investment decisions Don't be so hard on yourself when things don't go as planned because the key to long-term success is what you do when this occurs and the lessons you learn from your mistakes, so you don't repeat them. So here is the story of my big investment mistake where I lost 100% of my investment capital You see…I already owned a few investment properties at the time, but I was in a hurry to get rich quickly. I was offered the opportunity to invest in a Gold Mine. In fact, one of my friends, Brian, had invested the vast sum of $5,000 (remember it was the 1970's and that was a lot of money) into a venture that was resurrecting an old disused gold mine in Wedderburn, near Ballarat in Victoria. Of

Since the First Fleet dropped anchor in 1788, close to 10 million immigrants have moved from across the world to start a new life in Australia. They have arrived in waves, encouraged by developments like the 1850s gold rushes, or to escape adverse conditions at home such as the Industrial Revolution's social upheavals in 19th-century Britain, the two world wars, and the aftermath of the Vietnam War in the 1970s. Collectively these migrants have helped shape what was a uniquely British-based and now multicultural society in Australia. In today's podcast, I chat with leading demographer Simon Kuestenmacher about the history of migration and how it's changed our culture and our property markets over the years, and what's happening to migration now because of our border restrictions. Australia is the land built on migration Immigration to Australia began about 80,000 years ago. And from the 17th century on, the continent was explored by Europeans. European settlements began to crop up around 1788, and the discovery of gold in 1851 drove more activity and permanent settlements. Immigrants have been queuing up to come to the country ever since. But what's happening to immigration in our nation at the moment? About 2/3 of our population growth pre-pandemic came from migration. Only 1/3 came from natural growth. During COVID, the migration has completely disappeared. For the first time, more immigrants went out than in. Our country is so much more multicultural than other nations. When people are concerned about migration and focus on asylum seekers, it's not really relevant, because it's such a small number. One of the biggest drivers of migration in recent times is international students. One in 6 of those students become permanent residents. You can grow the GDP through the sheer number of people added to the country. The natures of homes and neighbourhoods have changed because of migration. We can see this in everything from the design of homes to the food available to buy. We will still see more people coming into Australia as long as they're allowed. Australia is attractive to international students. We also still need skilled workers. Millennials are moving out of their apartments as they age and move on to the next stage, but apartment living remains necessary because of the population size. We will still need apartments, but we may need different ones moving forward. We will need more family-friendly Resources: Simon Kuestenmacher - Director of Research at The Demographics Group As our markets move forward why not get the team at Metropole to build you a personalised Strategic Property Plan – this will help both beginning and experienced investors. Get a bundle of eBooks and reports www.PodcastBonus.com.au Shownotes plus more here: Australia: a land built on immigration, but what's ahead? With Simon Kuestanmacher Some of our favourite quotes from the show: "Just because of the cost of living, we do need more apartments, but we need different apartments than we've built in the past." – Michael Yardney "I know it might sound cliché but work a little bit less and play a little bit more." – Michael Yardney "Remember, most of the things we worry about don't happen, or if they do happen, they're not as serious as we thought they would be." – Michael Yardney PLEASE LEAVE US A REVIEW Reviews are hugely important to me because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes - it's your way of passing the message forward to others and saying thank you to me. Here's how

It's that time of the month – when I have my regular Big Picture podcast where Pete Wargent and we look at the macroeconomic factors affecting our economy and our property markets This time last year, we were supposed to have a federal budget. Instead, we had a pandemic. And over the last year many elements of our life were upended due to Covid 19 Around this time last year, our Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he'd build a bridge for us to get to the other side and it seems he did. The government threw everything it could, including billions of dollars at creating jobs and keeping our economy moving and it succeeded. And it's still doing so if you look at the federal budget handed down by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg - you'd think it was still raining money. Never before has a budget done so much to supercharge the economy after the worst of a recession has passed. But don't worry, this podcast isn't another rehash of the budget, even though there are a few interesting points I want to discuss with Pete – things that haven't been clearly explained but I think we need to understand as investors. Plus we also will look at the macroeconomic factors affecting our economy and the property markets to help give you some more clarity about what the future holds so you can make better investment and business decisions Understanding the Big Picture Our property markets don't operate in isolation, so I believe it's good to regularly have a look at the big picture, the macroeconomic factors affecting not just Australia's economy, but the world economy, and who better to discuss that with than Pete Wargent, a lifelong student of and commentator on our economy. Since last month there's been lots of good economic news and Josh Frydenberg delivered this year's budget. The underlying message from this pandemic budget is that while our recovery is running apace, the economy still remains fragile and unable to stand on its own two feet. The government has no option but to continue spending, and it has given the green light to a number of initiatives to ensure our economic recovery continues. With all the tax dollars rolling in, what kind of treasurer could resist spending some of that, given ultra-cheap borrowing costs and an election campaign expected within a year or so? Booming iron ore exports have delivered a bumper company tax take over the March quarter, with the budget's bottom line improving by $30bn since the mid-year economic and fiscal outlook in December. And our economic recovery is likely to continue, underpinned by strong household spending supported by further lifting of activity restrictions, increased confidence, and the world effects from higher housing prices. Rapid fall in unemployment could challenge RBA stance There are now forecasts that expect the unemployment rate to fall to 4.8% by end-2021 and 4.4% by end-2022. And even lower again in 2023 seems likely. These forecasts potentially challenge the RBA's expectation a rate hike is "unlikely to be until 2024 at the earliest". While these forecasts may appear ambitious, they reflect the expectation of a decelerating pace of labour market improvement, particularly in 2022. Ultimately, it will be inflation that matters for the RBA, and the most important judgment in our view is the strength of the transition from underutilization to wages, and then to inflation. The RBA is presuming this transition will be very slow, as it was the last cycle, but the risk around this assessment appears rather one-sided. Sluggish inflation numbers push rate hikes further down the road The CPI rose by 0.6% in the March quarter, taking annual inflation to 1.1% year-on-year. Although this is the third increase in a row, we're still well below the target band and underperformed expectations by 0.3% in March. With a few exceptions, such as jewellery, petrol, and vehicle prices (driven by supply bottlenecks), price pressures remained weak across most of the economy, especially in food and housing. To some of us who remember the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rising above 10% for much of the late 70s and early 80s, the RBA's present determination to drive up inflation might seem a little counterintuitive. Investors are back in the market We know that home loan approvals have been surging, particularly for first home buyers and that investors have taken to the sidelines, but that's changed recently as more investors are now back in the market as evidenced by increasing investor loan approvals. Building approvals surge to the second-highest in history Residential building approvals rose 17.4% m/m in March, surprising sharply to the upside and taking the level of approvals to the second-highest in history. Going forward, we will be looking to see whether the recent strength in detached dwelling approvals will be sustained given the end of the Federal Government's HomeBuilder program (March was the last month to be eligible for the grant). Since HomeBuilder was introduced in June 2020, d

I have found most successful people have at least one, but usually a number of guiding principles. Things like phrases or ideas by which they live and work To help you develop or add to your own guiding principles, in today's show I have rounded up a number of philosophies or thoughts that I'm going to discuss with Mark Creedon, founder of Business Accelerator Mastermind in our monthly Build a Business, Not a Job podcast. But before we get into the main show, I'd like to share all of the philosophies of Steve Jobs, the late co-founder and CEO of Apple. Jobs said: "You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So, you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future." Another interesting philosophy comes from Michael Jordan how famously said: "I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times I've been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed." In today's show, you'll hear Mark Creedon and I talk about failure and how the way you think about it makes a huge difference in how you approach all areas of your life, so welcome to today's show. Life philosophies that could change your life You don't have to look far on the Internet to find blogs about the philosophies that successful people live by. I enjoy reading those blogs and learning what drives successful people. Interestingly I've found some of the best lessons I've learned are the simple ones. I'm still a voracious learner and if I haven't learned something new by lunchtime every day, I've had a bad day. Take responsibility for your world Shouldn't we all? There's a belief in this world, that I completely resonate with, that everything that has happened to you in your life is a direct result of your actions, either your physical actions or your mental actions. Thoughts are things. As you think so you become. This belief is The Law of Attraction. I know everyone doesn't agree with this – but I believe you should be a part of your life, not a passenger. Don't make excuses, take action "You are what you do, not what you say you'll do" — Carl Jung. Action creates momentum and momentum matters. Sure, it's important to make plans and know which way you're heading, in life, in your investments, and in business but plans are just theory unless you take action. You are the company you keep. Someone once told me that you're the sum of the five people with whom you spend the most amount of time and I couldn't agree more. Studies have proven this time and time again – a Harvard study found that if your friend is happy, your chances of being happy increase 15%. It doesn't just stop there – if your friend's friend is happy, your chances of being happy increase by 10%, and if your friend's friend's friend is happy, your chances still increase 6% (if 6% doesn't impress you, you'll be interested to know that a $10,000 increase in annual income only increases your odds by 2%). This rule also works in the negative sense – if your friend becomes obese, your chances of becoming obese increase 57%. The same goes for smoking (61%) and other negative habits. Embrace your limitations. I know one of my strengths in creating – coming up with the big ideas and implementing them. Or creating things like blogs and podcasts. However, I know I'm not in my flow when doing other types of tasks. Trying to change fundamental aspects of your personality is like swimming upriver – you exert tremendous effort with little forward progress. Instead of trying to change these aspects of myself, I've surrounded myself with others who are better at various aspects of our business than me The race is only with yourself. "Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long, and in the end, it's only with yourself." – Mary Schmich When you measure your success against that of another, you create an ever-distancing destination at which you'll never arrive. Develop your own goals and celebrate every achievement. Don't stop when you're tired, stop when you're done You're going to get tired of being an entrepreneur and you'll probably even get burned out… especially when things aren't going well. What's helped me succeed over the years is that I am persistent. It doesn't matter whether I am exhausted, or if I feel that I've put enough hours in the day, I just don't ever stop until things are done. As long as you keep on chugging along, eventually, you will accomplish your goals. Commit to doing whatever it takes to succeed Of course, with the exception of causing harm to others! This discipline underpins all of the above. If we wish for success in life, it's essential we commit to making that wish become a reality. The key to success in life is to go from interest to commitment to taking action from personal power. Honesty is a very expensive gift, do not expect it from cheap people

With more of us trading backyards for balconies and courtyards; apartment and townhouse living has become the norm for more Australians. At the same time, budget constraints mean that many investors buy apartments rather than houses. And since there is no doubt that apartment living is going to become more prevalent moving forward, you really need to understand your rights and responsibilities when owning an apartment. Where does your apartment end and where does the common property start? Who is responsible when things go wrong in the common areas? And what six things do you need to know before buying into a strata building? That's what I'm going to discuss in today's show with strata law specialist Amanda Farmer. The inspiration for this chat came from an article I recently read about a Melbourne schoolteacher who thought she done all her homework when buying her first property. She looked around her chosen area in Melbourne is northwest, found an apartment building she liked, and commissioned to building inspection report before she bought the property. But now two and a half years on, she's facing financial ruin. Her block's owners are taking its builders to court over allegations of severe defects in its construction, and she's having to pay for both repairs and her share of spiralling legal fees. Sure, she had a pre-purchase report done by an expert – but he only examined her apartment, and nothing of the building in which it sits, or its communal areas, which all owners are responsible for. She didn't realize, either, that she should also have ordered a strata report that would have revealed, through the minutes of the Owners Corporation, the ongoing battle with the builders. This is a tragic story – a 32-year-old financially ruined through owning the wrong apartment. But it's a story I've heard before, so I hope you're going to get a new insight into what you need to do before buying into a strata property in my chat with Amanda Farmer today. What you need to know when buying a strata property If you're considering buying or already own an apartment, townhouse, or villa unit, whether as a Let's begin with the obvious – what is a Strata unit? Effectively it means: you own your unit or apartment as well as sharing ownership and responsibility for common property if you own your unit, you are automatically a member of the owner's corporation which has responsibility for common property and makes key decisions affecting the strata scheme you contribute to the cost of running the building through paying quarterly levies you also have to pay money into a capital works fund, for future long-term expenses such as painting the building or replacing guttering there will be lifestyle restrictions in a strata scheme. 6 THINGS YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST KNOW ABOUT WHEN OWNING A STRATA PROPERTY: 1) By-laws Includes pets, air conditioning units, noise, renovation works, hard flooring, washing, landscaping, use of swimming pool/gym, short-term letting, rules around moving in or out 2) Levies Quarterly levies can range anywhere from $200 per quarter for a small, self-managed building (ie: with no strata manager's fees) to in excess of $5,000 per quarter for a city penthouse in a luxury harbourfront building with concierge service and numerous facilities. 3) Lot property vs. Common property When you purchase a unit in a strata building, you are essentially purchasing air space. That air space is known as your "lot". Anything outside of your lot is either someone else's lot or "common property". 4) Meetings Important decisions are decided in meetings: eg - whether to add to, alter or erect a new structure on the common property for the purpose of improving or enhancing the common property. 5) Strata manager The duties of the strata manager include receiving and distributing correspondence, issuing levy notices, arranging tradespeople, keeping the owners' corporation's books and records in good order, including financial records. 6) Committee A decision of the committee is taken to be a decision of the Owners Corporation, though a committee cannot decide on anything that can only be decided by the owners in general meeting. Links and Resources: Michael Yardney Amanda Farmer- Director Your Strata Property Get access to my exclusive Special reports library – a bonus for listening to my podcast As our markets move forward why not get the team at Metropole to build you a personalised Strategic Property Plan – this will help both beginning and experienced investors. Join us at Wealth Retreat 2021 – click here to find out more Shownotes plus more here: 6 tips for investors when buying a strata property with Amanda Farmer Some of our favourite quotes from the show: "I'm actually proud that Australia was the country that was the beginning of strata law." – Michael Yardney "I know that if I buy a house, I've got to do a building and pest inspection because it's my responsibility – if there's termites or if there's rising damp, I've go

Property prices have been climbing at a breathtaking pace in 2021. This has been good news for homeowners but heartbreaking for house hunters. At the same time, there have been mixed messages in the media about what's ahead. Of course, there's always the Negative Nellies wanting to tell anyone who is prepared to listen to them the market is about to crash, but other more solid commentators are suggesting our property market is slowing down. And I agree, I believe the pace of capital gains has peaked, but I'm not suggesting home values are about to dip, far from it. Rather I believe we've moved from a peak rate of growth to a pace of capital gain that will be more sustainable. I was recently interviewed by Jarrad Mahon for his Perth Property Insider podcast, and because the questions he asked me were more general in nature, rather than related to Perth I asked his permission to replay the interview with you as I hope you'll get benefits from my answers to his questions. You'll hear me answers questions like how much more life is left in the property cycle and you'll be pleased to know that it's not too late to be early for this property cycle – I'll explain how long I believe is left in this cycle and where the opportunities lie. Topics I discussed with Jarrad Mahon Last year when many of the bank economists predicted a 15%, 20%, 30% fall in property values I disagreed with them I'm on record in March and April last year suggesting that well-located A-grade homes and investment-grade properties would only fall about 5% in value and secondary properties would fall close to 10% in value and I got that right. I also called a turning point in our property markets in October last year when we could see on the ground what was happening long before it showed up in the official statistics. However, I didn't really expect the market to rebound so quickly. All the property markets are stronger than they were 12 months ago. In the last three months, Melbourne's grown closer to 6%. We're in a cycle of upgrading Based on affordability I expect 20- 25% growth this cycle And while this will be a general increase in value around the Australian property market some areas are going to outperform others, as they always do and a lot of this will have to do with demographic High-end properties will outperform, and capital cities will outperform the regions In cities, the apartment market will languish While normally investors make up around 30% of our property markets currently, they're making up around 20% of all property purchases. This will increase and as more Australians become comfortable with their financial situation and hear how well the property markets are performing, we will have a whole new wave of property investors, as has happened every other cycle. The unfortunate thing is that most investors will fail – they will not get past the first investment property and if history repeats itself 50% will sell up the properties within the first five years. Affordability and the deposit gap will slow growth Apra and the RBA said they are not going to interfere as long as lending remains responsible. It's unlikely interest rates are going to go up, but we could see. It's not really population growth that drives our property markets and more demographics which in part includes how many of us there are but also how we want to live and where we want to live. Population growth per se does not cross property price growth family formation does – my daughter just had a baby but doesn't need any extra house. The return of cashed-up ex-pats is having to property price growth. It has been estimated that hundreds of thousands of people return to Australia over the last year, with many of them coming from cities that have more expensive property markets. Many are returning with plenty of Real Estate dollars behind them off in a stronger currency is the Australian dollar which supercharges their buying power even more. Ex-pats from expensive cities like London, Hong Kong, and New York often don't consider our property prices unaffordable I'm not happy to pay whatever is necessary to secure a prestigious property in the desired location Immigrants often rent for a while because they're not sure where to live and this is definitely affected our rental markets, particularly in the big capital cities. Immigrants don't know where to buy – all they know is there a place of employment or maybe the university, so they are often start as tenants. Australia has a business plan to increase our population to 40,000,000 people by 2050. We plan to get to 30,000,000 people by 2030 – that's unlikely to happen – more likely to be 29 million. But that means if you get into the property market today, you're ahead of 3 ½ million other people are going to be buying property in the next 8 to 9 years There is no doubt that people move from one location to another because of affordability, but more important than that is jobs. The ability to work, live, and pla

Today, I'd like to share with you my top insights into creating accelerated wealth. Now, the show is a little bit different, because it's actually the audio of a webinar I conducted with my friend Louise Bedford who asked me to share with her audience my insights into creating wealth in this new business, property, and economic cycle. It came at a great time because I was preparing the curriculum for Wealth Retreat this year that we'll be holding on the Gold Coast in June, and I was reviewing my notes from previous years and speaking with previous attendees. I was blown away by the feedback as previous attendees explained how the Wealth Retreat changed the way they handled their investments, their business and their lives. That's high praise from people who are already very successful. So, I hope that sharing my insights will also benefit you and help you take advantage of the opportunities that lie in front of us in 2021. My insights into wealth creation The first step along the investment path is educating yourself. It's what I still do today to keep growing and it's what all successful investors do. Experience is an expensive teacher. I recognised that we all have personal ceilings of achievement that are based on our current thoughts and habits. The answer is to grow yourself into a bigger cup so that you attract and keep more wealth. You do this by upgrading your wealth programming – the way you think and react about money. We all need to learn from mistakes – this helps you get it right and move forward. The only question is, whose mistakes? Yours or those of the successful investors who have already achieved what you want to achieve? Remember, building wealth all on your own is not only hard work, but it's slower and riskier. Alone you are vulnerable and will never reach your fullest potential. But when you connect with the right mastermind group, the chemistry will literally propel you to heights you never dreamed possible. The biggest obstacles we need to overcome to become financially free Obstacle #1: Isolation: It's hard to build wealth on your own You see…alone you are vulnerable. You will never reach your fullest potential. But when you connect with the right people, a whole new set of options you never dreamed possible opens up to you. In fact, one of the main reasons people attend Wealth Retreat is to have an instant peer group of movers and shakers. Obstacle #2: Fear One of the greatest obstacles to building financial freedom is fear. And with all the mixed messages in the press at the moment with concerns about, the after-effects of the Corona Virus on our economy, what will happen when JobKeeper ends, growing social unrest in Australia – not just overseas, the challenges with obtaining finance and talk of a property bubble developing, many of us are more fearful than ever. This fear can be taken many forms, but the big 4 fears I come across are: Fear of failure – this is especially prevalent. Fear of debt – most of us have been taught that debt is bad and not to take on more debt. Strategic investors recognise that debt in itself is not necessarily bad, rather it's not being able to repay your debts that's a problem. Fear of success – Interestingly, some beginning investors put off their investment decisions because they are haunted by a fear of success. While this may initially seem strange, this fear generally stems from a feeling of unworthiness, where people convince themselves that they are undeserving of wealth or wanting to accumulate wealth makes them a bad person. Fear of the unknown – Who wants to go into a dark room? Who wants to go to a party where you don't know anyone? Who is not nervous about buying their first investment property? Whenever the outcome is uncertain, fear rears its ugly head. Another fear I have commonly seen is the fear to follow your passion. Obstacle #3: Uncertainty The third major obstacle I've observed our Wealth Retreat graduates had to overcome was confusion. They had heard so much conflicting financial advice over the years that they quite simply didn't know which direction to move in. How to overcome these obstacles One of the most valuable benefits of Wealth Retreat for attendees was that it simplified the complex world of wealth building and business planning so that they had a crystal clear, specifically defined plan of action to pursue their personal wealth building. Alone you are vulnerable; connected we are strong It really struck me how easy it is to fall back into old habits and let negative outside influences dramatically impact our mindset and financial results when we are on our own. We cannot be our best selves in isolation from the world. We need other people. The key is making sure we're spending time with people who inspire, empower, and encourage us. Your peer group is contagious One of the things that struck me on the first night at Wealth Retreat, when we all got together for a special surprise event (the details of which I can't r

Perhaps it's a reflection of how old I am, but as I keep seeing the stories in the media about rapidly rising house prices, I simply think: here we go again. There are already those out there telling us we are in the housing bubble that's going to crash. Then there are others who are warning us how the Reserve Bank or APRA are going to interfere and slow things down. And then the banks that only 12 months ago forecast house prices would fall 10, 15 or 20 percent are now suggesting house prices could rise by 10, 15, or even 20 percent in this year alone in some areas. While these periods of rapid house price rise essentially come down to the forces of supply and demand, each sprinkled with varying quantities of irrational exuberance, the precise forces behind each of the housing booms I've invested in over the last almost 50 years are not the same. I remember just after I bought my first investment property early 1970s inflation boomed when the Whitlam Labour government came in. At that time interest rates were much higher than they are now. Inflation had the effect of reducing the real value of mortgages, but it was also a time of strong wage growth. Then I remember the great property boom of the late 1980s which was one of the factors that led to the recession we had to have in the early '90s and particularly remember the boom in the early 2000s, when investor demand was a significant factor driving up house prices, in part because of the changes made to the capital gains tax regime at the time. Looking at the current housing boom, there are some very interesting features that contrast with previous cycles. The first is that population growth is currently very low, in fact, net immigration actually caused Australia's total population to fall over the past 12 months. That's very different from previous booms — particularly in the middle of the last decade — where strong immigration was an important driver of rising house prices. Another interesting difference is the relative absence of investors in the current housing market compared with owner-occupiers. This is reflected in the much stronger demand for standalone houses rather than apartments. In February this year investors only made up about 20% of all home loans while traditionally this is closer to 30%. And it's not just local investors that are missing. There is also the absence of foreign investors. During the last boom Asian investors, particularly from China were an important force driving up property prices and buying many of the high-rise apartments being built in our CBD. They are nowhere to be seen this time around. So far, a significant factor of this property boom has been the presence of first homebuyers assisted by various federal and state government initiatives including the homebuilder program, the first home loan deposit scheme, and various deputy concessions. While our banks are keen to lend to First Home Buyers, I've heard that the Bank of Mum and Dad is now is the fifth largest lending institution in Australia. Here homeowning parents who sitting on significant equity in their property help their children get into the housing market either with gifts, loans or they assist by guaranteeing their loans. So how can you make the most of this property cycle? Is the Reserve Bank going to interfere and raise interest rates? Will APRA slow down lending as it has in the past? These are all questions I'm going to ask of my regular podcast guest, financial adviser Stuart Wemyss. Truths about the housing boom Our property markets have been surging this year with double-digit growth in sight for all our capital cities. And now that more Australians feel secure about our economy in general, and their jobs in particular, this will only place more impetus under our markets. And it's clear that FOMO (fear of missing out) when homebuyers and investors are scared the market is running away from them is driving many decisions. Buyers feel they must get into the market and this is showing with even secondary properties selling well above their vendor's expectations. Normally at the beginning of the property cycle, there is a flight to quality – people remember the type of properties that held their values well during the downturn and avoid secondary properties. But currently, I'm seeing some home buyers so worried the market is going to pass them by that they are compromising their selection criteria just to get into this market. Unfortunately, we've seen how you end up when the market eventually slows down, and it's not always a pretty sight. So what's ahead for the markets this year and how can you take advantage of our current property boom without getting burned? That's the topic of my discussion today with independent financial adviser Stuart Wemyss. Will the RBA increase the cash rate? The lowest 40% of income earners have been affected by COVID-19 the most. An increase in interest rate would adversely affect low-income owners when they could least

We are experiencing extraordinary times with a booming economy and surging property market yet if history repeats itself, most investors won't become rich. So, in today's podcast, I want to share three lessons with you to help even the odds in your favour. Firstly, I'm going to explain six reasons many property investors don't become rich, and they're probably not ones that you would've thought of. I would then like to discuss a controversial topic with you - that debt can actually be an asset, not a liability. Of course, not everyone agrees with me, but I hope once you've heard my point of view you will understand why the rich are getting richer because they know how to use it wisely, especially in today's low-interest-rate environment. And then I'm going to share 5 things that you can do differently to make your future better. The reasons why property investors don't become rich Reason 1 – Most people wait too long to start Many investors are waiting for everything to be "perfect" before they get going. Which means they never get going. The longer you wait to get started with your investing, the longer it will be before you get the money, success, and freedom you want. Reason 2 – Fear stops them Fear keeps many of us from getting what we want, especially in matters of money. Some fear taking on more debt, others fear failure and some even have a fear of success. Successful investors have learned to harness their fears and rather than focus on the negatives, they use fear to force them into positive action. Reason 3 – Waiting until they know enough The fear of not knowing enough prevents other investors from getting started. However, the irony here is that the more you learn, the more you learn that you don't know! The way out is to recognize that while you don't know it all, and you never will, you do know enough to get started with your investing and you will learn more along the way as you apply your knowledge in the real world, surviving any mistakes and challenges along the way. Reason 4 – Focusing on linear income instead of passive income Some income streams are linear, and some are passive. Linear income is what you get from a job. Passive income is when you work once but continue to get paid over and over again from work you're no longer doing. The way to become wealthy is having passive income coming in whether you go to work or not. Reason 5 – Not using systems for making money A system for making money is something that takes the emotion out of your investment decisions and makes the results more reproducible. My preferred system is investing in high-growth property. Once you create a proven system for making money, there is no limit to the money you can make. Reason 6 – Not being patient Warren Buffet once said: "wealth is the transfer of money from the impatient to the patient." To become a successful property investor requires patience and persistence. You must not only get started, but you must continue on and follow through. How debt can be an asset You were probably taught by your parents to get a good education, a good job, buy a home, work really hard, and pay off your debt. But, in my mind, that's not a productive use of the equity in your home. Instead, you should recycle the equity in your home and convert it into productive debt to buy income-producing assets. The three types of debt Bad debt: This is debt against assets that depreciate in value. Bad debt generally refers to things like credit cards or other consumer debt that does little to improve your financial outcome. Necessary debt: This is the non-tax-deductible debt against your home, but it's something essential that can't really be avoided. Good debt: This is a tax-deductible debt against income-producing and appreciating assets. Think loans against residential investment properties business loans. A seven step guide to debt recycling Over time you will have paid down a portion of your home mortgage with a principal and interest loan and during that time your home would have increased in value. The bank will often lend you up to 80% of the value of your home as long as you can show serviceability. You would take out a new investment loan using your available home equity as security and the purpose of this loan would be to use the funds as a deposit on an investment property. You could use this to invest in assets that produce both income and capital growth such as a managed fund, shares, or as the deposit against an investment property. You could even use the income generated from your investments, plus any tax advantages of a geared investment, to pay off the non-deductible debt in your home loan. Over time you will build your wealth as your investment property or share portfolio should increase in value over time and the cash flow you receive in the form of rental or dividends should also increase. At the same time you will slowly be paying down the mortgage on your home, so that when you reach your retirement years and

Property investment may be simple, but it's not easy. It's simple if you follow the rules and the right strategy, but it's not easy because there are so many moving parts, and most people don't even recognize that. Successful property investment requires the collaboration of a team with expertise in property, finance, tax, the law, and financial planning. If you're a regular listener, you'd know I try to give you a mix of all of those things to give you a holistic overview of property investment. Today's episode is no different. I'll be talking to Ken Raiss, my business partner at Metropole Wealth Advisory, about the best ownership structures for property investment. After that, I'll share my mindset message with you. Highlights from my chat with Ken Raiss: What are ownership structures? They're a way of controlling your assets without owning them. It's a way to get all of the benefits of having them, like wealth and the ability to pass assets on to your children, without actually owning them. They give you a better way to manage cash flows, tax, and asset protection while separating you from the asset. People's lives and circumstances change. So even if you already have your portfolio and structures in place, it could make sense to change it now, depending on your circumstances. Types of structures: In general there are Companies and Trusts They've both been around for a long time, but they're now coming into use by ordinary people. Companies are very regulated. They must meet the minimum regulations set by the government. There are no government laws or rules about what needs to be in trust. Trustees may hold the cash, but they have a legal obligation to use it the way that the trust says they have to use it. Trusts have lots of flexibility concerning who you can give it to and what you can use it for. Benefits of using a trust: A more efficient way of distributing cash flows Be able to manage their own tax affairs Better control and management of the estate on death More flexibility Asset protection Common mistakes people make when using structures: Setting up a company, particularly for a business, then becoming the individual shareholder Setting up a company when trust would be more appropriate Setting up a trust when you'd be better off with a company Getting the wrong type of trust Selling a property from a trust in such a way that the depreciation is added back to the trust once or twice Failing to take the trust's end date into account Links and Resources: Michael Yardney Ken Raiss, director Metropole Wealth Advisory Have a chat with Ken Raiss to ensure you have the correct asset protection strategies in place – click here In turbulent times like this why not get the team at Metropole on your side – find out more here Get your own copy of What Every Property Investor Needs To Know About Finance, Tax and the Law. Shownotes plus more here: What is the best structure to buy your property in, yet protect and pass on your wealth, with Ken Raiss Some of our favourite quotes from the show: "Before people panic too much, there are things that can be done to amend trustees." – Michael Yardney "Many trusts have very broad definitions of who beneficiaries can be." –Michael Yardney "I guess one way of summarizing the habits of successful people could be: successful people start before they feel ready." –Michael Yardney PLEASE LEAVE US A REVIEW Reviews are hugely important to me because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes - it's your way of passing the message forward to others and saying thank you to me. Here's how

Almost 50 years ago I began my study of rich and successful people. Of course, not all rich people are successful. But I remember trying to understand why some people were rich while others kept struggling financially. Over the years I attended many seminars, paid mentors, and read as many books as I could on the topic of success. I modeled successful people and eventually grew successful myself. It wasn't easy, I've had my challenges in life (mostly self-inflicted) and I've hit rock-bottom, but I got up again, learned from my mistakes, and moved forward. Over the years, I grew a very substantial property portfolio, built a national business this has won multiple awards as Australia's leading property consultant and has been involved in over $4 billion worth of property transactions, and currently manages over $2 billion worth of assets for our clients. As you can imagine I have learned a few things about wealth and success along the way. And a byproduct of this is my top-selling book – Rich Habits Poor Habits — that I co-authored with Tom Corley and which has become an international bestseller and translated into a number of foreign languages including. In our book, we explain that being rich has little to do with the money itself. Instead, it has a lot to do with how you think about money. So, if you want to become rich, one of the first steps is to know how the wealthy think about money differently than you do and to start thinking like them. The next step is to take action and to let the action become natural by thinking the way wealthy people think. Unfortunately, we live in a society that teaches us that money equals success. Like many other things, money is a tool. It's certainly not a bad thing but, ultimately, it's just another resource. Regrettably, too many people worship it. Now, I didn't understand this when I began my study of rich and successful people more almost 50 years ago. Over the years I have learned that… Being rich has little to do with the money itself. Instead, it has a lot to do with how you think about money. This means that if you want to become rich, one of your first steps is to know how the wealthy think about money differently than you do and to start thinking like them. The next step is to take action and to let the action become natural by thinking the way wealthy people do and developing what we call Rich Habits. In the last month's Rich Habits Poor Habits podcast, Tom and I discussed some of the Rich Habits that are common among successful people, and in today's show, we are going to continue this discussion, so welcome to today's show. Rich Habits of Successful People If you've been reading my blogs or those of Tom Corley, or if you be listening to our monthly Rich Habits Poor Habits podcasts or you've read or RHPH book you will know that rich people share similar habits just the way poor people share similar habits. Now before you get too offended… We're not making a judgment when we say rich people or poor people – they are terms we're going to use to help clarify the different ways of thinking that 1% of people exhibit from the majority of the population. So, let's learn more about these habits, Maybe we should clarify what habits really are: Habits represent unconscious behavior, thinking, choices and emotions. A habit is formed when neurons (brain cells) talk to one another repetitively. Habits have a purpose. More Rich Habits of Successful People Rich and successful people align themselves with like-minded people. They understand the importance of being part of a team. They create win-win relationships. The poor believe money will make them happier, while the rich know that money has little to do with happiness, but it does make your life easier and more enjoyable. The rich don't blame (what's the point?) They take responsibility for their actions and outcomes (or lack thereof). They know there is no such thing as a rich victim. The poor believe it's wrong for a small group of people (the 1%) to possess most of the money. The rich welcomes the masses (the 99%) to join them. Successful people are not necessarily more talented than the majority, yet they always find a way to maximize their potential. They get more out of themselves. They use what they have more effectively. The poor believe that in order to gain something, you must sacrifice something else. You must choose between great family life and being poor, or love and being poor, but you can't have both. The rich know they can have it all if they have an abundant mindset. Successful people are solution-focused, rather than looking for problems or obstacles. Successful people are fearful like everyone else, but they are not controlled or limited by fear. They use it to empower themselves. The rich get up early. They know there's no shortcut so they work hard until they've accumulated a big enough asset base so they don't have to work hard anymore. The rich ask the right questions – ones that put them in a pro

I recently read an article in the Australian by leading demographer Bernard Salt that made me think. He posed an interesting question. He said, "imagine taking an Australian couple from the 1950s and placing them in our society today. What would surprise them most?" Would it be the internet or mobile phones or our general level of prosperity? Maybe it would be something seemingly unremarkable (to us) such as the ubiquitous use of plastic. Or maybe it would be the idea of wearing outer garments with slogans, brand names and images paraded for all the world to see. Perhaps it would be our accent – it would sound less Australian, or the pronunciation of some words which would have more of an American twang to them, or even some of the words we use. Terms such as 24/7 became popular after the turn of the century, which brought with it the alphanumeric concept of Y2K. Bernard Salt suggested that if this '50s couple were to wander around the CBD of any big city, he was sure they would be struck by the ethnic mix of the people, the cafes, the independence of women, and the absence of formal dress, with hatless men and gloveless ladies everywhere. I'm sure he's right. This got me thinking about what will change in how we live moving forward after the coronavirus pandemic. How is your lifestyle going to change? While this is an interesting academic question it is also an important question to ask ourselves as property investors, business people, or entrepreneurs. As we move through 2021, we're still getting regular reminders that even though life is more normal, the effects of Coronavirus will be with us for a long time. While some people are still looking back in the rear vision mirror to see what lessons we can learn to give us some guidance for the year ahead, let's look forward into the future as I chat with leading demographer Simon Kuestenmacher Simon is Director of Research at The Demographics Group, a columnist with The Australian, and a regular guest on this who is globally recognized as a rising star in the field of data management and insight and a regular guest here on my podcast. All trends point towards Australians looking inwards, focusing on family matters, embellishing the family home. Retail shifted online during the lockdowns but even after Australia opened up again online retail remained higher than expected before the pandemic. The changes in retail sales by industry sub-group also show how Australians are investing in their family homes. Major events don't just change the way we view the world but also change the way we want our homes to look. When Italians and Greeks moved to Australia, we transitioned from building English homes to building Mediterranean homes that allow us to combine indoor and outdoor living. After the millennial drought, we added water tanks to our homes. During the pandemic, we added veggie patches, additional storage (for food and toilet paper?), zoom rooms to the house, and changed the way we use our garages. Even after droughts, pandemics, and Mediterranean migrant waves are gone the changes introduced to our homes are still there. The current changes suggest larger homes will be in more demand. Customer behaviour also is linked to customer income. The story here is simple. The richer you are the less intensely the pandemic hit you. Tenant selection should be on an investor's mind. This data further suggests that lower-skilled workers will struggle to afford homeownership and will therefore be renters. Links and Resources: Michael Yardney As our markets move forward why not get the team at Metropole to build you a personalised Strategic Property Plan – this will help both beginning and experienced investors. Join us at Wealth Retreat 2021 – click here to find out more Simon Kuestenmacher - Director of Research at The Demographics Group Shownotes plus more here: These are the big trends post-Coronavirus and they may not be what you expect with Simon Kuestenmacher Some of our favourite quotes from the show: "Even dress code seems to have changed. People are less formal post-COVID." – Michael Yardney "Sometimes we only look at what it costs to do something, and then when it seems too hard, we just don't do it." – Michael Yardney "You're never going to become rich if your money doesn't work for you while you're asleep." – Michael Yardney PLEASE LEAVE US A REVIEW Reviews are hugely important to me because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes - it's your way of passing the message forward to others and saying thank you to me. Here's how

There are a lot of great things about being an adult, such as setting our own bedtimes and owning the pet of our choice. But perhaps most importantly, with age comes the wisdom and perspective we only wish we had when we were younger. So if you had the opportunity to go back in time, what would you have liked to tell your younger self? That's what I'm going to discuss today with Mark Creedon and even though we can't go back in time, we can reflect on the hard-earned knowledge we wish we had known then. And we can even use it to inspire our future selves. What would you say to your younger self if you could? When we are young, we think we know it all. We have our whole lives ahead of us, and the exuberance and energy to go after what we want. But our 20s can also be a time of great insecurity. We are hungry and ambitious but lack the experience to know how to calculate risk properly, follow our gut or learn from our mistakes. Put simply: we don't have enough runs on the board to make fully formed decisions. But what if you could have a conversation with your bright-eyed, 20-something self? If you could have given he or she some wisdom from the future what would it be? What would you warn them against or encourage them to do more of? Here are some of the things we discuss: Look after yourself Hard work to the exclusion of all else is not the answer. Take Calculated Risks You don't save money by doing everything yourself. 5. Get a mentor; get a few mentors and be prepared to pay for them 6. Choose your friends carefully Admire rich people 8. Educate and motivate yourself Make investing a priority Don't compare your life to others, especially on social media. Links and Resources: Why not join Metropole's Business Accelerator Mastermind Learn more about Mark Creedon – Business Coach to some of Australia's leading entrepreneurs Get a copy of Mark's new book here – Have a business not a job Join us at Wealth Retreat 2021 – find out more here Shownotes plus more here: What's the best advice you would give your younger self? | Build a Business, Not a Job Podcast Some of our favourite quotes from the show: "I think I was probably too driven, too focused in the first part of my life." – Michael Yardney "I believe it's really important to choose your friends carefully, choose your friends wisely."— Michael Yardney "I don't particularly like employing people who haven't had failures in life. It means they haven't had a go." – Michael Yardney PLEASE LEAVE US A REVIEW Reviews are hugely important to me because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes - it's your way of passing the message forward to others and saying thank you to me. Here's how

We're at the beginning of a new economic cycle, a new property cycle, and a new business cycle - a time when lifetime wealth will be created by some people, but unfortunately not by most. I was recently asked by somebody in my mentorship program how to make the rest of their life the best of their life – how to make the second half of their life much, much better than the first half of their life. And that's what I'm going to discuss with you into today's show. So today we are not going to talk about property or money, we are going to have a much deeper conversation. Of course, property and money are important but only as a means of achieving what do you want to achieve and that's really what we get to talk about today I'm going to give you some hints on how to take advantage of all the opportunities that are currently in front of us. One of the things I realized early in my investment career is that those who are successful think a particular way and that's why I spent a lot of time studying the psychology of successful people and that's one of the topics I'm going to be touching on today – so while a chat today may be a slightly heavier conversation than you used to – I believe it will be very valuable so I look forward to giving you some different insights into wealth creation, but before I do let me ask you a question? How is your peer group going? If you want to change your outcomes, have you considered upgrading your peer group? It's been said that you're level of wealth is likely to be the average of your 5 closest friends. Here are the top three reasons why your peer group matters so much: Your peer group's attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours are contagious. Alone you are vulnerable; connected we are strong. It's a lot more fun to build with other people than in isolation! A little about gratitude I'd like to chat a little bit about something that may initially seem unrelated to money and wealth and I think you probably have come to this podcast to learn about, but in reality, it isn't. Let's talk for a moment about gratitude. And here's why…Gratitude is a trait you'll find common to all wealthy people. You can have all the money in the world, the biggest property portfolio, the most profitable company, but if you're not grateful for what you have, you'll never be wealthy. We've all seen or heard of people who have lots of money but lead miserable, isolated lives. And we've heard of others with very few of the trappings of wealth yet who lead very fulfilling lives, very wealthy lives, because they are grateful for what they have. So, in my mind it's critical to be grateful. One way to make this the best year of your life is to be grateful for everything you have and for every day you have. And then tell people how you feel… Send a thank you note, send a text, a Whatsapp or better still do it the old-fashioned way and pick up the phone and show your appreciation to someone every day. One of the most interesting aspects of this idea of active gratitude is that it has a boomerang effect. You'll be surprised how it comes back in many ways to make you wealthy and to help make this your best year ever. But, actually that's not what I was intending to talk about with you today, so lets get back to some other ideas about how we are going to make this your best year ever. Let me make a bold statement… What you feel is true about what is possible for you will dictate what you achieve. What you want to achieve this year must come first and then you'll work out how. That's why you must have goals for your future. I know that once you become successful in business or your property investments it's sometimes hard to have big goals – you've achieved a lot already. Can you pick this one of the things I find common amongst the attendees of the wealth retreat – have achieved a lot of the big goals in unsure what to do next. So my question to you now is…what are your goals for this year? What are your goals for the next five years? What is your financial goal for this year and for the next 5 years? What are your physical and mental goals? What is your goal for your relationships? What are your career goals for this year? You see… in about less than 9 months you are going to arrive at the end of the year again. Are you going to arrive at the place you want to be at? The place you have chosen and have done everything you could to get there. Or are you going to once again say: "I didn't reach my goals." The "what" always comes before the "how." One of the things I've studied is how it is possible to retrain the brain. And I've based this Mentorship program on my findings. I studied to find out if it is possible to take a belief and put it aside if it doesn't serve you. Can one take a belief like "I'm not smart enough", "I'm not good enough" or "I don't deserve to have success" - is it possible to set those neutral network patterns aside and create new patterns in the brain? As you've learned from my blogs and podcasts you

I took some time last weekend to look at some articles and commentary that came out about a year ago when the GVC (Great Virus Crisis) was just beginning. The media was full of negative commentary but in my regular podcasts my guests and I gave a much more measured commentary using our perspective gained from many years in the market, and as a result we were circled by a pack of "hangry" housing bears. They were all confidently growling that local house prices would slump by the largest margin on record. Of course, they were fuelled at that time by some crazy forecast from the banks and the perennial negative Perma Bears who were praying for the mother of all housing depressions. Now the media is full of positive news and most of the bears have gone back hibernating in their caves, but some are still out there telling us the upturn in our property markets is just temporary. We have an embarrassment of riches, with our economy and our property markets surging ahead. While much of the commentary is about the micro factors – what's happening on the ground in our property markets, I like to regularly get together with property commentator Pete Wargent in these "Big Picture" podcasts to look at the macroeconomic factors affecting our economy and the property markets to help give you some more clarity about what the future holds so you can make better investment and business decisions. No fiscal cliff at the end of March Remember how the property pessimists were worried that we would fall off the cliff due to the many deferred home loans? Many banks gave temporary relief to borrowers impacted by COVID-19, allowing them to defer payments for a period of time. However, APRA reports that as of 28 February, a total of $14 billion worth of loans are on temporary repayment deferrals, which is around 0.5 percent of total loans outstanding, down from $37 billion (1.4 percent of total loans outstanding) in January. Sure, lots of homeowners and property investors took advantage of the mortgage safety net, but they didn't need to use it and are now repaying their debts. We're not falling off of a fiscal cliff and our banking system is sound and stable – so it's a pity the Negative Nellys created so much stress amongst those who listened to them last year. Property prices and GST boost state budgets by $7billion The fastest house price growth in 32 years nationally has fuelled stronger than expected stamp duty revenues while also adding a feeling of wealth for existing homeowners. We know when we feel wealthy and secure, we will tend to spend more. This all good news to help continue boosting the post-COVID-19 economy. And this has a flow-on effect on government budgets. We know our governments have taken on more debt to help us get through the coronavirus crisis, but now it seems that State government budgets are a collective $7 billion better than expected as rapidly recovering housing markets and consumer spending lift goods and services tax and stamp duty collections run ahead of forecasts. Federal estimates of GST collections are already $5.9 billion ahead of where they were forecast to be just three months ago, while stamp duty estimates have improved in every state by more than a combined $1.5 billion compared to past figures. The latest home loan figures show that investors are back in the market The latest ABS figures show the value of new loan commitments for housing fell by 0.4 percent from a record-high $28.75 billion in January to $28.64 billion. On the other hand, investors are back in the market with lending to investors rising by 4.5 percent in February to 3-year highs of $6.94 billion, while lending to owner-occupiers fell by 1.8 percent to $21.70 billion. For owner-occupiers, the value of loans for construction rose 4.4 percent in February to a record-high $4.25 billion. Renovation loans rose 8.3 percent to 11-year highs of $322.4 million. Building approvals surging ​February saw another big upside surprise for dwelling approvals which leapt 21.6% in the month to be up 20.1%yr. ​The record house building approvals were driven by the government's HomeBuilder program which has now have sparked shortages of key tradespeople and helped push the price of materials up by as much as 50 percent. ​Rampant demand in the renovation and home building sector is hitting customers with significant delays and pushing up the price of materials. And disruptions to international supply chains are only making matters worse. ​​With dwelling approvals for houses at record highs, it's likely we will see additional pressure growing on construction costs as demand continues to build for residential construction materials and resources. The lift in residential construction costs is also placing upwards pressure on inflation where housing costs receive the heaviest weighting within the CPI 'basket' of goods. Although HomeBuilder has now been phased out at the end of March 2021, it's highly likely we will see a continuation in this tr

Why are you investing in property? Or why do you want to get involved in property investment? It's not really for the properties, is it? For some people, it's because they want to fund their retirement, while for others it's that they want more choices in life – they don't particularly want to retire, but they want to work when and how they want to work and because they want to go to work, not because they have to. However, the inconvenient truth is that despite over 2.1 million Australians investing in property, 92% of them never get past one or two properties in the portfolio, meaning they won't be able to fund their retirement. So, is it really possible to live off your property portfolio in the current economic climate and in our more challenging finance environment? The answer is… the rules of finance have changed considerably and how one funds the longest holiday you're ever going to have – your retirement – is very different from how you would have structured it many years ago. And that's what we discuss today in my chat with financial advisor Stuart Wemyss. At the end of today's podcast, you'll have more clarity on how to successfully live off your property portfolio. And I'm sure you won't be surprised if I tell you it's not what most people would recommend. Funding your retirement from property investment More and more Australians are looking at property investment as a form of taking control of their financial futures. Yet some people seem to be questioning the ability to really fund a reasonable retirement through property investment. So, today I'm going to have a chat with Stuart Wemyss, to get an understanding of how to fund the longest holiday you'll ever have – your retirement. Many years ago, I was introduced to the concept of living off the increasing equity of your properties, but that really isn't possible in the current lending environment. In fact, it's changed since the global financial crisis. So you'll have to build an investment portfolio that will allow for a great retirements Stuart and I discuss The importance of building an asset base. How does one structure a portfolio? So many unknowns for the future Must account for taxes What about interest rates – will they remain low it is best to acquire a combination of investment assets i.e. some property, some shares (hopefully in super), and some cash by the time you reach retirement. It is not necessary to acquire these assets equally each year. People who insist on "property, property, property" or "shares, shares, shares" are probably biased. It's OK to take a level of debt into retirement if you can comfortably service it. Borrowing to invest is typically a good wealth accumulation strategy as long as you do it prudently and adopt a proven methodology to select quality investments. If used wisely, debt can be a very effective tool. However, whilst your investment strategy will require you to get into debt, the strategy must also articulate how you will get out of debt (i.e. repay it). Links and Resources: Michael Yardney Metropole's Strategic Property Plan – to help both beginning and experienced investors Join us at Wealth Retreat 2021 on the Gold Coast June 12th – 16th – get more details here Stuart Wemyss – Prosolution Private Clients Stuart's Book – Rules of the Lending Game Shownotes plus more here: How do you fund your retirement using a property portfolio in today's financial environment, with Stuart Wemyss Some of our favourite quotes from the show: "We don't know what the rules are going to be when you retire in the future." – Michael Yardney "To get the results most of us are looking for, you need a plan. You need a strategic financial plan." – Michael Yardney "Your wealth operating system is what connects your inner self, your thoughts and your feelings, with the outer world." – Michael Yardney PLEASE LEAVE US A REVIEW Reviews are hugely important to me because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes - it's your way of passing the message forward to others and saying thank you to me. Here's how

If you want to take advantage of our property markets and become financially independent, today's show is for you, because I've got 3 segments during which I share a number of concepts that will help you along the way. First, we discuss whether property investing is an art or a science. Spoiler alert: it's both. But you still need to listen to the balance of the show because I'm going to explain how and why they interact. I'm also going to discuss the concept of becoming a borderless investor – investing in another state. I know a lot of people find this difficult. I see this particularly among intelligent and analytical people because they want more control. But bear with me as I explain some of the benefits and why you should at least consider becoming a borderless investor. Then in my mindset moment, I'm going to share a lesson that's made a difference to how I structure my life and I'm going to talk about the big rocks in the jar of your life. Is successful property investing an art or a science? So, Let's look at the three types of property investor. The passive investor A passive investor tends to spend little time doing any due diligence and is keen to buy one of the first properties they come across. They aren't really interested in understanding all of the ins and outs that go along with creating a property portfolio such as finance, tax laws, compounding and so forth. Instead, a passive investor tends to let their emotions get involved in their investment decisions, which we know can lead to disastrous results. The active investor An active investor puts in some degree of work in order to find a good investment prospect, including conducting some due diligence in the hope they can increase the likelihood of making a good and viable investment purchase. They generally look to gain a basic understanding of the principles involved in property, finance and taxation and would look to seek professional advice for help with structuring a portfolio. The analytical investor An analytical investor is the far extreme of a passive investor. Instead of undertaking little research and due diligence, this type of investor tends to go overboard and spend months, or even years, examining data, seeking advice and reading material in order to look for the 'ultimate' investment property. While it may seem that an analytical investor is more likely to make successful investment decisions, it's actually not the case. The problem with property data There's no doubt that it's important to understand the property fundamentals and research appropriate and reliable property data, and the more extensive the data research is and the longer it goes back, the more accurate it is in forecasting future trends. But the problem is, data is often wrong. Unfortunately, the most commonly-reported data - median price data - is actually very unreliable. There are three reasons: Because median prices fluctuate depending on the way the property is sold. In many suburban areas, where property sold a number of years ago and vacant land has now been replaced by new homes, this data is irrelevant. Similarly, new apartment or townhouse developments can skew median house prices of other local properties. Gentrification and renovation changes the nature or quality of properties which again, results in the median house price for the area being incorrect. Using median price data is risky for investment purchases and can cause costly investment mistakes. Just because median prices go up in the area doesn't mean that value of any local property also increases. So is property investing an 'art' or a 'science'? Both. It's true, successful property investors need research and data to aid an investment decision, but it's not enough on its own. Investors also need to compliment any applicable data with local area knowledge and expertise, plus experience and perspective in order to make the best-informed choices. Someone looking at data can make it say almost anything they want; the trick is knowing how to take that information and use it in conjunction with some practical experience in order to accurately make an investment decision. In other words, data and research is a critical step in getting ready to invest, but it is only one of the many important steps. What's the key lesson here? Property investment is an expensive game, and you can't afford to get it wrong. Engaging with experts with many years of experience can help you avoid making the costly mistakes made by so many naïve investors. Remember, property investment data is crucial when making an investment decision, but it's only half of the work. Should you become a borderless investor? You know…invest in another state? The short answer? Yes, absolutely! The long answer? There's so much you need to consider when investing in property, and the location and your proximity to the property is just one of them. Investing interstate is not without its risks. But to be a successful property investor w

With the property markets surging around Australia, people are starting to ask is this more than a just a property boom? Are we about to enter a property bubble? That's what I'm going to discuss today with property researcher John Lindeman, and we'll explain the difference between a boom in the bubble in what we believe is ahead for a property market so you have more clarity in making investment decisions But before I have that chat with John, I will explain to you what it takes to be in the top 1% of wealthy Australians. And what it takes to be in the top 1% wealthy people in the world. And the figures I'm going to share with you may surprise you, in fact, if you're listening to this, you're likely to be amongst the top 1% of wealthy people in the world. But I'm then going to share with you what you can do to work your way up the ranks. And I will also have my regular mindset message for you at the end of the show. Who is in the Top 1%? Today, I'd like to have a bit of a chat about what it takes to be in the top 1% of wealthy people. We know that true wealth is more than how much money you have or how many properties you own. But you don't have to look far to see the references to the top 1% of money earners and how disproportionate the distribution is in Australia and around the world. The coronavirus also helped expose the deep divide between the rich and the poor. But you may be surprised to find that the 1% doesn't just include the superrich. It may include you or someone you know. How rich do you think you need to be to make it into the 1% club? It's very likely if you're listening to this podcast you're already in the one percent. According to last year's Global Wealth Report, an individual net worth of Australian one million two hundred ninety-five thousand dollars, a combined income of investments and personal assets, will make you amongst the world's richest people. In other words, you need about 1.3 million to be in the world's 1%. As it turns out, there are discrepancies even among the 1%. But when you look at the Bureau of Statistics, the average Australian has a net worth of just over a million dollars, and the Australian top 20% have a net worth of 3.2 million dollars. So, a net worth of just 147,000 Australian dollars puts you in the top 10%. To be in the top 1%, you only need 1.3 million And Australian wealth is heavily skewed to property ownership. Just owning their own home can make many Australians more money than their day-to-day work. That's why I discuss how to become successful in property. I want you to be in that 1%. But what's the solution to wealth inequality? Focus less on taking action that could inhibit the top earners and more on what's stopping others from being successful and what's holding back the bottom 50%. If we're in a property boom, when will the bubble burst? We are in a new property cycle, but rather than starting off slowly as they have in previous cycles, almost every property market around Australia is exhibiting strong capital growth. This time around is very different from other cycles I've experienced where capital growth starts slowly and different segments of the market in different states behave differently. Currently almost every market, in capital cities and regional Australia at the high-end price segments of the market and it's the first homeowner level are moving upwards in price. The one segment which is languishing is the CBD high-rise apartment. Some commentators are claiming that our property markets are heading for a boom – I'd say they're a bit late to call you at that – we are in boom conditions. But others are warning that we could soon be in a price bubble that is about to bust. So, what's the difference between property booms and price bubbles, which are we in, and what's ahead. That's the question I would like to ask leading property researcher John Lindemann of Property Power Partners – John is one of the popular regular guests on this podcast and a regular blogger on property update and Your Investment Property Magazine So, let's start with some basics – what's the difference between and property boom and bubble? Bubbles invariably bust and when they do, housing prices end up much lower than where they started. Property booms, on the other hand eventually run out of steam with an occasional small price correction followed by a prolonged period of little to no growth. While bubbles do not happen in the general Australian property markets which are underpinned by a large proportion of owner occupiers, in the past we have seen property bubbles in certain speculative sectors of the property market such as mining towns or off the plan poor quality high-rise apartment towers in our capital city CBDs. The issue is that they both look the same at the start. It's the type of buyers causing the growth. Buying demand from investors grows when prices rise and the more that they increase, the more that investors want to buy properties. Owner-occupier

Who do you ask for property advice? With so many mixed messages and so many people out there with property advice, who can you trust? Today I'm going to teach you the ten-meter rule, and suggest you never break the ten-meter rule when getting property advice. The rule will also stand you in good stead in other situations where people are willing to offer you advice. Then I'm going to have a long chat with you about the reticular activating system. At the end of today's show, you'll have some new ideas and tools that will help you take advantage of our property markets. Introducing the 10 Meter Rule Now that the conversation has moved away from COVID-19, it seems everybody I bump into has an opinion on our property markets. They're reading all the news and while some believe property markets are going to perform strongly there are still many who believe we are in a bubble or a Ponzi scheme that's about to collapse. Some are keen on buying off the plan, others are looking at houses and land packages and yet others think it's better to rent and buy. I saw something similar when I was having a chat with the young lady who came up to me a few weeks ago when I was sitting in Church Street Brighton having a coffee. She obviously recognized me from my blogs or my photos on the Internet and wanted to ask me some questions about real estate, so I gave her a few minutes of my time. The conversation started with what I thought was going to happen to our property markets, but then when I asked her what her plans were, she explains to me how she recently paid a lot of money for a course to learn how to be a buyers' agent and was going to help homebuyers and investors. She was going to make that her career. I know the course she is talking about because it has produced a whole swag of new buyers' agents, so I asked her a little bit about her background. She had brought one investment property a couple of years ago in a suburb of Melbourne, which hasn't performed very well, and up until last year, she was a teacher. But now with her newfound knowledge and enthusiasm, she was going to charge others to buy real estate for them. As I listened to her story it reminded me of a blog that I read probably over a decade ago by Canadian property commentator Don Campbell where he explained how a comedian made a significant difference to his property investing. Now investing in real estate is no joke, but a comedian taught him the final 30-foot rule, which I have changed to the final 10-meter rule, and understanding this will make a difference for you. Okay, in a nutshell, it comes from the comedian, old-school comedian, Buddy Hackett. My understanding of The Final 30 Feet (or the Final 10 Metres as I'm now calling it) came from a warning given by Buddy Hackett to a young and upcoming comedian on how to deal with the mountains of advice that TV executives, promoters, friends, and family will give him as he built his comedy career. Buddy's advice was simple yet profound: "Listen politely, smile and allow them to feel helpful… then turn around and seek out and take advice only from those who have walked The Final 30 Feet." The obvious follow-up question was: "What do you mean the Final 30 Feet?" Apparently, Buddy said: "Only take advice from those who have walked the final and most important 30 feet from backstage to being alone in front of a microphone with nowhere to hide. Then, and only then, will you know the advice comes from reality and not theory. They'll understand the emotions, the work it takes to get it right. They'll have made the mistakes and created the laughs, not just read about how to do it." This sage advice is obviously very relevant about whom you should listen to with regards to property and wealth advice. In essence, there are a lot of enthusiastic amateurs out there who despite their best intentions, and even if they're confident with their thoughts are correct, will steer you in the wrong direction. And that's not necessarily because they mean to you or intend to, but because they don't have the experience or perspective to give the right advice. So, my advice to you is to be very careful to choose advisors who have the final 10 meters of experience in whatever field you are asking assistance with; be it property investment, business, relationships; because there are just too many inexperienced pretenders out there. By the way… this doesn't surprise me. I have seen this happen at the beginning of every new property cycle, a flood of new so-called experts trying to make a living giving advice. And while a rising market may cover up some of their shortcomings, I keep coming back to Warren Buffett's saying – "A rising tide will lift all ships, but when the tide goes out, you'll see who swimming naked." In the past, I've written about the fact that successful property investing is part science and part art. There's no doubt that science, theory, data, and research, are very important. But they tend to be useless unle

One of the most significant changes in the time I've been investing in property, and that's close to five decades now, is the availability of data. When I first started investing in the 1970s there weren't any blogs, podcasts, YouTube channels and the only way to get property data was to be part of the secret inner circle – which was then a men's club of Real Estate agents – because the lag in publicly available data was often over a year. The estate agents were custodians of the data, because back then the Valuer-General would only publicly release property once a year. Over the last decade, there's been an abundance of monthly data available to property investors and over the last year, most of the data houses have been providing weekly updates. But in our current fast-moving market sometimes even this is a little bit too slow. For property investors who need to make important financial decisions, the lagging available data can be an issue and the other significant challenge is understanding which data is important and which isn't and that's the topic of my chat today with financial adviser Stuart Wemyss. At the end of the show, you should have a much better understanding of what data you should be paying attention to and where to find it, and this should help better property investment decisions. Filtering Property Data It seems that currently every man, woman, and pet dog is upbeat about our property markets. Just look at the messages we are getting in the media. It seems that all the economists have now done an about-face and agree we're in for strong property markets for the next few years, with some being comfortable using the word house price boom. In fact, they seem to be out doing each other to see who can come up with the most upbeat price increase forecasts. Six percent gains? How about eight percent? No, it will be double-digit growth. What about sixteen percent over the next two years! But looking back over the last few years, we know that most economists have had a very poor track record, and we know much of the information we read is not useful. So, today in my chat with Stuart Wemyss, we get an understanding of what information is relevant and what is not. The media tend to only run stories that they consider newsworthy. Newsworthy often means that the information is time-sensitive e.g. what happened yesterday or what will happen tomorrow. This short-term information does not help if you intend to own a property for many decades. So what information is relevant? Very little from the media. A good and bad property costs the same to hold. You will pay the same amount of interest with respect to the mortgages. And the income and expenses will be relatively similar. The biggest difference between a good and bad property is capital growth. That is, what will the property be worth in 10, 20, or 30 years? In this regard, when selecting a property, there are three fundamentals you must consider: Land value Scarcity Past performance There's only a handful of important macros considerations Population growth Money supply Diversified employment opportunities Infrastructure Ignore the rest! Property investment is part art and part science, and that's where investors who only base their decisions on data get it so wrong. I know there are a number of people out there currently saying that they research every market around Australia sitting at the computers all day. Unfortunately, what they are missing is the perspective – they have the same speed right but not the bit right – not the on the ground knowledge - you can't get it by flying in & flying out and speaking to a few agents – perspective takes years to develop – it's something you can't buy. Some examples of when the data can lie to you Not enough data Not long enough time between transactions Too hard to ascertain its current value Our sales did not represent Fair market value You overpaid for the property when you purchased it Links and Resources: Michael Yardney Get the team at Metropole to help build your personal Strategic Property Plan Click here and have a chat with us Stuart Wemyss – Prosolution Private Clients Stuart's Book – Rules of the Lending Game Shownotes plus more here: What property data should I be paying attention to and what should I ignore? with Stuart Wemyss Some of our favourite quotes from the show: "I think we've got to remember that the media's job is not to educate you but to entertain you." –Michael Yardney "Part of an investor's job is to maximize their returns while minimizing their risk." – Michael Yardney "The few who do succeed are able to do so when the pain that does come to them – they can endure it because they prepared for it." – Michael Yardney PLEASE LEAVE US A REVIEW Reviews are hugely important to me because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes - it's your way of passing the message forward to others and saying thank you to me.

Just like 2020 was the year of surprises many of us didn't foresee, I believe 2021 will offer its own surprises – but this time, on the upside. There is a perfect storm of economic outcomes and that's what I'm going to be chatting about with Pete Wargent in today's show as we have a look at the macroeconomic big picture that will affect our property markets, our economy, and our lives in general in the coming year. It's really only been a year since Coronavirus started to affect us. Just look where we were in the middle of last year and it's hard to believe where we are now. We've had spectacular success in containing the Coronavirus. The Morrison Government build the bridge he promised to get us across the other side and federal government and state government spending killed the recession, which was the deepest since the Great Depression. We now have record low-interest rates. A sooner-than-expected arrival of vaccines. And all the above has pumped up economic growth above expectations and helped the property markets and the stock market rebound, bringing both business and consumer confidence. We have an embarrassment of riches, with our economy surging ahead, so I hope my chat with Pete Wargent will give you some more clarity about what the future holds so you can make better investment and business decisions. Economic and property trends for 2021 with Pete Wargent Our property markets don't operate in isolation, so I believe it's good to regularly have a look at the big picture, the macroeconomic factors affecting not just Australia's economy, but the world economy. Australia's V-shaped economic recovery. Australia's economy has surprised on the upside. While technically we had a recession last year – two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth, really the March quarter had very minor falls in GDP – there was really only one quarter, the June quarter, with a significant drop in economic activity. And boy has the economy rebounded since. Our economy is likely to keep performing well moving forward While the recovery to date has unfolded much more quickly than expected, it is important to remember that: it has been uneven and that despite recovering to pre-COVID levels by mid-2021, there remains a high degree of spare capacity in the economy. There is still some way to go and there are still risks ahead. $120 billion savings war chest is firing our economic recovery Saving is about to become unfashionable again. After rushing to build deposits during the COVID crisis, it seems we are now determined to burn through accumulated cash. What's more, the trend is going to accelerate. New forecasts suggest that by the end of this year we will be saving less than half what we are putting away just now, and that level will be around a quarter of what we were saving at the peak of the crisis. As panic swept the broader economy last year, the national savings rate soared to unprecedented levels, hitting 22 percent — or 22c for every dollar — at its peak. To put that number in historical perspective, it meant we saved $187bn in 2020, which works out at more than the total savings over the past 3½ years. More recently the savings rate figure has started to drop, though it is still sitting somewhere near 12 percent. The Commonwealth Bank ­estimates that households have put aside $120bn more than what is normally saved in the June, September, and December quarters last year — equivalent to 6 percent of gross domestic product as overseas travel and social activities were curtailed. The bank's analysts believe this money will be spent over the next few years, providing continued economic momentum as a good chunk of this money will find its way into consumer spending. And some of it will go to paying down debt and some will go into buying assets. We're already seeing this in retail spending and in our property markets. RBA and interest rates There has been a lot of chatter amongst media commentators that our booming property markets will force the RBA to intervene earlier than planned and raise interest rates. But in his recent statement, RBA Governor Philip Lowe once again put these predictions to rest explaining that the surging housing market will not cause the RBA to raise interest rates. He said it would not make any sense to do so. I know the media loves headlines about rising interest rates, but Philip Lowe once again reminded us that his aim is to bring inflation sustainably within a range of 2 to 3%, and to do this we need higher rates of wages growth and in his words: "The evidence strongly suggests that this will not occur quickly and that it will require a tight labour market to be sustained for some time." The Reserve Bank Governor emphasised this point, noting that the road to "normality" was long. Governor Lowe said that wage growth was a long way from 3 percent. And indeed inflation was a long way from sustainably being back in the 2-3 percent target band. Rising bond yields: The Governor sought to emph

As we move into a new property cycle, a whole new generation of people are going to become financially independent through property. So, today's show is going to be dedicated to helping you become one of those. I've got two segments for you today. The first segment is a chat with Brett Warrant about 10 questions you should ask yourself when you're going to buy an investment property – whether you're a beginner or an experienced investor. Then, in my next segment, I'm going to share five things that you can do today to become more successful tomorrow. 10 things to consider when buying an investment property With our housing markets entering a new cycle - a new phase of strong growth - there are more people interested in getting into property investment. Close to 50% of investors who buy a property sell up in the first five years and 92% never get past the first or second property. In fact there around 1.9 million Australian investors never get past the first or second property and less than 21,000 Australian investors only six or more properties So how do you succeed, how do you get into that small group of investors who build a substantial property portfolio? Currently, there are so many options out there. Everyone seems to have become a property expert with an opinion of how to create wealth through property. And, I don't know if you've noticed - many of their suggestions are conflicting. So whether you're a beginning property investor or an experienced investor, I'd like to help you take advantage of this new property cycle by discussing 10 questions that I believe all investors need to get their head around with Brett Warren, National Director of Metropole Properties, and my business partner who is based in Brisbane. What do I want to achieve? Is it money? Wealth? Financial freedom? Maybe all of the above! Remember the bricks and mortar are not really the end goal; rather they're just the vehicle you choose to get there. So firstly, identify your end goal and then formulate a plan to get you there in a time frame that works for you. Unfortunately, most investors don't have a plan and that's why they get lost along the way or get distracted by the latest investment fad or the next "hot spot." And if they do have a plan, I've found they rarely review it to make sure they're on track. Maybe you don't know what the future will hold – but you do know you need a substantial asset base. What is my preferred strategy? Once you know where you are going, you need to implement an investment strategy that helps you get there. Since you can't save your way to wealth, my goal is to build a substantial asset base through capital growth. Where should I buy? Location is critical to the long-term performance of your investment. I look for suburbs that have always outperformed the averages or one's going through gentrification. These are generally lifestyle suburbs in major capital cities close to the CBD, amenities, or the water. And the significance of the neighbourhood has only become more important. In urban planning circles, it's a concept known as the 20-minute neighbourhood. What type of property? This will depend upon your budget and while, in general, houses deliver stronger capital growth than apartments, this has a lot to do with the location of your property. I'd rather own a villa unit, townhouse, or apartment in a great neighborhood in an inner or middle ring suburb than a house out in the sticks Today more people are trading their backyards for courtyards and balconies to be situated in the right locations. 6 Stranded Strategic Approach – only buy a property: That would appeal to owner-occupiers. Not that I plan to sell the property, but because owner-occupiers will buy similar properties pushing up local real estate values. This will be particularly important in the future as the percentage of investors in the market is likely to diminish. Below intrinsic value – that's why I'd avoid new and off-the-plan properties which come at a premium price. With a high land to asset ratio – that doesn't necessarily mean a large block of land, but one where the land component makes up a significant part of the asset value. In an area that has a long history of strong capital growth and that will continue to outperform the averages because of the demographics in the area including gentrifying areas. With a twist – something unique, or special, different or scarce about the property, and finally; Where they can manufacture capital growth through refurbishment, renovations, or redevelopment rather than waiting for the market to do the heavy lifting as we're heading into a period of lower capital growth. Should I buy something old or new? More often than not, new or off-the-plan apartments are a "box" in a high-rise monolith. The problem here is that you pay a premium to the developer and miss out on the first decade or so of capital growth. At the same time, the majority of owners in the building are likely to be investors

There is no doubt that our property markets are in a broad-based boom, with almost all segments, other than the inner-city apartment market showing strong property price growth. And the media is having a field day whipping up a frenzy of emotions with headlines causing some buyers to worry that the housing market is running away from them. In fact, FOMO (fear of missing out) seems to be a common theme around Australia's property markets. But the general media and certain commentators on social media are worrying home buyers and investors by speculating that interest rates are about to rise or that unemployment will escalate to 8% when JobKeeper ends, or that everybody is moving to the country and city property values will be affected. So in today's show, I want to bust some property myths in two segments. You probably know that I host a regular weekly Property Insiders video on my YouTube channel where Dr. Andrew Wilson gives sensible, down to earth commentary about what's happening in the property market, and the audio recording of last week's video will be the main feature of today's show but first I'd like to bust some of the media myths about regional Australia's property markets, who's moving there and whether you should consider investing in regional Australia. The Regional Australia Myth I'd like to start by discussing the myth being promoted in the media that investing in regional Australia is a great idea. First, that's a silly comment – there are so many different regional markets, as you know I don't suggest investing in the Sydney property market or the Brisbane property market because even within capital cities there are many different markets divided by geography, price point, and type of dwelling. So, therefore, just suggesting investing in regional Australia makes little sense. Then there's the argument that some put in the media that this particular town in regional Australia has performed better than the Sydney property market. Again, that's a silly comparison, because the regional town may have 5, 10- 20,000 people in it and Sydney has 5 million people in it. A better comparison would be the long-term performance of a particular regional town against a high-performing capital city suburb. When it comes to investing, you shouldn't be considering how you want to live, you should be investing in numbers, stats, demographics, and evidence and that's what I'm going to share with you in a moment. What about migrants? We know that prior to the Covid pandemic and Australia shutting its borders, the population was growing faster than almost every other developed country and more than half our population growth of almost 400,000 people each year was coming from immigration. Property commentator Michael Matusik wrote a recent blog discussing the myths about regional population growth. Now there is no doubt that there is a small cohort of people who now want to live in regional towns within commuting distance of big capital cities because they have found they can work from home either part-time or full time, but Michael Matusik asks, "Is this what has been driving our regional property markets?" Matusik suggests that the real reason why the regions have seen an increase in net internal migration over the last 12 months is because people who would normally have moved from the regions to the capital cities are (for now) staying put. And the ABS statistics suggest that this is true. Net internal migration to the regions was 36,500 last year, which was up 14,000 or 62% on the year before. Now that sounds impressive, doesn't it? But you know how you can make numbers lie and twist them to make your point? You see… net migration is worked out by comparing those that move into an area against those that leave the same place during the same time frame. Firstly, that the overall level of arrivals to, and departures from, regional Australia has fallen over the last 12 months. This is because there are no overseas migrants arriving in Australia. This impacts both the capital cities and regional Australia. Secondly, the ABS statistics show that there has been little change in the number of people moving from the capital cities to the regions, whilst on the other hand, there has been a big increase in the number of regional residents who haven't moved. This trend increased during 2020 as certain Australian States implemented increasingly strict covid-related lockdowns and other restrictions. Around 70% of Australians live in our six main cities. I don't think this will change because of the pandemic. In short, the capital cities are where the jobs and the services that people want are located. The majority of high-paying jobs that are going to be created are going to remain in capital cities. Many regional residents have put their move to the capital cities on hold last year, and as a result, I believe we will see a big snapback to positive net migration to the capitals once the covid vaccines roll out and travel-

Have you considered getting involved in property renovations? If so, then today's show is just for you. Making a tidy profit renovating a property seems like an attractive proposition, doesn't it? And that's why more real estate investors are turning to renovations: you know, buy low, renovate cheaply, add substantial value. That's the aim of their game. Sounds simple enough. But it's not really that simple. Sure, anyone can renovate, but not everyone can renovate for a profit. If you've been reading my blogs and listening to my podcast, you know that my preferred investment strategy is to add value. It is to manufacture growth through renovation and development. So in today's show, I chat with Greg Hankinson, director of Metropole Constructions. Greg has completed thousands of renovations. We're going to give you some tips and share some traps to avoid if you're going to get involved in property renovations. And at the end of the show, I'm going to share my mindset moment with you. Renovations Insights and Mistakes The BRRRR strategy Buy, Renovate, Rent, Refinance, Repeat Flips flop You need to manufacture significant capital growth - upside to cover the costs and unless you do a structural renovation this is too hard to achieve – can't achieve with cosmetic renovation. Patients take time, cost more, require permits and the associated costs could easily add 50% to your renovation budget. With cosmetic renovations, you can't really get two dollars for every dollar you spend Why they flop - Transaction and holding costs, tax, unrealistic expectations, and flipping in a fickle market Which tasks to outsource Anyone can renovate, but that doesn't mean they can make a profit, so let's look at some tips to make your renovations more profitable. What needs licenses – the electrician, plumber, any building works over 5000 in Victoria and different in other states Hire a project manager; don't do the work yourself. Mistakes: Choosing the wrong location Do you need the right market location where there is a significant differential value if you renovate.? This is unlikely in cheaper blue-collar or regional areas. Become an expert in your location can't rely on Internet reports avoid Main roads Wrong Property Cosmetic renovations – must be 20+ years old and of significant value, a lick of paint is not enough Structural – probably 50+ years old – must have good bones Refurbish versus renovate What's the difference? The refurbishment has no direct equity creation no additional capital growth but it does increase the rental returns and possibly some depreciation benefits Refurbish and not renovate? When a good property needs refreshing, kitchen bathrooms are in good nick, all the basics are sound, when if you renovated it would be a risk of overcapitalizing Not getting the appropriate permissions Check the permissions required Council & building permits? Owners corporation? Avoid overcapitalizing It's very easy to find a property that needs a renovation, but not so easy to find one that will reap a profit. Work backward – establish a post-renovation market appraisal on the property, subtract the purchase price, associated costs, interest, and a healthy buffer and profit margin. What's left is your renovation budget. As a rule, keep the renovation budget to 10% of the market value of the property Not allowing a sufficient contingency amount Once a budget is established, allow a contingency based on your experience level and the extent of the renovation works. Allow a little more if structural works or there are planning/building approvals required and a little less if the works are purely cosmetic. Ballooning budget Unreliable tradesmen, deadlines slipping through your fingers like sand, and alterations to the plan can quickly add up to cause your renovation budget to blow. Planning for delays and allowing for contingencies is critical to a successful renovation. Unexpected and Invisible costs From finding asbestos to hitting hard stone when excavating, these are just some of the unexpected costs that can come out of the woodwork when your renovation begins. These additional costs burn into your wallet, but removing the issues do not add perceived value to the property. Tailor the renovation for the target market Becoming an expert in the area. Understand local demographics By knowing what the market expects, you can tailor the works to suit that market and therefore not spend on things that may not bring a return on your dollars. It's not how you want to live – think…The Block First impressions matter The wow factor – Natural light, fresh paint, new floor coverings, and window furnishings go a long way towards transforming a tired old property into something that will be sought after. Often it's the little things that can make or break a successful renovation. Neutral colors allow tenants to create their own identity with their belongings. Dominant colors and textures tend to close in the wall and make spaces feel small

As we move through 2021, we're still getting regular reminders that even though life is more normal, the effects of Coronavirus will be with us for a long time. While some people are still looking back in the rear vision mirror to see what lessons we can learn to give us some guidance for the year ahead, today I'll be looking forward into the future as I chat with leading demographer Simon Kuesetenmacher about what he calls the Big Shift – some major demographic changes that you should be aware of if you're interested in the property or if you're in business But first, let me give you a couple of quick lessons from 2020 to help you take better advantage of our property markets. Timing the market is hard. Anyone who tried to time the top or the bottom of our property market over the decades I've been investing has usually missed out, so I would suggest spending your efforts finding the best asset you can rather than trying to time the market. Don't try and fight the RBA or our government.If you think about it, it's a government job to look after its constituents and protect them – not just by providing police and hospitals and the judicial system; but also protecting their jobs and the value of their biggest asset - their home. Economic depressions can be avoided. Our regulators have learned a lot over the last couple of decades and 2020 proved it - a rapid, large and well-targeted economic policy response can protect an economy from a significant shock and enable it to rebound quickly when the threat abates. Be careful who you listen to and turn down the noise. Last year investors were bombarded with information and opinions around what the coronavirus would mean to our economy and our property markets but much of this was just noise. Now that I have shared some of my lessons with you we are going to hear what Simon Kuestenmacher has to say, and even though we have discussed some of these concepts in previous podcasts, I'm sure you'll get a lot out of my chat with him as he introduces some new concepts we haven't discussed before that I think will help give you some clarity on what's ahead. And as always, I will share my mindset message with you at the end of our show. There's a big shift ahead for our property markets If you're like many Australians you're probably wondering what's going to happen to life beyond coronavirus. What's going to change in the way we live, work, and organize our cities? The simple answer is... quite a lot! And if you're a property investor, or a business owner you must understand how Australian cities are reshaping to stay ahead of the game. That's what I going to chat about today with Simon Kuestenmacher, one of Australia's leading demographers as I ask him for some insights into what his research suggests is ahead. Simon is Director of Research at The Demographics Group, a columnist with The Australian, and a regular guest on this who is globally recognized as a rising star in the field of data management and insight and a regular guest here on my podcast. Just to put some context to our chat… It's easy to forget that one year ago we have a government dedicated to balancing the budget and bringing in a surplus. Our property markets were rebounding, and business owners would looking forward to a great year ahead. Then look what happened in 2020 - we experienced a pandemic, a lockdown and a recession, and then a rebound. Fortunately, we controlled the health issues better than almost every other country in the world, and it seems that our government has minimized the impact of the coronavirus cocoon induced recession. But the dynamics of our society have changed considerably. So, what next? Global context What's happening in the world economy? Australia's economy has recovered remarkably quickly International capital and international talent will still want to come to Australia Based on sheer economic data, investors might want to invest in Australia, New Zealand, S. Korea, and maybe Taiwan Local Context Lower population growth Some sectors of the economy are booming and others floundering Despite COVID & temporary low migration, the pie keeps growing in the 2020s. Demographics drive particularly high demand for family-sized homes. Low demand for small apartments before migration amps up again. COVID and working from home will reshape our cities. CBDs perform poorly for a few years; outer suburbs & regional towns benefit from millennial families seeking sizeable homes. Millennial values will transform suburbia. Expect more demand for active transport, hipster cafes, and family-friendly spaces. We will want future homes to be pandemic-proof The rise of the 20-minute Neighbourhood Pre-Corona Fried Egg – Post-Corona Scramble Egg Location is critical to the long term performance of your investment. It seems that in our new "Covid Normal" world, people love the thought that most of the things needed for a good life are within a 20-minute public transport trip, bike ride or walk from

Success is no accident. The most successful people in life – whether in business, family life, music, or on the sports field – may not always seem like they have much in common. How are The Beatles similar to Steve Jobs? Or Warren Buffett and Shane Warne? But when their traits, habits and work ethics are distilled down, these unlikely characters share many similarities. You see, aside from the random element of luck, much of what makes some people successful involves the cultivating of certain habits. Learning what these habits are and how to employ them in your own life is worthwhile. So in this month's Build a Business Not a Job podcast, I'm going to discuss 15 of the common success habits with Mark Creedon founder of Business Accelerator Mastermind. And if you're not in business or planning to go in one, if you're planning to be successful in your life, in your career, or as a property investor you'll definitely be listeners And then I'm going to have a chat with Mark about his new book – Have a Business not a Job and I'll get Mark to share 3 special tips or takeaways from his book you could start implementing straight away. Habits of Highly Successful People Capitalize on the time you've got. Time is your most valuable and scarcest resource. Successful people understand this and think in terms of minutes instead of days and weeks. They understand the true value of their time and manage their priorities accordingly. Understand what the most important task is that you have to do in your day. Lock that in and schedule time to work on that task first. Control your inbox. Schedule meetings as a last resort and make sure that you have a clear time frame. There's no sense in having a meeting just to have a meeting. Say "no" to more things. Business owners appreciate input from workers who know how to prioritize immediate goals. 80 percent of your results will come from 20% of your activities, so slow down and take stock of your activities and what actually is getting results. Consider batching your work. If you can do something quickly, get it out of the way. Do it, delegate it, or delete it. Know the rules of delegation. Set aside time to journal. It allows clarity of thought and the opportunity to take stock for a moment. Look after yourself, your body, your energy, and your focus. It's not a constant marathon, try taking the time in sprints instead. Takeaways from Mark's Book The book was designed for people who were just getting started in their business journey and to help them overcome some of the hurdles. Or for people who own a business that they have to work all the time (so it's still a job.) Some of the major things readers will take away from the book include: Understanding that time is the most precious commodity that they have, so they'll understand how to make better use of it. Understanding that the people around you are your most important asset. Tapping into what the true product is that you're selling. Links and Resources: Why not join Metropole's Business Accelerator Mastermind Learn more about Mark Creedon – Business Coach to some of Australia's leading entrepreneurs Get a copy of Mark's new book here – Have a business not a job Shownotes plus more here: The 12 habits of highly successful people you should also practice with Mark Creedon | Build a Business, Not a Job Podcast Some of our favourite quotes from the show: "Most people work on other people's most important task first." – Michael Yardney "Every time you put something on your list, you're actually saying "no" to something else." – Michael Yardney "Clients really seem to want a straight answer, take away my problems, help me by protecting me." –Michael Yardney PLEASE LEAVE US A REVIEW Reviews are hugely important to me because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes - it's your way of passing the message forward to others and saying thank you to me. Here's how.

Property values can't keep rising! It's all a Ponzi scheme and is going to come crashing down around us! The only reason our property markets have survived COVID-19 is because of bank and government support. That's some of the commentary you'll find in the media and over the Internet at present and on the other hand you'll find many experienced property commentators saying we're at the beginning of a new property cycle, one where property values will rise considerably. Who is right? Can property values keep rising, and can they rise as much as they have over the last three or four decades? That's the question Stuart Wemyss and I discuss today as we explain the various factors that created the significant property price growth over the last couple of decades. However, looking forward many of those growth drivers won't be the same. So what's ahead for property values? That's what we going to discuss so welcome to today's show. Will property values continue to rise? As we enter the beginning of a new property cycle some people are asking can property prices continue to rise at the same rate at which they have over the last three or four decades? In fact, some people asking can property values keep going up at all considering how expensive they are today? I know that's a question that has been asked of Stuart Wemyss, an independent financial adviser and author because he's written recently written a blog outlining his thoughts, so I look forward to hearing how he would answer these questions. Some of the topics Stuart and I discuss In Stuart's blog he had a graphic showing what happened to house prices over the last five decades from 1970 to 2020. Now I know I bought my first investment property in the early 1970s, paying $18,000 and I got $12 a week rent and I was excited. $18,000 was a lot of money in those days when the family car was a Holden Kingswood and cost $2000; so I guess one of the first things we have to do when looking at house prices is see how they performed after inflation. Property has always been expensive. It seemed like a lot of money in the 70s because it was a lot of money in the 70s. You need to take a longer-term view to understand how property prices have occurred. But no, property prices can't keep growing at the same level. Over the last 40 years, there has been population growth along with the rise of 2-income households. Some properties won't increase in value, but others will and some will perform better than others. It's important to look at real price growth, ignoring inflation. The bigger impact population growth has with investment-grade property is overall economic activity. Established money areas are liable to do better over the next 2 years or so. Borrowing capacity not likely to increase, interest rates not likely to decrease because they're already low. You want a property that will appeal to someone whose income is rising faster than the general population People from the work from home movement will want to live where things are, not out in areas where there's nothing around. Links and Resources: Stuart Wemyss' blog mentioned in this show – Property prices cannot keep rising at the same rate Michael Yardney Get the team at Metropole to help build your personal Strategic Property Plan – click here and have a chat with us Stuart Wemyss – Prosolution Private Clients Stuart's Book – Rules of the Lending Game Shownotes plus more here: Property prices can't keep rising at the same rate they used to; with Stuart Wemyss Some of our favorite quotes from the show: "It's real, after inflation, growth that's important." – Michael Yardney "There are more of us (Australians's), but we're also wealthier. We're earning more." – Michael Yardney "As always, demographics is going to be very important moving forward." – Michael Yardney PLEASE LEAVE US A REVIEW Reviews are hugely important to me because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes - it's your way of passing the message forward to others and saying thank you to me. Here's how

Have you ever wondered how certain people become so rich and successful? Well, if you've been listening to my podcast or reading my blogs and my books, you'd know that rich people don't become rich by luck or by accident. Becoming rich requires hard work, dedication, and a certain set of habits. We are what we repeatedly do. That means excellence isn't an act, it's a habit. My friend Tom Corley spent five years studying millionaires and gathering insights that become the basis of his blogs and books, including the book we co-authored: Rich Habits, Poor Habits. He found that people who became wealthy practiced certain habits, and that's what we're going to discuss today. Since there are so many habits, we're going to break this into a two-part series, and today we're going to start with the first group of habits that the rich do that differentiate them from the average person. Rich Habits Of course, not all rich people are successful, and not all successful people are rich; but remember I was much younger and more naïve then and wanted it all. So I tried to understand why some people were rich while others kept struggling financially. Over the years I attended many seminars, paid mentors, and read as many books as I could on the topic of success. I modelled successful people and eventually grew successful myself. It wasn't easy, I've had my challenges in life (mostly self-inflicted) and I've hit rock-bottom, but I got up again, learned from my mistakes, and moved forward. And over the years I've mentored more than 3,000 successful (and some not so successful) investors, business people, and entrepreneurs. In fact, a by-product of this is our top-selling book – Rich habits Poor Habits In it, Tom Corley and I explain… Being rich has little to do with the money itself Instead, it has a lot to do with how you think about money. So if you want to become rich, one of the first steps is to know how the wealthy think about money differently than you do and to start thinking like them. The next step is to take action and to let the action become natural by thinking the way wealthy people think. We've found rich people share similar habits. While we explain this in some detail in our book, today I'd like to briefly share… The first of the 21 Success Habits of The Rich …. The average person thinks about spending their money, while the rich think about how to invest their money. The average person worries about running out of money while the rich think about how to use their money to make more money. Most people believe hard work makes you rich, while the rich know that leverage creates wealth. Successful people don't procrastinate. They don't spend their life waiting for the 'right time' or waiting until they know it all or have figured everything out. The average person believes having a job gives them security. The rich know there's no such thing as "job security." Most people want to be rich. The rich are committed to being rich. (They are very different things.) When things go wrong, the rich find a lesson, while others only see a problem. The average Australian sets their financial expectation low, so they're never disappointed. On the other hand, the rich set their financial expectations high so they're always excited. Successful people take calculated risks – financial, emotional, professional, psychological. But once they've built their wealth, they take fewer risks. The rich consciously and methodically create their own success, while others hope success will find them. The rich look for and find opportunities where others see obstacles. The average person believes life happens to them. They are a passenger, while the Rich believe that they create their own destiny. They are the pilot of their lives. Successful people align themselves with like-minded people. They understand the importance of being part of a team. They create win-win relationships. Links and Resources: Tom Corley - Rich Habits Michael Yardney - Metropole Get your own copy of our international bestseller Rich Habits Poor Habits Get the team at Metropole to help build your personal Strategic Property Plan Click here and have a chat with us Shownotes plus more here: Learn These Rich Habits of Successful People | Rich Habits, Poor Habits Podcast, Part 1 with Tom Corley Some of our favourite quotes from the show: "As you'll learn, it's not your fault if you're born poor. But it is your fault if you die poor." – Michael Yardney "It depends what your focus is as to what you see." – Michael Yardney "2020 taught us the importance of that. How many people who had multiple income streams – such as you, such as me – still had a really good year, while those who were dependent on one income stream, unfortunately, found that dried up." – Michael Yardney PLEASE LEAVE US A REVIEW Reviews are hugely important to me because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes - it's your way of pa

Navigating the world of personal finance can be overwhelming, even for an adult who has quite a bit of experience in the working world. Yet with some smart planning, a good strategy, and an understanding of the basics you should be able to develop the money-management skills you need to get your finances under control. And that's what I discuss in today's show with Australia's leading finance columnist Effie Zahos. While many people listen to this podcast because they're interested in property investing, money management is a critical part of any type of investing, and especially real estate investing. You need good money management to save your first deposit and once you own a property or two money management is even more important. So don't let the financial world intimidate you. You may not have been taught much about finances, but I believe that 80% of personal finance is not financial education, but financial behaviour. If you can modify your behaviour with your finances, you can modify your financial future. And even if you don't have money problems, I think you'll enjoy my chat with Effie today as we discussed her new book and some lessons that we should be teaching our children and grandchildren. And of course, I will be sharing my regular mindset message with you. Ditch the Debt and Get Rich The Covid-19 pandemic impacted just about every Australian. Some people manage to cope well financially – others did even better financially turning lemons into lemonade, however, many Australians ran into financial difficulty with some only managing to stay afloat by raiding their super or putting a pause on their debt It was just another example of the rich getting richer and they did so by understanding the way money and finance works. Now you know one of the aims of my podcast and my blogs is to make more and more Australians financially fluent and help them get control of the finances. So, I was pleased to hear that leading Australian finance commentator and author Effie Zahos has just published a new book called Ditch the Debt and Get Rich. Effie Zahos is one of Australia's leading personal finance commentators, with more than two decades of experience helping Aussies make the most of their money. She's a regular money expert on Channel 9's Today Show and on radio around Australia and was editor of Money magazine and is now Editor-at-Large at Canstar. Some of the subjects that Effie and I discussed Effie's journey and why she believes it's so important to be the best financial version of yourself and learn the right things to teach your kids about finance. Why more Australians aren't wealthy and how they've become an instant gratification society. The importance of mindset in developing wealth. Money personalities – The animal traits that correspond to how you deal with money: Peacocks, Squirrels, Sloths, Owls, Ostriches The problem of buy now, pay later, and how to be more aware of the tricks retailers use to get us to spend. How to break the cycle of living payday to payday by no longer setting yourself up for failure. And how to put yourself on a bare-bones budget to catch up. Common money mistakes. Debt repayment strategies. How to think rich in order to become rich. How children learn financial literacy from their parents. Some of the lessons Effie has learned over many years writing and speaking about finance. It's not what you earn that counts it's what you spend. Compound interest can make you a millionaire. The great Albert Einstein once said: "Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it ... he who doesn't ... pays it". Learn to say no I am my best investment I will continue to make mistakes love your superannuation fund Set your savings on autopilot Have a plan and stick to it The people who will most benefit from Effie's new book: savvy investors, people who need a nudge, and people who want to be a better financial version of themselves Links and Resources: Michael Yardney Metropole's Strategic Property Plan – to help both beginning and experienced investors Effie Zahos' new book – Ditch the Debt and Get Rich Shownotes plus more here: Ditch the Debt and get Rich with Effie Zahos Some of our favourite quotes from the show: "There's a whole science behind behavioural finance, and that's why I think reading your new book Ditch the Debt and Get Rich is important." – Michael Yardney "Some financial discipline early in life will allow people to have those enjoyments later on." – Michael Yardney "The gap between what you gain and how much you avoid offsetting the gain is the figure that matters the most." – Michael Yardney PLEASE LEAVE US A REVIEW Reviews are hugely important to me because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes - it's your way of passing the message forward to others and saying thank you to me. Here's how

How do you evaluate the investment potential of a particular property? Well, that's what I'm going to share with you today as we I share 5 metrics that we use at Metropole when discussing the investment potential of properties that we're considering showing to our clients. But I'm also going to share 1 metric that you probably think is important, but we think is very misleading. In assessing a property's investment potential, we have a checklist of more than 100 metrics. I'm only going to share 5 with you today. But they're going to give you a good balance of the science and art of property investing. If you don't understand what that means, you'll understand a lot better after today's show. Then, as always, I'm going to share today's mindset message with you. Here are 5 numbers you can use to assess a property's investment potential and one you shouldn't When it comes to the numbers (scientific) component, I see many investors get swamped by the seemingly endless numbers that can potentially paralyse them into inaction. In reality, you don't need to know one million things; you just need to understand a few critical metrics. While this list is not exhaustive, here are a number of metrics the team at Metropole uses to assess the investment potential of a property. Past sales history We look at past capital growth to give us an indication of future growth potential. You probably know that one of the rules in Metropole's Six Stranded Strategic Approach is buying in an area that has a long history of strong capital growth and one that will continue to outperform the averages because of the demographics in the area. Once we've confirmed the quality of the location, we need to drill deeper into the property itself. And the best way to gauge its growth potential is to back-track its past performance by getting the history of at least two previous sales (if possible.) This is where a seasoned buyer's agent with intimate local market knowledge can be worth their weight in gold. Days on market Days on Market (DOM) is a measure of how long it takes to sell a typical property in a particular suburb, and more important than the actual number is the trend which provides context. Clearly, when demand is high and there are more buyers than properties available, the days on market will decrease. On the other hand, when the market is soft because of economic conditions, perhaps, or because of a flood of new properties becoming available, then time on market will increase, which will drive down prices. This statistic helps investors to identify those locations that are strengthening so they can buy before the masses and therefore make the most of the price uplift as the time on market decreases. Depth of Market What we're looking for here is an assessment of the supply vs demand balance within a particular market. This is a measure of how long it would take for the current inventory (number of properties on the market) to be absorbed completely (purchased) based on the current rate of monthly sales, assuming there is no more new inventory being added to the market. A market is considered to be balanced if it has between 5 to 7 months' worth of inventory (properties for sale.) If hypothetically all the stock on market (inventory of properties) in less than 5 months that implies there is great market depth – lots of buyers waiting in line, with an inventory turnover of more than 8 months implies an oversupplied market with little depth of buyers. Ratio of owner-occupiers to renters While many beginning investors have their prospective tenant top of mind, an important strand of Metropole's Six Stranded Strategic Approach is to only buy properties with owner-occupier appeal. Since owner-occupiers own 70% of Australian properties they "make the market" and add stability to property values in those suburbs where there is a predominance of established owner-occupiers who bought their homes many years ago and have significant equity in their properties. This is very different from the instability and volatility we see in house prices in areas dominated by investors - think the inner-city apartment market or the other suburbs where there is little scarcity and many first home buyers have over-committed themselves and have a little equity in their homes. Above average wages growth Since property investment is a game of finance with some houses thrown in the middle, it's important to find locations where the local residents have higher disposable income than average and suburbs where wages are growing faster than the state averages; as in these locations people will be able to afford to, and usually be prepared to, pay more to buy new homes or upgrade their homes. You'll often find these suburbs are going through gentrification - a change in the fortunes of the suburb as it is discovered by a higher income demographic, which slowly pushes out the lower-income residents. Be careful relying too heavily on the data There is no doubt that

No one expects 2021 to be the same type of rollercoaster ride as 2020. And while there's plenty of good news for our economy and our property markets, it's important to remember that considerable uncertainty remains and the extreme dislocation to many businesses over the past year will take time to resolve. Now the general optimism is well-founded. We seem to have this virus "thingy" under control, around 90% of the jobs lost during the pandemic have now been restored – and that's a tremendous achievement and our property markets are rebounding. Australia and the world also stand on the cusp of the biggest vaccination rollout in human history, which will only increase the rising levels of consumer and business confidence we're experiencing. Sure, the COVID rollercoaster may be slowing, but we still face a bumpy road to economic recovery and that's what I'm going to discuss in today's show with Pete Wargent as well as giving you five of my predictions for our property markets in 2021. Then I'll share my mindset message with you. 2021 Property Trends It seems that everybody has been making predictions for our housing markets for 2021 and they're all extremely positive. While on the one hand I love to hear this, on the other hand I'm always concerned when everybody thinks the market is going to perform in a particular way as we have seen how wrong consensus opinion has been over the last few years. So in today's show I share 5 property trends that I think will occur in 2021 and I'm looking forward to Pete Wargent's view on these, plus we'll discuss some economic trends that will influence our property markets. Property demand from home buyers is going to continue to be strong. One of the leading indicators I watch carefully is finance housing approvals, and these are at record levels suggesting that we will have strong demand from owner occupiers and investors in the first half of this year. Despite the "recession we made ourselves have", rising unemployment, and many small businesses facing challenges, interest in buying residential property has skyrocketed. This has come particularly from owner occupiers who have amassed household savings at levels not seen since the mid 1970s, and this is in part because they have not been able to spend their money on vacations or even local entertainment as they normally would. Now, with borrowing costs lower than they ever have been, the reassurance that interest rates won't rise for at least 3 years and increasing confidence that we've got this virus thing under control, it is likely that buyer demand will remain strong throughout the year. Investors will squeeze out first home buyers While currently there are many first-time buyers (FHB's) in the market, buoyed by the many incentives being offered to them, I can see demand from first homebuyers fading as property values rise from increasing competition as investors re-enter the market. You see…typically investors compete for similar properties to FHB's. Property Prices will continue to rise As always, there are multiple real estate markets around Australia, but in general property values should increase strongly throughout 2021. However certain segments of the market will still continue to suffer, in particular in the city apartment towers and accommodation around universities. It is unlikely the segments of the market will pick up for some time and the value of these apartments is likely to continue to fall as there just won't be buyers for secondary properties. At the same time some rental market will remain challenged. In particular the inner-city apartment markets which are reliant on students, tourists (AirBNB) and overseas arrivals. People will pay a premium to be in the right neighbourhood. If Coronavirus taught us anything, it was the importance of living in the right type of property in the right neighbourhood. In our new "Covid Normal" world, people will pay a premium for the ability to work, live and play within a 20-minute drive, bike ride or walk from home. Residents of these neighbourhoods have now come to appreciate the ability to be out and about on the street socialising, supporting local businesses, being involved with local schools, enjoying local parks. We will not fall off the fiscal cliff in March Some commentators are concerned that we will fall off the fiscal cliff when JobKeeper and the mortgage deferral system end in March. I can't see the government allowing this to happen after having put so much time effort and money into "building a bridge to get us across the other side" as Prime Minister Scott Morrison promised. In fact APRA (the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority) released data showing Households and small businesses are now paying back more than 80 per cent of the almost $250billion in loans deferred at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. This is just another sign that the national economic recovery is on track and we won't fall off a fiscal cliff in March as some of those D

Would you like to know where the property hotspots are going to be as Australia enters some semblance of normality in 2021? Or maybe you'd like to know exactly where property values are going to end up at the end of this year. Now I know that's what a lot of the other podcasts are currently offering you, so I'm sorry if I'm going to disappoint you, but I'm not going to make any short-term predictions. You only have to look back 12 months to see how all those short-term forecasts worked out, or even further back to the beginning of 2019 and again see how incorrect those predictions were. On the other hand, it's much easier to tell you what the value of well-located investment-grade properties will be in 10 years' time. But that's not as sexy, is it? The problem is many investors take a short-term approach to real estate which is really a long-term investment. They try and make a quick profit such as buying cheaply, or looking for the next hotspot, which is a short-term approach, and then wonder what to do next; rather than taking the long-term approach of owning the best asset they can which will give them long-term compounding growth and in time produce substantial wealth. In today's show we are going to continue on the discussion I started last week with Stuart Wemyss and work through his 8 fundamental rules for property investment. These will serve you much better than learning where the next hotspot is going to be because as you know, this year's hotspot will become next year is a not-spot. When you understand these fundamentals and use them to formulate your investment decisions, you'll be ahead of the game and be in that small group of investors who builds a multi-million-dollar property portfolio, rather than in that large group of 1.9 million Australian investors who never gets past their first or second property. If you haven't heard last week's show, please listen to that after you've heard this episode – the order in which you listen won't matter - just go to The Michael Yardney Podcast on whichever player you use to listen to the podcast because the two shows are complimentary – there was just too much information to pack into one show. And while you are there, if you don't already subscribe, please subscribe to this show so you keep up to date as we enter an interesting year ahead. Once you've listened to these two episodes, I believe you'll be in a much better position to take advantage of the changing property market in 2021 as you understand Stuart Wemyss's eight rules of property investment. The Golden Rules That We Discuss This Week: Golden Rule 5: Set your asset allocation to reduce risk and maximize return Understand that you can't predict what's going to happen in the short term. Invest in a combination of assets that diversify outcomes. Be realistic about what long-term returns are going to be. Golden Rule 6: Invest in the share market using low-cost passive investments Two types of approaches: active fund management and passive management. Golden Rule 7: Only invest in 'investment-grade' property Three characteristics of an investment-grade property: Strong land/value component Have scarcity in terms of location and in terms of architectural style or building type Proven performance Golden Rule 8: Protect your investments from expected and unexpected risks Plan for the worst and hope for the best. Make sure that you have the right insurance, including income protection insurance. You need to put a will together. You need access to several year's worth of living expenses. A finance strategist can help you put the appropriate buffers in place. Links and Resources: Michael Yardney Get the team at Metropole to help build your personal Strategic Property Plan Click here and have a chat with us Stuart Wemyss – Prosolution Private Clients Stuart's Book – Investopoly Shownotes plus more here: 8 Golden Rules for building wealth in this new property cycle – Part 2, With Stuart Wemyss Some of our favourite quotes from the show: "Property's lumpy, so it's not easy to buy a property every six months or every six years." – Michael Yardney "Investing is meant to be boring, to give you the wherewithal to make the rest of your life fun." – Michael Yardney "The first rule summarizes it all, also. Invest for the long-term. Understand the long-term rules. Don't invest for the latest hotspot." – Michael Yardney PLEASE LEAVE US A REVIEW Reviews are hugely important to me because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes - it's your way of passing the message forward to others and saying thank you to me. Here's how

As we enter a new year, many of us will be focusing on the strange year we've had and trying to extract the lessons we've learned. Rather than do the same, in today's episode of the Michael Yardney Podcast I'd like to remind you of some of the foundations of lifetime investment success with Stuart Wemyss. Now to be clear… this is very different to what you hear in the news, which basically focuses on short term investment trends. One of the core tenants of my approach is that true lifetime investment success is goal-focused and planning-driven. And the good news is by focusing on the long-term big picture trends it removes the burden of correctly guessing future short terms trends such as interest rates, inflation, hot spots, and the many other variables that the average analysts and many investors spend their days obsessing over. In a culture that will always be market-focused and performance-driven, my approach sees our clients at Metropole and also my personal investing acting on a financial plan, a customised strategic property plan that we build for our clients, rather than reacting to the vagaries of the investment markets. And that's why I'm looking forward to my chat with Stuart Williams today because I know he takes a very similar approach. Four Investment Principles At Metropole our approach is built on an evidence-based foundation of four investment principles. Master these, and lifetime investment success will be available to you. The four inner principles are: Faith in the future There are so many doomsayers out there, and I regularly get trolled by them, particularly on YouTube. But based on history, I confidently believe in the ability of a capitalistic society to prosper on the back of our collective ingenuity. Patience Contrary to the financially illiterate, the strategic investor refuses to react inappropriately to disappointing events. That's why they have a plan to follow, and they act on this plan rather than the short-term ups and downs of the investment markets. Discipline Similar to the principle of patience, discipline sees strategic investors continue to do the right things, even if the fruit of these decisions can't be seen in the short-term. Building a great team around you. Property investment is a process, not an event. In fact, property investment is a long-term process, and it takes up to 30 years to develop financial independence through residential real estate. And all successful investors I know can you to educate themselves, so they become financially literate, but they're very careful who is your bias they take, because they have learned most educators and so-called advisors have a vested interest They also surround themselves with professionals and mentors who they are prepared to pay for advice to ensure they maximise the investment returns, by having elastic advice in the areas of not only property but finance, tax, structuring legal matters and estate planning. These financially literate investors accept the guidance of their holistic wealth advisors and if they have sufficient disciple and allow time compounding and leverage to work its magic, their investment success is all but guaranteed. While simple, it's not easy. The 8 Golden Rules of Successful Investing - part 1 Golden Rule 1: focus on the long game Long term financial decisions promote exercising delayed gratification – patient investors are rewarded, impatient ones are not. The best question you can ask yourself is "what action can I take today that will result in me being a lot financially stronger in 10, 15 and 20 years?" Golden Rule 2: Know what you need and when you need it You need to set two important goals: how much income you need in retirement and when will you retire? Look at what you are spending today to extrapolate what you will need. Golden Rule 3: Spend less than you earn. Then invest the difference Commit to an annual surplus that you will contribute towards building your financial future then spend what's left over. If you are not a "saver" then redefine "saving" as "future spending" Golden Rule 4: Grow your asset base first. Then tilt towards income Select assets that provide most of their total return in growth and lower proportion of income How can capital growth help fund retirement? Sell assets, with enough time income will be substantial, invest in other income-style assets, sell one property and reinvest in bonds, etc. You need to develop a financial model in order to work out how much to invest, when and in which asset classes. Links and Resources: Michael Yardney Get the team at Metropole to help build your personal Strategic Property Plan Click here and have a chat with us Stuart Wemyss – Prosolution Private Clients Buy Stuart's book Investopoly here – use the coupon code Yardney Shownotes plus more here: The 8 Golden Rules for mastering the game of building wealth – Part 1 with Stuart Wemyss Some of our favourite quotes from the show: "While it's easier and more trendy to be a p

What's ahead for our property markets this year? Is it time to be fearful or time to be greedy? We survived 2020, and 2021 is going to be another interesting year with a lot of positive things happening, but there's no doubt will have our share of challenging times, because even though we are over the recession there it will still be fallout from the recession to deal with, and clearly, we will keep getting reminders about coronavirus coming out of the blue. And every year there's an unexpected X Factor– I don't know what it will be otherwise it wouldn't be an X factor, but hopefully my discussion today will give you some clarity and direction forward to hitting property. However, there is one thing that I can assure you will happen this year. The typical property pessimists will be back again telling us our property market is going to crash. So today I share with you my thoughts or the short and long term prospects for our property markets. And in my mindset moment today I'm going to teach you one of the most useful lessons you can pass on to your children and grandchildren, and even if you don't have any or are not planning to have any, this lesson will be critical for you if you want to obtain financial freedom. What should you do in the current "interesting" property markets? I know many investors are confused with concerns remaining about the Coronavirus, high unemployment and the many mixed messages forecasting what's ahead for our economy and our property markets. I've noticed two types of emotion in those interested in property: Last year as it became clear our markets wouldn't crash like some property pessimists predicted, FOBE was the predominant sentiment - Fear Of Buying too Early - home buyers and investors trying to time the market wondering "what if prices do fall further?" Now FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) is creeping back as house prices are rising around Australia. In fact, master investor Warren Buffet advised: "I'll tell you how to become rich.... Be fearful when others are greedy and be greedy when others are fearful." The two significant structural events that caused the massive rise in property values over the last three decades were: The Reserve Bank kept inflation within a narrow band meaning interest rates could fall at a time when time banks became deregulated and this allowed new non-bank lenders like Aussie John Symond to make cheap finance available for borrowers and over time interest rates kept falling and credit was easily available. At the same time wages grew and there were more two-income households. This allowed more Australian families to buy new homes or upgrade their existing homes as their families grew. These factors won't carry our markets forward in the future, in fact they played out a few years ago and haven't been relevant for much the last decade. We are currently in a low inflationary, low interest rate environment (not only in Australia but around the world) and there is really no room to lower interest rates. The effect of the extra spending power of low interest rates has washed its way through the system. We are now in a period of lower wages growth and more part-time jobs so it's unlikely that the average Australian family will have more cash in their pockets to spend on property There is still economic fallout from the recession we decided to have. Here's why I believe property values will increase in the short term. The big game changer that will bolster our property markets moving forward is the anticipated loosening of restrictions on banks' lending practices in March this year which will give the average home buyer and property investor significantly more borrowing capacity. More than that, there is a perfect storm of positive factors developing for our property markets – a confluence of multiple growth drivers which will propel our property markets into 2021 and 2022: Our economy is improving and moving forward further jobs creation, consumer confidence and business confidence (leading to spending and employment) will underpin our housing markets. Auction clearance rateshave been consistently strong in the last few months of 2020, not just in the two big auction capital of Melbourne and Sydney but around Australia. More buyers and sellers are in the market and transaction numbers have increased At the same time the banks are keen to write new business– another positive for our housing markets. Bank loan deferrals have been falling– there's no chance of an avalanche of forced mortgagee sales as many were worried about. The latest rate cut and the "guarantee" of rates remaining low for at least 3 years, will give home buyers and investors' confidence. Why our property values are guaranteed to increase in the long term While it's important to understand that while many factors like interest rates, supply and demand and market confidence, affect a country's property prices in the short term, in the long term prices are driven by two main factors: Populati

While many markets suffered from the economic impact of COVID-19, Brisbane's property values remained resilient last year, and now almost all property analysts are suggesting that Brisbane's housing markets will perform strongly in 2021. On today's show, I chat with Brett Warren, national director of Metropole Property Strategist based in Brisbane to understand what's really going on and why this time is different. In fact, digging deeper into the statistics of property growth over the last few years, some properties have far outperformed others and freestanding Brisbane houses with 5-7 km of the CBD or in good school catchment zones have grown in value strongly. Brisbane has really been a two-tier market and I know that many of the properties purchased for clients of Metropole's Brisbane office showed double-digit capital growth over the property last 12 months. While Melbourne and Sydney are highly regarded as Australia's two world-class capital cities, Brisbane is what many class as a "New World City", and on today's podcast we will explain what that means and why those investors who take advantage of the changing trends in Brisbane will benefit significantly over the next few years, so welcome to today show Some of the things we discussed Metropole has had an office in Brisbane for almost 2 decades and in that time I've seen the city morph into a new world city. Australia is very different from other countries with regards to the way we live. 86% of our 25 million population live in urban areas and 50% of these Australians live in either Sydney, Melbourne, or Brisbane. While overall, the Brisbane property market has underperformed Melbourne and Sydney over the last decade there are different segments of the market that performed very strongly and we dig into this as we have a chat. Australia has two global cities – Sydney and Melbourne - they are recognized around the world – Sydney for the Opera House, Melbourne for sport and art. Now Brisbane is being recognized as a "New World City." Brisbane punches above its weight - It's only the 172nd biggest city in the world, but it's the 80th most globally connected. It's in the top 30 percent of the world's fastest-growing cities, it's got world-class direct foreign investment, a competitive labour market, a highly lifestyle model and it's an international student city. A New World City must also have some "globally oriented" business clusters. In Brisbane's case, it's higher education, it's the digital economy and it's commodities and professional services of various kinds but it's also travel and tourism and conventions." Brisbane has been building its infrastructure and economy and is now attracting population growth. Also, Brisbane has less traffic congestion than Australia's 2 big global cities. What is the Brisbane property market? Let's be clear what we're talking about - many outsiders see Brisbane as stretching from the Sunshine Coast in the north to the New South Wales border in the south, 200 km long. In one sense they are right because the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast are now closely interconnected with Brisbane and workers will commute from these locations on their jobs in Brisbane. In fact, that's one of the reasons why property values have not grown as strongly over the last few decades - because SE Queensland has had abundant supply of properties, however, we're not recommending investing just anywhere in this large parcel of real estate. We only focus on properties in prime locations within 5 to 7 km of the Brisbane CBD. Brisbane has underperformed Brisbane's capital growth has been from the top down. There has been strong capital growth in the sought after, more affluent, more established inner suburbs within 5 to 7 km of Brisbane, but there has been minimal capital growth in many of the outer suburbs where there is less affluence and plenty of supply, and in fact abundant new supply. For example, there are a number of commentators out there suggesting one should be investing in the Logan district or Ipswich, and while there has been substantial physical growth there – lots of new estates – there has been minimal if any capital growth. Brisbane's demographics are changing For a number of decades, Brisbane suffered a "brain drain" where skilled, educated young people finished university and moved to Sydney or Melbourne where the more highly paid knowledge jobs were. This is no longer the case, and a lot of millennials now are keen to stay in Brisbane as it is now a fun place to live. So, the big shift is that people no longer want to leave Brisbane, they want to come to Brisbane. This was clearly seen through the challenges Australia experienced in 2020. Millennials will shape the Brisbane housing markets. Demographics will always drive our property markets and because of their sheer size and stage in the life cycle, no generation will shape Australia more during the 2020s than millennials. They are now at the stage of their life where the e

With interest rates near zero, Australia's economy rebounding, and pumped with massive amounts of stimulus, and the coronavirus all but eradicated from our shores, our property markets are looking healthy and starting the year off on a strong footing. The stats show that after the nation went into lockdown last year, national property rates fell overall a cumulative 2.2 percent. And of course, this was led by Melbourne and Sydney that were most affected by the lockdowns. But of course, this was nothing like the predicted calamitous falls. Now on the back of continuing increase in confidence, strong growth low mortgage rates, and the emergence of a vaccine plan, many are projecting house price growth in 2021. In fact, many are projecting double digit growth this year. Are they right? That's what I discuss with Dr. Andrew Wilson, along with lessons from last year and housing market forecasts for 2021. Then, as always, I'll share my mindset message with you. Lessons learned from 2020: It was really the physical restraints to property transactions that impacted the market, rather than a change to our supply and demand. In other words, the property market fundamentals were and are strong Be really careful whose forecasts you listen to. Property investors who listened to catastrophic predictions missed out on good opportunities There isn't just one Australian property market. Markets are segmented by geographic locations as well as by factors like the type of dwelling and the price. Property investment is really a game of finance with some houses thrown in the middle What's occurring now: The unemployment rate is falling The economy is recovering well due to falling unemployment and even new jobs There's been a huge surge in housing loan approvals – 24.4% above pre-pandemic levels Consumer optimism is trending upward First-time home buyers are in the mix There is a lower number of listings in the market than usual The fiscal cliff is not a real cliff, more like a step However, the rental market still has some challenges Links and Resources: Michael Yardney Get the team at Metropole to help build your personal Strategic Property Plan Click here and have a chat with us Guest: Dr Andrew Wilson – MYHousingMarket.com.au Shownotes plus more here: Here's why we're going to have a ripper year in property + Housing Market Forecasts for 2021 with Dr. Andrew Wilson Some of our favourite quotes from the show: "You know what they say about opinions – there's like bellybuttons, everyone's got one, but they're not very useful." – Michael Yardney "The property market moves in a cycle and after every boom, there's a downturn or a slump phase, and then it actually starts to pick up again slowly, then eventually another boom occurs." – Michael Yardney "It may sound like a cliché, but maybe it's time to play more and work less." – Michael Yardney PLEASE LEAVE US A REVIEW Reviews are hugely important to me because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes - it's your way of passing the message forward to others and saying thank you to me. Here's how

Would you like Life Time Wealth? Well…today we'll explain what that means and how you could achieve it as I replay a chat I had with my good friends Louise Bedford and Chris Tate from The Trading Game and we discuss the concept of true wealth. This is the last of the summer series of podcasts where I've been running three shows a week rather than two in January, but since this was the second most downloaded listen to podcast I've ever recorded I thought it important to let you listen to it again for the first time or again if you've been a subscriber for some years. The original recording of the show came about when Louise Bedford, Chris Tate and I were sitting around chatting about Wealth Retreat 3 or 4 years ago and we were discussing the concept of creating lifetime wealth, what true wealth really is, and some of the concepts we wanted to share with attendees at WR retreat. And the conversation was so good, it was a bit philosophical, that we actually pulled out a phone, I think it's Louisa's phone now and we just recorded an episode of the podcast for her podcast and mine, because we were talking about things we only tend to talk about between ourselves and we wanted to share with other people. For example I talked a bit about my first investment property, almost 50 years ago. We talked about how being truly wealthy is a lot more than just how much money you have or how many properties you have. We talked about the concept of creating lifetime wealth and leaving a legacy and we discussed how we are the mentors for our children and how if you want to leave a legacy you have to be important what do you pass on to your children, not moneywise – it's not what you leave your children but what do you live in your children. We talked a lot about the impostor syndrome, something that we speak for specialises in and we discussed about success, the miss match in some couples – something I come across very frequently were very different to our life partners with regards to how we think about money and success. There were so many fascinating concepts we talked about that I really believe you'll enjoy today show, but be warned, it's a little bit longer than normal and the sound quality wasn't as good as normal because, as I said we recorded it on the fly – we were just in the right zone talking about this content so I thought it was really important to grab the information to couple of years ago and it's just as relevant today, so welcome to this episode of the Michael Yardney podcast.* How to Obtain Lifetime Wealth Michael shares how he bought his first investment property over 40 years ago. He's made plenty of mistakes, but has still built a substantial property portfolio. He also gives back. To be truly wealthy you need much more than just money. You need money plus family, friends, health, spirituality, growth, and contribution. Chris shares his background. It is similar to Michael's but replace the word property with shares. How children absorb things without being taught directly. Legacy and leaving a ripple or something outside of you that carries on when you are gone. We learned about money, wealth, and riches from our parents and culture. What is your financial thermostat set for? You'll be surprised – it's set for what you have already got. Your thermostat won't change until you change and throw away the blame. The imposter syndrome or undeserved success. Not feeling worthy and self-sabotaging. Self-awareness deserving your success. How people believe the tool has something to do with their success, when it is actually the software that makes a success. How people who's views are mismatched may not be a match as a couple. The disconnect can produce tension and tear relationships apart. Couple's need to talk about their views about money. Partners need to be compatible on a whole host of issues. In the old day's people passed their trades on. Now property or shares can be passed to your kids, but it is not what you leave your kids it is what you leave in your kids. How we learn about money from our parents whether it is spoken or unspoken. Replacing non-productive beliefs with empowering beliefs. Teaching kids about training by loaning them money to trade and letting them keep half of the profits. How IQ and socioeconomic status can be linked. The importance of mentorship and getting together with other entrepreneurs. Find like minded people and the isolation disappears. How attending Wealth Retreat can help change your mindset and money habits. Links and resources: Michael Yardney Get the team at Metropole to help build your personal Strategic Property Plan Click here and have a chat with us Join us at Wealth Retreat in June 2021 The Trading Game Chris Tate Louise Bedford Shownotes plus more here: How to attain lifetime wealth, with Louise Bedford and Chris Tate – Summer Series Our favourite show quotes: "Wealth isn't about how much money you have, but what you're left with if you lost everything and had t

During his five years studying the rich and the poor Tom Corley identified 10 hard truths about the wealth gap that no politician or member of the mainstream media would dare reveal. And as I share them with you today, you'll probably get a few surprises. These aren't just our thoughts. In his 5year study, Tom asked 361 rich and poor people 144 questions each. That's 51,984 questions. From the data he gathered, he was able to identify 344 differences between the way the rich and the poor conducted their lives. Over one hundred million individuals have read something about my research, which has been cited, quoted, referenced, commended and criticized in 25 countries around the world. As a result, Tom has made a lot of friends and a lot of enemies. And he's about to make some more with this podcast. His research opened my eyes. One of the many benefits of having done this research is that he became privy to the inner workings of the lives of the rich and the poor. For five years he was that fly on the wall. And this fly has identified 10 hard truths about the wealth gap which we're going to discuss today in an episode which is part of what I call our summer series where apart from bringing you one new show each week we are replaying 2 previously published shows, and the foundational wealth lessons I'm going to share in today's show which was originally published a number of years ago will help you take advantage of the new property cycle that is appearing in front of our eyes in 2021 10 Hard Truths About the Wealth Gap Bad Parents – The poor have parents who simply do not do their job. Drugs, alcohol, gambling and a host of other parent character flaws pull the rug out from underneath their kids. Broken Families – The poor are raised in broken families. Divorce, incarceration, abandonment are common denominators among the poor that fracture the family unit. No Work Ethic – The poor are bad employees who have a bad work ethic. As a result, they find themselves regularly unemployed. Financial Negligence – The poor spend their money as quickly as it comes. They don't save. They don't invest. They are financially illiterate. Poverty Ideology – The poor believe they will be poor their entire lives. They see poverty as a fact of life. They are without hope and thus, without motivation to escape their poverty. Bad Health – The poor do not exercise regularly. They eat and drink too much junk food. They frequent fast-food restaurants. They take drugs and drink too much alcohol in order to numb their pain. They are overweight and out of shape. Uneducated – The poor do not embrace education. It's not part of their culture. They do not self-educate themselves. They do not read. They do not engage in self-improvement. Bad Habits – The poor have many bad habits and few good habits. Entitlement Ideology – The poor believe they are entitled to things others have to work very hard for. Victim Ideology – The poor believe others hold them back in life. They see themselves as victims. They look to the government to take the wealth of those who are producing and working hard in society and redistribute it to poor people. I now know that rich people, particularly the self-made rich, are the good people. They were raised by good parents, parents who cared and who mentored them to succeed. Poor people, conversely, were raised by bad parents. Some were raised in broken homes, some were raised with little to no work ethic, some were raised to be ignorant of finances, some were raised with a poverty mindset, some were raised to disregard their health, some were raised to shun education, some were raised with bad habits, some were raised to believe they should be given free stuff and some were raised to believe the world was aligned against them. We don't have a wealth gap in this country. We have a parent gap. If, as a society, we truly want to end poverty, we have to first acknowledge the cause of poverty. Parents. Parents cause poverty. Parents are to blame. As a great man once said, "the truth shall set you free." Links and Resources: Michael Yardney Tom Corley - Rich Habits Get your own copy of our international bestseller Rich Habits Poor Habits Shownotes plus more here: 10 hard truths about the Wealth Gap with Tom Corley – Summer Series Some of our favourite quotes from the show: "We know that children develop habits from things they see, things they experience, things they hear, and their mentors as a child are really their parents." – Michael Yardney "Bad mentoring from parents is more likely to – but not certainly – going to give you a disadvantage in life." – Michael Yardney "It's probably worthwhile reminding our listeners that we're all walking around with some good habits, some bad habits, some rich habits, some poor habits, some habits that are empowering us, and some habits and beliefs that are disempowering us." – Michael Yardney PLEASE LEAVE US A REVIEW Reviews are hugely important to me because they help new people d