Queensland is emerging the hot state and I am not reefing to the temperature. More than half of all respondents to an Australian Property Investor Survey indicated the Sunshine State was where their next investment would be. We talk to the report's author who says “The Brisbane market has moved from recovery to growth but has not yet entered a ‘boom’ market, so there is plenty of opportunity." We will tell you where those opportunities exist.

This week we look at the trend leading buyers to invest outside of the city limits due mainly to the emergence of major transport systems and roads. We also look at why so many investors struggle to get past one investment property.

Following on from that trend, as with any asset class, real estate comes with its own set of cautionary tales about the potential hazards and pitfalls. Many things can go wrong and the risk is amplified if you leap in without first seeking professional advice and devising a sound strategy and investment plan. But does that mean you should avoid property investment entirely? Of course not, says Michael Yardney and he details why.

Young property investor Nathan Birch became interested in property at 13 and started investing at 18.  He can now say he has over 170 properties in his portfolio. Hear his amazing story.

We talk agency agreements with solicitor Garth Brown and some of the conditions on those agreements you should be aware of before you sign with an agent to sell your property.

Bryce Yardney shares his experience on how to choose a location for property development. After you have done your initial investigation, what you should be looking for in an area. He also tells us where he sees many aspiring developers go wrong.

 
Transcripts:
Bryce Yardney
Kevin:  My special guest this time is Bryce Yardney. We’re talking to Bryce about development, and in this chat, I’m going to be talking to him about the suburb due diligence that you need to do.

By way of introduction, Bryce is a property development specialist, having successfully completed many development projects. Initially working as a project manager at Metropole since completing his Bachelor of Project Management in 2011, he now also acts as a buyer’s agent for clients, sourcing and evaluating properties with development potential.

Bryce, thank you and welcome to the show.

Bryce:  Thanks, Kevin.

Kevin:  We’ll look firstly at suburb due diligence, and I think we’ll follow that up in a later chat when we look at property due diligence. What do you look for when you’re assessing locations in where you’re going to undertake a development?

Bryce:  Let’s assume that people have done their homework on where they want to invest, and I’ll start talking a bit about development. What we look for in areas we do our development in are areas that are gentrifying, where older houses are past their use-by date, ready to be knocked down and be developed into new homes and new developments. You always want a mix of both in there. You don’t want too much development and you don’t want too many single homes, either.

Areas that are gentrifying – wealthier younger families are moving in, older people are starting to move out. It’s the younger wealthier families who are going to underpin the market there, as well. That’s one of the key things we look for, as well.

We look for councils that are constantly putting back into their infrastructure, their schools, their railways – the things that are going to add value to the area. On councils, you have to make sure that the council you’re dealing with is a development-friendly council, and there are many out there that just aren’t development friendly at the moment.

Kevin:  How can you tell that they are development-friendly? Apart from asking, of course.

Bryce:  There are really two things. One is you can do your homework and have a look on their website, have a chat to them over their phone, and find out their