Buying a home has always been the Great Australian Dream, but making this dream a reality is becoming increasingly difficult for hopeful first home buyers and investors alike.

Making matters worse is the fact that prices soared throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. CoreLogic data shows that property values have increased, on average, between 16.7 and 25.4 over the last year.

But that doesn’t mean buying a property is necessarily out of reach.

Furthermore, current market conditions might help you get into the market. Why?

Many of us welcomed 2022 with anticipation of how life may need to adapt yet again, to this new era of COVID-19. Talk of interest rates, a slowing property market, fast changing rules, new variants, and a pending election creates lots of speculation of how property might perform over the coming months.

What’s important is that we recognise that market trends are returning to more ‘normal’ patterns of growth and that 2021 was the exception.

The ‘Great Australian Dream’ for many Aussies is to eventually own their own patch of bricks and mortar.

In recent years, the prospect of home ownership has shifted from ‘future goal’ to a ‘pipe-dream’ but with the 2020/2021 HomeBuilders Grant, more than 137,000 Australians received up to $25,000 in cash to contribute to building their new home. Now with the stimulus winding up, and prices having risen over 22 in the past 12 months, home ownership may have slipped out of reach for many people.

Many people ask me: “When is the best time to buy an investment property?”

Is it when you’ve completely paid off your own mortgage? Or before you’ve paid off your own home, when you’re still many decades from retirement?

If buying your dream home is already out of your budget, do you hope the market falls or do you rentvest to get a foot in now?

Should you buy when the market is going through a growth phase so you can gain quick equity? Or wait till the market cools and you can negotiate a better deal?

Brisbane has taken the lead as Australia’s fastest growing city according to the CoreLogic statistics released today. Having increased in median values by 2.54 in the month October, the Brisbane market outperformed Sydney (1.5) and Melbourne (0.99) thanks to affordability and liveability.

There is a misconception about property investing that it’s only for “rich” people.

The belief is that you’ve got to have a lot of money, savings and wealth behind you, before you can even afford to get started.

Who have you inspired along your investment journey?

Our company has grown from humble beginnings through the strength of word of mouth and simply working hard to help as many investors as we can. That is why we greatly appreciate the many of you who have introduced family, friends, and colleagues to Active Property Investing (API).

If you know anyone who can benefit from our unique service, or perhaps someone who has been trying to invest but needs help to get started, you can *refer-a-friend and potentially qualify for this initiative.

It’s been 18 months since the pandemic first swept into Australia. Since then, the COVID outbreak has been a catalyst to change both the way we live and what we value about the places we live in.

And while COVID itself isn’t going to stick around at this intense level forever, its legacy is likely to last quite some time.

One big change we’re seeing is the fact that people value different things about their homes. They now want to be closer and more connected to their communities, which has prompted the trend of “20 minute cities”.

Recently, we were very fortunate to be named as one of 15 Australian Property Experts to Watch in 2021 by the Australian Business Journal. This is a great achievement for us as a business, as it recognises our position as trailblazers in the property world.

Our goal has been to change the way people interact with a property company. We operate with a real ‘people first’ mentality, but we’re also driven by a strong sense of right and wrong, and we let the facts and figures dictate the way forward.