Property investors can immensely benefit from the wealth of resources available to guide their investment decisions. My own journey has led me to a treasure trove of tools that significantly bolstered my property investment knowledge. I’ve relied on these resources to help ascertain the viability of potential investments. Here, I present a list of my top 15 resources that have been invaluable in my endeavors. Hopefully, they will help you elevate your property investment acumen and aid in making more informed decisions. Please note, I don’t endorse any of these tools and they are merely recommendations based on my personal experience.
Realestate.com.au
This platform stands out as an excellent resource for those seeking to purchase a property, either as a home or an investment. Realestate.com.au is a preferred choice for real estate agents and boasts thousands of property listings that include ‘for sale’ properties, rental listings, and sold prices. This platform is also a great resource to examine median house prices and average rentals in specific areas.
Domain.com.au
Domain is another worthy platform for scouting properties on the market. However, there may be instances where certain properties listed on Realestate.com.au may not appear on Domain, and vice versa. This discrepancy could potentially benefit buyers as properties listed exclusively on one platform may receive less exposure. Domain’s search engine also provides the market value of properties along with additional data like the owner-occupier to renter ratio.
“Real estate cannot be lost or stolen, nor can it be carried away. Purchased with common sense, paid for in full, and managed with reasonable care, it is about the safest investment in the world.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Local Real Estate Agents
Navigating a hot market can be tough as properties tend to sell faster than one can inspect them. Local real estate agencies and state’s public trustee websites can be highly useful in uncovering properties not listed on major platforms like Realestate.com.au and Domain.com.au. Scouting local agency websites can sometimes reveal less exposed properties, offering the buyer a greater opportunity to negotiate.
DSR Data
DSR Data provides a scoring system that measures the demand-supply ratio of a suburb. Though it is a paid tool, signing up allows you to access the DSR data scale for free. The score indicates the suburb’s demand-supply ratio, a higher score reflecting higher demand. Boomapp.com.au is a comparable tool that also studies the demand and supply of a suburb.
Council Land Zoning Websites
If you have a property in mind, it would be worth your while to look up the land zoning on the council’s website for the property’s location. This can provide insights into the council’s future plans and the specific zoning of your property.
State Land Value Websites
To calculate the land-to-asset ratio of your potential property, refer to the state’s land value website. This will provide the value of the land for the specified block, which is crucial as the property depreciates while the land appreciates.
Property Calculator Australia (App)
This app allows you to determine the required cash, loan balance, and loan repayments of a property. It offers a comprehensive insight into the financial metrics of a potential property purchase.
Easy Street Loan Repayment Calculator
While many online banks offer repayment calculators, Easy Street’s tool stands out for not requiring personal details. It is an efficient tool for estimating cash flow and can help in forecasting your capability to purchase again.
Herron Todd White Property Clock
This property valuation company provides a monthly property clock tool that indicates the stage of each major market in Australia within their cycle.
CoreLogic Housing Market Updates
CoreLogic produces video updates outlining the movements in the Australian property market on a monthly basis. They offer a clear and concise breakdown of numerical changes across all major capital cities in Australia.
SQM Research
Like CoreLogic, SQM Research provides a series of videos that deliver an overview of the Australian property market’s monthly movements.
YourInvestmentProperty Mag (YIP)
YIP is a comprehensive resource providing a myriad of articles, calculators, data, and strategies for property investors. Their research tool offers valuable insights into specific suburbs and their performance.
Homely.com.au
Homely.com.au offers a unique suburb review tool which presents an aggregated score for each suburb based on user reviews. It can provide useful insights about an area from the residents themselves.
PropertyChat.com.au
Last but not least, Property Chat serves as an excellent discussion platform for property enthusiasts. The forum offers a wealth of user experiences and advice, making it an invaluable source of diverse opinions and strategies.
Final Thoughts
So there you have it, a list of 15 free property tools that could potentially serve as vital companions in your property investment journey. These resources, each serving a different purpose, could greatly enhance your understanding of property investment.
