Rental properties are a great income stream, but if you’re thinking about getting into real estate investment, there are different ways to do it.
Investor appetite for property is on the upswing. The value of new loans to investors has nearly doubled year-on-year, according to ABS data.
Meanwhile, investor enquiry on realestate.com.au has grown by 90% over the past year and is now at the highest levels since 2019.
Queensland, in particular, has been the centre of investment activity with destinations across the Sunshine State luring investors to the property market.
One of the options gaining popularity in Queensland is rent-ready homes, according to Daniel Hubbard, sales and brand manager of Invest by Metricon.
“A rent-ready, or turnkey, property means an investment where the new house is completely finished — it‘s ready for a tenant to walk right in,” Hubbard says.
Rent-ready properties allow investors to start earning rental income from the moment they receive their keys. Picture: Metricon
Investors using rent-ready properties also qualify for significant financial benefits, realestate.com.au economist Anne Flaherty adds.
“One of the advantages of newly built properties is if you get something new, you’re looking at enormous amounts of depreciation that you can claim against your income,” she says.
If a rent-ready rental sounds like a good option to build your portfolio, here are some things to consider.
1. Ready to go
Rent-ready homes are brand new homes that have been specifically designed for maximum rental return. When the keys are handed over, the property is ready to be immediately rented. This means investors don’t need to make improvements before signing up a tenant.
Landlords of brand-new homes can also charge higher rents, Flaherty says.
“The rent you can achieve is going to be higher to a comparable sized property with the same number of bedrooms in the established market,” she says.
“Tenants will always pay that little bit more for something that is shiny and new.”
Tenants will often pay more to live in a brand-new home. Picture: Metricon
Purchasing a rent-ready home takes a lot of stress, time and hassle out of the building process, Hubbard says.
“Typically, when you build, you’ve got to pick everything,” he says.
“You select things like tiles, carpet, window treatments and tapware and then organise other elements such as driveways, fencing and landscaping. It is a very involved process and can take significant time”
“(A ready-to-rent home) is ready for someone to walk right into with absolutely nothing left to do.”
2. Fixed price
With the building process throwing up potential delays and unforeseen costs, new homes are sometimes seen as a risk for property investors.
But fixed-price rent-ready homes have all the upside of a brand-new home without the potential of a budget blowout.
“There are no variables or hidden surprises,” says Hubbard.
“Everything is done, and the house is built to a certain spec.
“So, people get a great deal of comfort knowing that once we set the package price, they can rest easy.”
With competition in the investor market heating up, rent-ready properties may be a less stressful path to purchase, says Flaherty.
“When making an offer, it can be too high or too low,” she says. “So, it can be reassuring for some buyers to know what the price is before they go in.”
3. End-to-end convenience
“Most investors are reasonably savvy, but they are also busy,” says Hubbard.
“They don’t have the time to sit down and research suburbs, estates, growth corridors and population growth data.
“To go through that and then design an entire home, that’s a big journey. That’s before you get started on understanding how to structure your investment from a taxation and finance perspective.”
Picking the perfect investment property doesn’t have to be an arduous task. Picture: Metricon
This is why a new investor may want to look for a company that does everything to streamline the process.
Invest by Metricon offers a simplified investor package where advice on location, financial structures and education on being a landlord are all included, cutting downtime and effort for the client.
Hubbard says a tailored investment strategy can be drawn up and executed within three weeks, compared to months when doing it independently.
4. Accessible price
Because rent-ready houses tend to be located in growth corridors, often they can be a more accessible option for getting into property investment.
“If an investor is looking in a newly created suburb, houses tend to be a bit more affordable,” says Flaherty.
“Also, you might be getting in early before all the amenity is there, so you get it at a bit of a discount.”
Hubbard says rent-ready homes for investors are purposely designed for affordability.
“Generally speaking, we try and keep the target to median house price areas,” he says.
“The reason for this is accessibility — more people have a borrowing capacity around this price point and there is always a strong market for affordable houses to buy and rent.”
5. Professional guidance
Even if you’ve done your research, property investing is not a simple process. You’ll need help along the way — especially if you’re a first-time investor.
Flaherty cautions first time investors to do their due diligence and seek expert advice in areas such as financial planning, the property market, accounting and more.
Speak to the experts before making a big investment decision. Picture: Metricon
Hubbard says Invest by Metricon offers assistance from a whole team of experts, including advice on investor’s finances.
“People need professional advice on the financial structure of their investment,” he says.
“Understanding your tax position and having a good debt reduction strategy in place is like laying the foundations of a house. You’ve got to get the slab right”
“At Metricon, what we do is provide an holistic solution, from guidance on how to actually structure your Investment strategy through to the property selection”
Interested to find out more? Enquire about Invest by Metricon.