Rewarding Property Decisions with Jarrod McCabe of Wakelin Property Advisory

As winter approaches, the property market tends to slow down. But that doesn't mean you should, if you’re looking to buy. Jarrod looks at the key mistakes to avoid this winter. The best opportunities aren't tied to the season, but to your readiness to act.

Each generation’s economic and social experience is different, and goes a long way to shaping their property investment journey. However, most agree their first property purchase was the hardest. This is especially true now, given the rapid price rises in recent years. So is there still an appetite amongst the younger generation – ‘Gen Z’ – to enter the market. To explore this Jarrod enlisted the expertise of Mark McCrindle, Demographer, social researcher, bestselling author, and TEDx speaker.

Negotiating for an investment property or home can certainly get intense – but it doesn’t reach the life or death stakes of a hostage negotiator. Having said that, there are some important techniques we can apply from those able to mediate and negotiate in the most volatile situations. A recent New York Times article covered Scott Walker’s book ‘Order Out of Chaos: A Kidnap Negotiator's Guide to Influence and Persuasion.’ As the author's bio states, Scott Walker is the person who gets called in ‘when pirates have hijacked a ship, when a criminal gang has kidnapped someone, (and) when an entire company's future is being held to ransom from a cyber-attack.’ Jarrod McCabe draws on Walker's techniques to delve deeply into the art of negotiation, as there are quite a lot of properties passing-in currently, which means strong negotiation tactics are really coming to the fore. These same skills also come into play in private sales.

Technology advancements have transformed the real estate sector over the past quarter-century. While there is no doubt new technology has provided greater information, access, and convenience for both buyers and sellers, there are also areas of risk and concern. Jarrod explores the key technological shifts across the local property market over the last 25 years, and how you can leverage them to aid your investment performance, whilst avoiding the potential pitfalls that come with new technology.

Interest rates tempered the Melbourne property market in 2023, but the anticipated easing of rates later this year could revive buyer confidence and spark increased market activity and competition. Stuart Wemyss, Director at ProSolution Private Clients provided valuable insights to The Wakelin Property Report as one of its expert contributors. He joined Jarrod to discuss the influence of interest rates on the property market and factors that determine the ability to purchase property.

Melbourne’s surging rental market is just one of the five pivotal factors poised to shape property investment in 2024. These insights are explored in this year’s Wakelin Property Report, offering strategic keys to leverage each trend for successful investment outcomes. Rebecca Berry, Partner and Head of Property Management at Belle Property St Kilda & Brighton, lends her knowledge to the report as one of its expert contributors. Rebecca joined Jarrod in detailed conversation, sharing her valuable perspectives and strategies to maximise benefits from Melbourne's booming rental demand.

Melbourne’s rental market is running hot. Early 2024 has seen huge numbers at open for inspections, leading to significant rent increases for owners. This surge, while typical from mid-January to mid-March, has been intensified by an exceptionally low vacancy rate and lack of supply, creating a unique window for investors to seek premium rental rates. Wakelin Property Advisor, Jordan Telfer, joins Jarrod to look at the dynamics and strategies at play, so investors can capitalise on the strong demand to optimise returns.

We've been highlighting our most popular Rewarding Property Decisions episodes over the summer break. Taking out the number one position is our episode "What to inspect at an open for inspection." As the market warm ups after some quiet months, listings begin to increase for what is typically a busy selling season. That obviously increases opportunities for buyers, but it also multiplies the number of properties they’ll need to inspect. That can be difficult to manage, especially when several open for inspections for promising homes are being held on the same day. The key to prevent wasting time and missed opportunities is being able to inspect properties both efficiently and diligently. Jarrod pinpoints what to look for at open for inspections.

While we're away on our summer break, we're sharing with you our most popular Rewarding Property Decisions episodes, receiving the highest number of downloads. Coming in at number two is our episode "Is a holiday home a good investment?" - perfect timing, given the season. We often receive enquiries at this time of year from clients considering purchasing a holiday home, upon dreamily returning from their summer breaks. Given this, it’s easy for would-be buyers to fall into the trap of making a hasty, excitable decision that they may later come to regret. Jarrod and Richard talk through the major considerations buyers should weigh up before deciding to take the plunge.

While we're enjoying a break over the Australian summer, we thought we’d share with you our most popular Rewarding Property Decisions episodes, receiving the highest number of downloads. Coming in at number three is our episode "Melbourne apartments: under vs over capitalising." Jarrod was joined by Jordan Telfer to look at how to get the most from your apartment investment. It's important to get the balance right. Too much money spent on the wrong apartment can lead to over capitalisation and wasting money, while not enough can result in under capitalisation and missed opportunities.

While most people have their eyes firmly fixed towards the festive season and holiday break once we tick over into December, it’s a useful time to look back on the Spring property market that has just passed, to gather some takeaways and learnings. This Spring lacked the intensity and hype of some previous years, but was still marked with some notable discussion points, robust market activity, and interesting trends. Jarrod McCabe explores the unique characteristics of Spring 2023, so we can gain crucial insights to help navigate and capitalise on future market cycles.

With Jarrod's background in valuations, he has always been fascinated by property price movements. Particularly the complex interplay of factors influencing their directions, both up and down. Over the years, he's determined that the main drivers can be grouped into three major categories – the general economy, the property market, and the property itself. Jarrod explores these categories and how they might be impacting your property investments.

Buying a property is one of the biggest decisions of your lifetime. There’s a multitude of crucial practical and financial considerations to navigate prior to purchasing a property. But what about the psychological perspective? It’s often overlooked, but it’s a critical aspect to consider when you’re on the hunt for a property. Over the years, we've found two main mental barriers that trip-up property buyers, and can lead to poor purchasing outcomes. Both were coined by venture capitalist, Patrick McGinnis in a paper he wrote at Harvard Business School - FOMO (the fear of missing out) and FOBO (the fear of better options). Jarrod looks at how you can avoid FOMO and FOBO pitfalls when you’re in the market.

As Spring selling season heads further into November, Jarrod and Wakelin’s Property Team Manager, Brenton Potter explore whether it's better to jump in and buy property now, or hold off until market activity picks up in the new year.

While every Spring sees Melbourne’s property market activity intensify, each year’s selling season has particular dynamics shaping the state of play between buyers and sellers. Jarrod spoke to one of Melbourne's leading real estate agents, Stuart Evans, Director of Marshall White in Boroondara about the shifts and trends impacting Melbourne’s 2023 Spring market. Understand the key issues to optimise your purchasing and selling decisions this Spring.

We’re now entering the heart of Melbourne’s Spring property market – when buyer competition is usually at its most fierce. This upward shift can often wrong foot buyers, who fail to meet the market and resist paying a necessary premium for quality properties. What often unfolds can be a painful, but an all too common scenario. The market races away. High-quality properties, once within their price range, move out of reach – leaving them on the sidelines or having to settle for something lesser. No one wants to pay a premium for property, but sometimes it's an imperative. Jarrod looks at the What, Why, When and How when considering whether you should pay a premium for a property.

As cost of living pressures escalate, home ownership becomes increasingly challenging, and the rental supply dwindles, fierce political, social, and industry debate has intensified – unfairly pitting renters against property investors. While at Wakelin, we don't claim to have all the answers, we do aim to cut through the emotions and rhetoric to offer practical and pragmatic insight. Jarrod McCabe is joined by Wakelin Property Advisor, Jordan Telfer to discuss why private investors play an important role in addressing the rental supply shortage.

Melbourne’s Spring property season is upon us and many vendors will be gearing-up for their sales campaigns. It’s typically a time when market activity is at its most lively and buyers are out in force - so often it’s a good time to sell for vendors. But, even in the most frenzied of Spring markets, a badly run sales campaign can see the strongest of properties fall flat. Jarrod uncovers 6 common mistakes that can ruin sales campaigns and sink property prices, to ensure your listing shines and delivers its optimum sales price.

Interest rates, uncertain market dynamics and the initial specter of rental caps have seen many investors left pondering the future viability of their property investments. Some of the questions we’ve been fielding include whether to retain or sell a property. If the decision is to sell, what renovations are worthwhile? Likewise, if they continue to hold, what works need to be carried out for rentals and longer term capital growth? Jarrod looks at considerations that should be taken into account when deciding if, when and how to renovate your property, from both a sales and rental perspective.

Time is an important resource within property investment, just as it is throughout all aspects of our life. In the third edition of our Reminiscing with Richard series, Jarrod and Richard explain why the key to successful property investment is all about time spent in the market, rather than getting caught up trying to time the market. Time is such a valuable and irreplaceable resource. Using it wisely has a profound impact on how you create financial independence and security for the future.