Sounds like a bad joke or dinner at my in-law’s on a Thursday night.
I haven’t posted on here in ages, to be fair ive been off socials all year, busy working, living, trying to be more present, all that good stuff.
But I had a friend call and ask about the plethora of sh!t going on at the moment, rate rises, possible CGT changes, oil price hikes and years. But the number of conversations I’ve had this week — from clients, colleagues, mates — all circling the same question has been hard to ignore.
“Should I buy property right now?” or “Should I sell before WW3?…or at least before GTA VI drops(I assured him if thats the case he has plenty of time”
So grab a coffee, and read through this while you pretend to be engaged with that Zoom meeting.
The RBA just hiked rates for the second month in a row. Cash rate’s at 4.10%. There’s a war in the Middle East pushing fuel prices through the roof. Consumer sentiment is in pessimistic territory. Tariff uncertainty everywhere.
Adelaide’s auction clearance rate dipped to around 65% a few weeks ago, the lowest we’d seen since last August.
It feels like a melting pot of things outside anyone’s control.
And I get why people are uncertain. Construction costs are touted to go up 20%, insurances etc…when the world feels uncertain, doing nothing feels safe.
Property is not something you time, like all the greats, Buffett, Munger, Garbas, Dalio have said it is time in market not timing the market.
So why property?(not financial advice) If you’re buying a home, it’s an asset with dual utility it’s shelter and a store of wealth.
And here is the thing, everyone I know who bought in 2020 when the world was arguably scarier than it is now isn’t sitting around regretting the specific day (25 March, Happy Greek Indepdence Day) they signed the contract. They’re looking at what that asset is worth today and thinking, “thank God we bought”/
Adelaide’s median house price has been climbing for years. Supply is still constrained. Population growth is real. Rental demand isn’t going anywhere. Those fundamentals haven’t changed because petrol hit $2.59 at your local servo.
The people who build wealth through property aren’t the ones who wait for perfect conditions. They’re the ones who bought well, held long, and made decisions based on a 10-year lens, not a 10-day news cycle(turn the tv off, get off socials, get some fresh air, read a book…more a note to myself)
I’m not saying rush out and buy anything. That’s reckless. I’m saying don’t let short-term noise override long-term strategy.
If you’ve got the capacity, you’ve done the numbers, and the asset stacks up, the best time to act is when others are hesitating.
And here is how I see it, even if my principal place of residence crashed 30%, I’m not selling, sure the numbers don’t look as great on paper, but my family have shelter a roof over their head, safety and security, why would I sell? (I don’t see the market crashing 30% just FYI)
Anyway that’s my 2 cents, Claude, Chatty & Grok would not approve of this message, however I don’t really care, and if you made it this far, kudos to you, I owe you a coffee…ill have to ride my bicycle to you seeing as my daughters are asking to go for a drive to sleep(clearly they haven’t been paying attention as we drive past the servo).
Στην υγειά μας / (Stin iyia mas) / to our health
– YG
Yianni Garbas 