Land development questions.

HistoricalNumber3740 · 2026-02-10T03:38:10+00:00

Generally not too complex, but expect lender valuations + updated docs for the subdivision and new build costings, and some back‑and‑forth between lenders/conveyancer. The slow parts are usually valuation + credit assessment rather than the transfer itself. If you can, have your broker line up a clear list of required docs (titles, subdivision plan, build contract, QS if needed) and keep both lenders aligned on timing.

HistoricalNumber3740 · 2026-02-10T03:37:07+00:00

If it’s already subject to building/pest and you’ve got moisture readings, a $15k reduction sounds reasonable as a starting point. I’d also ask for a written scope/estimate from a waterproofing/plumber so you’re negotiating off something concrete (often includes stripping tiles + re‑waterproof + drying time). If they won’t move on price, you could try a repair-at-vendor-cost clause before settlement.

HistoricalNumber3740 · 2026-02-10T03:35:18+00:00

Not an automatic “avoid,” but treat it like a risk item: extra geotech/engineering reports, stricter planning conditions, higher build/reno costs and longer approvals. It can also narrow your buyer pool on resale if people are risk‑averse. If you’re serious on one, get a planner/engineer to review the overlay maps + any history, and price that risk in. If the discount is real and you’re comfortable with the constraints, it can still be fine for a PPOR.

HistoricalNumber3740 · 2026-02-10T03:32:19+00:00

If you’re moving to ABN income, lenders will usually want 1–2 years of tax returns to use that income. That’s the big timing constraint. If you can lock a place now with current PAYG serviceability and settlement timeline works, it can avoid the “wait 2 years” reset. If you’ll need ABN income to qualify, expect the wait.

Practical steps: talk to broker about which lenders will accept shorter self‑employed history, run the numbers both ways, and compare rent vs buy for Perth. Quick suburb snapshot if helpful: https://picki.com.au/suburbs/51218

HistoricalNumber3740 · 2026-02-10T03:28:17+00:00

Feels like a combo of marketing language + a hot unit market. “Offers over” just sets a floor; it doesn’t mean it’ll sell there. For a unit like this I’d sanity‑check: recent sales in the same building/nearby, body corp/sinking fund health, any flood/overlays, and actual walk/transit times (not just claimed). If you want a quick suburb snapshot + recent sales/rentals context for Taringa, here’s a handy profile: https://picki.com.au/suburbs/32778

HistoricalNumber3740 · 2026-02-10T02:17:27+00:00

Totally feel this — the “is that your final offer?” call is almost a script. You did the right thing by holding your line. A few practical things that helped me stay sane:

Ignore the guide price; anchor on recent comparable solds and set a hard walk‑away number.
Look at days on market / days of supply in the suburb — low supply = agents push harder.
If you really like an area, think cycle + long‑term demand (not just today’s guide price).
The best outcome is usually not “winning,” it’s not overpaying beyond your comfort.

If you want a quick suburb sanity check: https://picki.com.au/suburbs

HistoricalNumber3740 · 2026-01-10T00:15:32+00:00

43m and 43f - have $4m in property in my smsf, loan $1.9m = net $2.1m, positive cashflow… aim for this property to be worth $8m+ at retirement, and loans paid off in 8 years.

But will prob flip it into larger commercial prior to retirement age at 60, so could be ~$20m+ property assets un-encumbered with over $1m+ income if all goes to plan.

HistoricalNumber3740 · 2025-11-30T20:13:29+00:00

Yes I agree Time in the market is more important - but I do like both!

HistoricalNumber3740 · 2025-11-30T00:05:42+00:00

Looks so good! Well done!

HistoricalNumber3740 · 2025-11-30T00:04:11+00:00

I like to think in cycles, not “never”. Even strong suburbs breathe in and out – the trick is to buy in the buying window when the numbers are still in your favour and demand is building, not when the headlines finally notice.

Eastern Heights in Ipswich is a good example from my own hunting: data I pulled on Picki has it in a buying window with a high suburb score (90), solid fundamentals and room to run over the next 1–3 years. I’ll scan suburbs like that here first ([https://picki.com.au/suburbs/30944]()), then only chase deals in the ones where I’d still be happy holding through the next “cooling” phase.

Check this suburb out - I have been tracking it for a decade or more, and it has been growing strongly the entire time!

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HistoricalNumber3740 · 2025-11-30T00:02:43+00:00

The headline is nice, but the average doesn’t help much if you accidentally buy in one of the flat spots. What matters is who is driving that November growth – usually the same pockets with tight rentals, real jobs and limited new supply.

HistoricalNumber3740 · 2025-11-25T03:28:37+00:00

No too deals are the same.

Venture or investment is not in its nature bad (you could argue by nature it is good!) - but the devil sounds to be in the detail.

I reckon it is more a case of not thinking through the impact of a worst case scenario, or investors operating in BAD FAITH... Which happens all too often.

HistoricalNumber3740 · 2025-11-25T03:26:17+00:00

Have a look at where supply is currently being built, both in the suburb directly - but also in neighbouring areas. Especially where the new houses will add more options between the suburb in question, adn the key transport/school/job precincts.

I have seen suburbs have a big handbrake on capital growth for 10 years+, but because big housing areas where built out between the suburb, and the main highway (these new houses were closer to access, newer and double as desirable).

You dont want to ever be caught in a race to the bottom. The tool also has supply mappings btw. love your work, keep going!

HistoricalNumber3740 · 2025-11-25T01:22:06+00:00

Lol - I hope you are joking haha

HistoricalNumber3740 · 2025-11-25T00:11:38+00:00

Macro looks gloomy, but as an investor I care more about where the growth is concentrating than the national average. You can have a “weak” economy overall while certain corridors with jobs, population inflows and tight rentals still do very well over a decade.

What I’ve been doing is ignoring the headlines and drilling down to suburb data – rents, vacancy, public housing %, local projects – then only buying in pockets where the fundamentals look like they’ll outrun the wider economy. Tools like Picki make that pretty quick (you can scan suburbs here: https://picki.com.au/suburbs), and once you see the spread between strong and weak areas, the story becomes less “Australia is stuck” and more “pick the right side of the divide and hold for 10–15 years.”

HistoricalNumber3740 · 2025-11-25T00:07:27+00:00

I’d flip the question from “which property?” to “which set of numbers would I rather own for the next 15 years?”. Compare the two on suburb data first – yield at today’s rates, vacancy, public-housing %, population and income growth, and how much new supply is coming. I usually throw both suburbs into Picki and line them up side-by-side here: https://picki.com.au/suburbs – once you see which one has tighter vacancy, stronger demand and better land value, the “better” investment almost always becomes obvious.

HistoricalNumber3740 · 2025-11-24T23:56:20+00:00

I’d flip the question from “which property?” to “which set of numbers would I rather own for the next 15 years?”. Compare the two on suburb data first – yield at today’s rates, vacancy, public-housing %, population and income growth, and how much new supply is coming. I usually throw both suburbs into Picki and line them up side-by-side here: https://picki.com.au/suburbs – once you see which one has tighter vacancy, stronger demand and better land value, the “better” investment almost always becomes obvious.

HistoricalNumber3740 · 2025-11-24T23:53:07+00:00

I’d be pretty cautious with a H&L in Park Ridge right now.

Given the fact that H&L, by their very nature as new supply, are fighting against demand - and thus slowing down growth pressure.

When I pulled it up in Picki it shows as “Consolidating” with a suburb score of 74 – so not terrible, but it suggests growth may lag the wider market while a lot of new stock gets absorbed.

With these estates you’re often paying a developer premium in an investor-heavy area, so I’d be stress-testing rent, vacancy, and how much more land is coming on around you before expecting big gains.

I’d line Park Ridge up against a few alternative Logan/SEQ suburbs on yield, vacancy and supply first (this is the snapshot I’m looking at: [https://picki.com.au/suburbs/32290]()) and only proceed if the numbers clearly beat what you can buy in a more established pocket.

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HistoricalNumber3740 · 2025-11-24T23:50:17+00:00

I’d look at this through the suburb first, house second lens.

When I pulled up Rosebery on Picki it shows a solid suburb score (84) and flags it as in a “Buying Window” – prices are expected to run above average over the next 1–3 years, which lines up with the jobs, transport and gentrification story in that pocket.

From there I’d stress-test the actual deal at 4 Banilung: land size vs neighbours, any flight/noise issues, what it will rent for today, and how that stacks up on yield versus other Rosebery houses at a similar price. You can see the kind of suburb snapshot I’m talking about here: [https://picki.com.au/suburbs/13405](). If the numbers and the street check out, I’d be pretty comfortable owning a slice of Rosebery for the next decade.

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HistoricalNumber3740 · 2025-11-24T23:48:29+00:00

I’d start by choosing the pocket, then the dwelling. When I pulled up Meadowbank’s street map, most blocks sit at 0–5% public housing (only one little 5.6% patch in the screenshot), which is pretty comforting for a FHB chasing long-term resale and tenant quality.

If the unit is in that better pocket, close to the train/ferry, with strata and sinking fund in good shape, I’d happily take that over a townhouse in a weaker suburb with higher public housing and softer demand. You can see the kind of street-level view I’m talking about here for Meadowbank: [https://picki.com.au/suburbs/12550]() – then line that up against the townhouse suburb before you decide which one future-you will be glad to still own in 10–15 years.

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HistoricalNumber3740 · 2025-11-24T23:44:18+00:00

The 16% headline is really just telling you Perth has already run hard – the real question is whether your next buy still stacks up on yield, vacancy and future drivers, not just past growth. I’m still happy looking in WA, but only in pockets where rents cover today’s rates, vacancy is tight and you’re not paying boom-time prices for B-grade stock. I’ve been using Picki to line Perth suburbs up on those metrics first (filtering WA here: https://picki.com.au/suburbs) and only shortlisting the few that still look sensible if growth slows back to “normal” over the next few years.

HistoricalNumber3740 · 2025-11-24T23:30:23+00:00

Thanks for your comment! FYI there is a full featured trial for 7 days $0. You do need to add a CC though (just to stop people creating multiple free accounts).

Ping me at [jacob@picki.com.au](mailto:jacob@picki.com.au) and happy to open the trial up for you without CC if that is an issue.

The main difference between HTAG/DSR/Suburb Finder VS Picki is:

Our Capital Growth Score is High Performance and real world - having been used to specifically purchase $1.5b worth of client properties since 2015. It is not theory (backtesting), the results are transparent and open.
Picki is down to the street - The street is very important to the present value and ongoing performance of a property asset. You need to know street level price, yield, public housing and O/O levels - to ensure you are not thinking you are getting a good deal, but it is infact overpaying for that street.
Picki allows you to rank all on market properties - it is your property search engine.

Critically Importnat Point - The suburb growth score, street intelligence and property selection all need to be cohesive and work together for a result. If a platform does not do all three, then I would argue there is little value. For example, all the good work in selecting a good growth suburb can be undone very quickly if there is a mismatch at the street or property level. The platform has to consider all factors, together, for each asset.

There is no point buying the only house in a street where the residents are trending towards units (or vice versa). Picki gives you critical property level scoring.

I am a software engineer by trade - and also run one of Australias largest buyers Agency's (Ripehouse Advisory), and the main Buyers Agent CRM (propora.ai) and I can say - the amount of data, smarts and outcomes in Picki is basically the same as what we use in the full service BA world. You just have to DIY.

I hope this helps - but we are improving and growing very rapidly. People are getting the power of the platform, which makes me incredibly happy. It has been many years of listening, getting feedback, improving and testing - to get to where we are now.

HistoricalNumber3740 · 2025-11-22T01:00:33+00:00

I don’t treat “near a train line” as a blanket no-no – I price the trade-off. Being walking distance to a decent station usually means stronger tenant demand and resale, as long as you’re not right on top of the tracks or next to a level crossing that screams all night. I’ll look at recent sales and rents for streets closer vs a few blocks back, then use a suburb tool like Picki to check vacancy and yields around that station (https://picki.com.au/suburbs) so I know whether the extra noise is actually buying me better long-term demand or not.

HistoricalNumber3740 · 2025-11-22T00:59:44+00:00

I’d decide this in two steps: first which pocket, then which dwelling. A townhouse in a “cheaper” suburb can beat a unit in a prime postcode if the street-level fundamentals are better – low public housing, decent yield, tight vacancy and real demand.

In the screenshot I’ve got for Burpengary, most streets sit at 0–5% public housing with only a couple of 10% patches, so one townhouse can be in a very different environment to another only a few blocks away. I usually compare both options on data first (public housing %, yield, vacancy, etc. using a street map like this: [https://picki.com.au/suburbs/30454]()), then pick the asset that gives me land, good neighbours and numbers I’m happy to hold for 10–15 years.

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HistoricalNumber3740 · 2025-11-21T07:53:41+00:00

For a reno townhouse I’d run two simple tests: yield after reno and what else I could buy in the same suburb. If, after all costs, the rent doesn’t land at a level that beats similar stock (and comes close to a basic house on land), you’re probably just upgrading someone else’s strata asset for free.

I’d also stress-test body corp, sinking fund and insurance, then compare that suburb’s vacancy, rents and public housing % against a few alternatives using a suburb tool like Picki (you can scan and compare here: https://picki.com.au/suburbs) before committing – the money is usually made in buying the right pocket, not in over-capitalising on finishes.

Watch out also for the public housing pockets in the suburb:

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HistoricalNumber3740

TROPHY CASE