What’s the outlook for real estate investment in Australia this year?

One of the best ways to add to your investment portfolio is to buy property. For one thing, housing is a relatively stable market, and your holdings are always likely to have value, usually increasingly so. In addition, if you own a home, you can rent it out and generate a little extra return on your investment that way.

The only question is just how much it will cost to make that investment in the first place. The downside to investing in property is that the market is volatile – supply is often drying up and prices are usually increasing, which makes it difficult to find an affordable piece of real estate to buy.

It helps to study the market closely and find opportunities to get good value. Where are the affordable properties available? What factors are there that will influence any future changes in the market?

Key challenges facing the Australian housing market

Choosing to buy a house on the Gold Coast can be a great way to invest your money, but there are reasons to be concerned about the market as it stands today. According to research from AMP Capital, there are a number of challenges that lie ahead:

• Scarcity of product. As the population grows, demand for housing increases, which makes it difficult to find real estate at affordable prices.
• Volatile pricing patterns. External economic factors, such as low interest rates that encourage spending, have a way of shaping the market in ways that buyers can't always predict.
• Changing demand patterns. Changes in population demographics, globalisation and technological disruption are all further complications that make it difficult to predict the cost of housing.

There's a good chance that people can bring in significant revenue through property investment, but this move is not without its risks.

Major growth occurring on the Gold Coast

There's always risk involved when you invest in property, but there's reason to believe that Gold Coast property in particular can offer more value than most. Property expert Nathan Birch recently told News.com.au that the Gold Coast region is expected to be Australia's fastest-growing for real estate values in 2017, perhaps even spiking by double digits.

"I am seeing the same thing which was happening in Sydney in 2012 happening in the Gold Coast and the fringe suburbs of Brisbane right now," Mr Birch said. "The buyer activity there is very strong."

The market for housing fell precipitously after the global financial crisis last decade, but there's been a steady pattern in recent years of various pockets of Australia rebounding. It looks like the Gold Coast will be next, which means now marks an opportunity to invest soon and get in on a rapidly blossoming market.

We can help you find the perfect property

If you've decided now's the time to buy real estate in Surfers Paradise, or anywhere else in the region, you'd be best served to do it by working with Ray White Surfers Paradise, the largest real estate group in the Australasia region. One in every 10 properties sold throughout Australia and New Zealand goes through us, and your next purchase could be next.

We have more than 140,000 properties available for sale each year, and we make it easy to search for the property that best matches your needs and the price you're willing to spend. Contact us right away if you want to get moving and invest in Gold Coast real estate now, before the prices gets even a penny higher.