Making housing affordability the centrepiece of a Federal Budget was always going to score a political point or two. But when you drill down into the Albanese Government’s plan to build one million cheap homes over five years, two things are clear.

A start date of 2024, because of labour and building shortage, means it will be years before the National Housing Accord yields positive results.

And while providing incentives for new buyers is admirable, ultimately this strategy will increase demand without actually addressing the housing supply issue.

This means West Australian investors looking to make their property debut or expand their existing portfolio should consider jumping into the market now.

Pre-budget there was a lot of noise around tax changes to investment properties. Importantly, the Budget included NO such changes.

So where to start? Well, the Housing Accord will be targeting “well located” sites. Investors should also be targeting these areas.

As well as suburbs close to rail and infrastructure, buyers should be looking to the suburbs and regions where vacancy rates are virtually zero. Whether you’re wanting to diversify your portfolio across multiple locations and property types, or make a commercial or residential debut, a buyers agent is a good place to start.

An experienced buyers agent will quickly assess your risk and capacity and align it with suitable prospects. A good agent will know what areas have the right mix of amenities planned or in place, they will be in tune with capital growth forecasts, current rental yields, demographic and demand.

At Johnson Property Group (JPG) we are recommending commercial asset investments yielding upward of 5 per cent, and residential assets with yields of two per cent and above.

We always advise our clients to do their homework with a buyers agent to ensure they know exactly how the investment will work, how it will generate a return and forecasted capital gain assessment. Other considerations for investors considering a real estate investment include the time it should be retained to maximise financial returns.

These are all questions that your buyers agent will be able to answer. If you’d like to discuss this well-considered investment approach with me please reach out.