Monthly Property Update with Arjun Paliwal — Rentvesting, Market Growth + What to Look For in an Investment Property

 The Australian property market is heating up again, with some suburbs growing close to 1% in a month. If you’ve been wondering whether to rentvest or buy a home to live in, this episode breaks it down in simple, practical terms.

In this month’s property update, Molly Benjamin sits down with buyer’s agent and property expert Arjun Paliwal to unpack what’s happening in the market right now and what buyers need to know before making their next move.

We cover:

• Australian property market update – why growth is rising again
  
• Rentvesting vs buying – Arjun’s 5–10 year rule to help you choose
  
• Accidental investors – the costly mistake first-timers often make
  
• How to pick a strong investment property using listings, rental vacancy, days on market and competition
  
• Buyer pressure from real estate agents and why representation matters
  
• Climate change & flood risk – how to assess environmental risk realistically
  
• Ongoing costs of property investing – maintenance, land tax, insurance, rates and vacancy
  
• Infrastructure myths – do trains, shops and Bunnings actually drive growth?
  
• Mindset traps that slow down investors and how to avoid analysis paralysis
  
  

If you're saving for your deposit, deciding between rentvesting or buying to live, or trying to understand what makes a property a good investment, this episode will give you clarity, confidence and a clear checklist.

This podcast contains general information only. Always seek advice tailored to your personal circumstances before making financial decision

This episode is brought to you by InvestorKit, Australia’s #1 Buyers Agency for 2023 and 2024. They specialise in helping investors find high-growth properties utilising industry leading AI and data driven research process across Australia. 70%+ of the properties they purchase are off-market and they have consistently outperformed national average capital growth rates by over 49%. Whether you’re looking to build your property portfolio or secure your first investment. Check them out here.

CHAPTERS

00:00 – Welcome to Get Rich
01:16 – Property Update with Arjun Pal (InvestorKit)
02:53 – Market Pulse: Growth Is Heating Up
03:36 – Rentvest or Buy to Live?
03:57 – The 5–10 Year Rule & Accidental Investors
06:05 – What to Look for in an Investment Property
07:03 – Pressure Signals: Listings, Rentals, DOM, Auctions
07:53 – Don’t Fear Competition (That’s Where Growth Is)
08:15 – Selling-Agent Tactics & How to Push Back
09:45 – The “Hot Listing” Trap
10:19 – Climate & Insurance Risk: Floods, Fire, Premiums

LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

Arjun’s Property Podcast – The Property Nerds: https://www.investorkit.com.au/podcasts/

CONNECT WITH ARJUN PALIWAL

Website: https://www.investorkit.com.au/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arjpaliwal/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/propertybuyersagent/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@investorkit

CONNECT WITH LADIES FINANCE CLUB

Join our free Facebook group - Ladies Finance Club Money Chat
Website: https://www.ladiesfinanceclub.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ladiesfinanceclub/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ladies-finance-club/

TAKEAWAYS

• The housing market rarely booms with high listings.
• Investment opportunities arise in tight listing markets.
• High auction clearance rates indicate strong demand.
• Properties that sell quickly are desirable investments.
• Understanding market dynamics is crucial for investors.
• Rental markets thrive when properties are scarce.
• Historical trends show unique market behaviors.
• Investors should focus on metrics for decision-making.
• Doomsday scenarios can provide insights into market shifts.
• Identifying demand is key to successful investing.

SOUND BITES

"Doomsday type things to look for"
"Auction clearance rates quite high"
"People clearly want it"

TRANSCRIPT

[00:00:00] MOLLY: Welcome to Get Rich, the podcast that helps you do just that. Get rich and stay rich. Hey, I'm Molly Benjamin. I'm the founder of Ladies Finance Club, one of Australia's largest financial education platforms for women. But before I started helping thousands of women take control with their money, I was a hot financial mess when it came to my own finances and not the fun kind of hot, more like crying in a supermarket, wondering where all my money went kind of hot.

[00:00:29] But here's the thing, if I can go from financial mess to owning a share portfolio, investing in property, and building wealth. Then you can too. My mission is simple to make women rich because when we have financial freedom, we have choices, confidence, and control over our future. Every week on Get Rich, I sit down with some of the best experts in the industry to break down how we can all start investing, growing our money, and creating long-term financial security with.

[00:00:59] Out the jargon, boring bits or overwhelm, because when women get rich, we don't just change our lives, we change the world. So if you're ready to start making some smart money moves, hit that subscribe button and let's get rich together.

[00:01:16] Welcome back to another episode of Get Rich, the podcast that helps you do just that. Get rich and stay rich. I'm your host, Molly Benjamin. Founder of Ladies Finance Club, one of Australia's largest financial education platforms, and today we are jumping into our property update with Self and Invest Property Nerd, Arjun Paal, and director and founder of Investor Kit.

[00:01:39] Now, if you've been tossing up whether to rent vest or buy a home to live in, confused by the headlines or wondering why the market still feels so hot. This episode is for you. 'cause Arjun and I unpack what's actually really happening across Australia right now. The suburbs seeing strong growth, the data points that actually matter, and we'll also dive into the big questions that everyone's asking and like literally these questions have come from our community.

[00:02:05] So how to avoid becoming an accidental investor, what to look for in a great investment property, how to spot pressure tactics from selling agents. Plus, we also get into climate change, risk, flood zones, insurance issues, and how to factor environmental risk into your property strategy. So we cover a lot in a short period of time.

[00:02:24] We've made it action packed and we always love to hear from you. So if you have questions, reach out to us at Instagram, we'll make sure we. Answer them on the next property update. All right, let's get into it. Arjun, welcome back for another property update. I love these sessions. They're always so juicy, and again, we are answering the questions that our community have.

[00:02:46] So I guess just to quickly get started, could you give us a general overview of what are we seeing this month?

[00:02:53] ARJUN: So this month just being has been one of the busiest months in property for many, many years. You'd think that with interest rates not quite as low as they should be in many people's thoughts that the market wouldn't be as active.

[00:03:06] But it's been really active. Like we've had many markets grow by almost 1% over the last month. Now that's not a small number because 1%, if you annualize that, it's close to 12%, which is almost double the national averages. So you've got some that are doing 0.6, 0.7, but some over 1%. So I feel like when you're at this sort of level, it's kind of reminded me of 20, 21 times when you had some very strong growth.

[00:03:28] Now, not all the fundamentals are in play to the same level as 2021, so I don't expect it to be that strong, but it's definitely rising.

[00:03:36] MOLLY: Awesome. And a question. I'm getting so much from women and I think it's really kind of, they're getting a bit of analysis paralysis. It's really stopping them from making that next move is like, Molly, I don't know whether I should rent vest or I should buy to live.

[00:03:51] So if people are out there, they're unsure what to do. Do you have any thoughts around this?

[00:03:57] ARJUN: Yes, I got a bit of a formula that's helped me on my journey and helped many others as well from what I've seen. If your journey is looking at it from a perspective of I don't feel like I could stick at this home that I want to buy and I can buy from my current budgets for five to 10 years.

[00:04:15] Then the idea here, and I know life's unpredictable by the way, but I mean, if you don't imagine yourself being there for five to 10 years, rent vesting is the way to go. Mm. And the only reason I say that is for one simple reason, too many Aussies become accidental investors. Yeah. And then pull back their actual performance long term.

[00:04:33] And for those that don't what an accidental investor is, it's someone who goes, wow, I wanna get the first home. I wanna get on the ladder. Let me find where I can right near me in the best areas, in the most affordable price possible. And then they go, don't like that. Don't like that. Don't like this. Okay, I'm gonna go for this really entry level unit in a market where I don't look at it from the data and numbers and I'm gonna go move in.

[00:04:53] A couple of years go by, they go, my income's gone up. The journey of life. You get more experience from your twenties to thirties and forties, then you get more income gross from your twenties to thirties to forties. And you have different goals and dynamics. So to be kids, family, illnesses, house, uh, time to be near certain family members, then you go, I wanna upside.

[00:05:12] Yeah. And then instead of going, well, let me get rid of that first home completely and just move up and move across you firstly, now go, well I like that first place. Lemme turn that to an investment property. And it was never bought for to be an investment property. So that's my big tip. Like there's many different ways I can break down, more tailored scenarios, but if I just simply think.

[00:05:29] Over the next five to 10 years. If you can't imagine staying in that one place and building your wealth and building other parts of your life and your career whilst you live in that centered place, then reinvesting is you go to.

[00:05:39] MOLLY: That's so funny you said that because I literally had this conversation the other day with a friend.

[00:05:45] She did exactly what you said. She just bought where she could afford close to her, and now she's like, I don't think I wanna stay in the state anymore. And I'm like, oh, like. I wish she had spoken to a buyer's agent. 'cause that will be the difference between a lot of money in her lifetime if only she'd got the right advice on that one.

[00:06:05] So I guess then if someone's like, do you know what? I think I wanna go down that rest event path because life is unpredictable. I don't know where I'm gonna be in the next kind of three years, little alone, 10 years. What should someone be looking for in an investment property? What numbers really matter?

[00:06:20] Hmm.

[00:06:21] ARJUN: So the first part is that if you take a step back and realize houses as investments in the majority of areas in Australia grow, well long term, you can pull that weight off your shoulders and go, long term growth is gonna be okay now that I'm making this decision, now you come back to what matters.

[00:06:39] Now what matters is the short term metrics in housing markets that really drive what we call as pressure. The beauty about housing performance as an investment is that there's never been a time in history where a house market has boomed when there was lots of listings available. Mm. Or a rental market has boomed when there's lots of properties available for rent or a house.

[00:07:03] Market's boomed and places took forever to. Or a house market boom, and auction clearance rates were extremely low and nothing was selling an auction, so I just gave you some never happened before with some doomsday type things to look for. Flip it. Just flip it and go, well, where are the listings? Super tight.

[00:07:22] Where in the market are there no rental properties? Where is auction clearance rates quite high. Where do things sell Within a few days or a week or weeks? And then that will help you from the metrics perspective go. Okay. People clearly want it. I see a lot of people around me. And lots of people's mistake they make is they wanna avoid competition 'cause they feel like I should be the only one that gets this.

[00:07:45] Yeah. It's great at the start if things are about to turn, but if you want capital growth, invite competition. 'cause growth happens with competition.

[00:07:53] MOLLY: Yeah. And I guess just from, obviously you guys are buyers agents, so you and and by strategists. So you are. Out there doing the deals, but I guess from the other's perspective of the real estate agents, do you find that from speaking with customers, they've really tried to pressure people into making maybe not the best decision?

[00:08:15] ARJUN: Absolutely. It's an unfair advantage that sellers have is that the majority of sales in Australia are represented with a sales agent. Mm. And so the real estate agent who's helping sell that property is basically gonna fight for the best dollar, fight for the fastest deal, and fight to make sure that you don't have every information that would make you feel otherwise.

[00:08:37] Now, they're gonna disclose what they need to as you ask them, but if you don't ask all the right questions, you don't know everything that you need to know. If you don't look in comparing properties the right way, you don't get everything you need to know. So the thing is, buyers are massively underrepresented, and that's literally why I do what I do.

[00:08:52] 'cause we're trying to equal the playing field, right, which is like going, Hey, let's equal the playing field. So you've got someone who's purchased over 2000 properties on your team, or let's equal the playing field. So you've got someone who does nothing but look at prices. So when someone puts this list price and look as much as Underquoting is quote unquote illegal.

[00:09:08] It happens every day. And so as a buyer you go, well, do I just want to go off the listing and get high hopes? Or do I wanna basically go, well this person sells on average 8% above listing price all the time. So maybe instead of getting my hopes excited on this property, I'll go in and have a look at it.

[00:09:26] But I'm gonna do comparable price analysis to the T with a professional on my side. And they're not gonna get fooled by, you know, this property's got another offer that's higher than this. 'cause you've got your range to stick in. So yes, there's a lot of pressure that goes on. I feel bad for buyers that have no representation.

[00:09:42] Yeah, some occasionally get it right, but a lot, sadly get it wrong.

[00:09:45] MOLLY: And I feel like it goes a little bit something like I'm looking for a property, I speak to a real estate agent. They're like, this one's really hot. It's going. I go, ah, what should I do, mom? Dad? Like, what do you reckon I should do? They're like, oh my gosh.

[00:09:58] Put the offer in, you don't wanna miss out. And then boom, you're in this situation where you might have a little bit of a lemon. And I only say this because I've heard this story quite a few times from our members.

[00:10:08] ARJUN: Yeah. Yes. Spot on.

[00:10:09] MOLLY: And so when you guys are looking at buying property around Australia, and you do this so often, every single day, how much are you factoring in climate change?

[00:10:19] So like flood risk, environmental risks, and how much should our listeners be factoring that into a decision on buying?

[00:10:26] ARJUN: This is super tough. It's very, very tough. It's a great question because on one side you see the many sad stories across the globe of lives impacted with climate change. Mm. On another side, you see mapping that was released 10 or 15 or 20 years ago, and then you look at the mapping today and you go, well, that's suburb is not under.

[00:10:45] Yeah. It's still here. And so then it's, it's tough as a buyer or an investor's thinking there and just going, I'm getting pulled into.

KEYWORDS

housing market, investment, auction clearance rates, rental properties, market dynamics