An Investor Travel Guide

(To view the above video in Chinese please click here.)

Travel with a private guide. For private real estate investors, it is important to take a knowledgeable guide wherever you go, not just to find the best hangout spots, but more to access the key players, understand the micro market trends and source the best local deals.

It is mostly about location. A key part of success in real estate is knowing where to invest, in which city, in which suburb and down to which street. In markets with widely divergent performance trends, good market and asset selections can create a lot of alpha returns.

It is also a relationship business. Real estate deals – much like dating – are best done offline and in person. Local representation is a huge competitive advantage against fly-in, fly-out competitors. Boots on the ground are essential for any credible deal-sourcing platform.

Divergent market trends. At various times, local market outcomes may differ to the broader macro trends, as we are seeing right now in specific segments – like Melbourne residential and Brisbane office. The top-down perspective does not always lead to the best outcomes.

Be armed with local market intel. Local colour is so important for a complete perspective of market risk and return potential. Some of that info comes from city- or suburb-specific data points, but most of our intel comes from our local deal origination teams based in each city.

Going with a credible partner. While it is fun to hear from our local guides, there is a serious message here. In a market with a lot of new managers, many outfits are not well resourced on the ground. Deep, diverse origination teams are essential to deploy well in this market.