The only thing consistent about 2020 has been how much things have changed.
At the beginning of the year, many property markets across Australia were in a growth phase and landlords were confidently viewing the real estate market as a safe place to invest their money.
Then, coronavirus arrived and decimated the economy – prompting billions of dollars worth of stimulus and rescue packages in its wake.
These packages have been designed to ensure that everyday Australians weren’t left homeless after mass job losses.
However, in some states they’ve resulted in landlords being stripped of most of their rights – with landlords unable to evict tenants for not paying their rent.
“We’re in the middle of a pandemic and it has been a real rollercoaster ride for property owners. If you’re a landlord, I think this has been one of the, if not the biggest shake up about tenancy rules and regulations we’ve ever experienced,” says Sarah Megginson, editor of Your Investment Property, on the latest episode of the YIP Talk property podcast.
“One of the biggest results has been that fear had been dominating a lot of people’s thought processes. Certainly from me, I’m the type of person that likes to have all my ducks in a row and when coronavirus hit, it’s like your flock took off and they all flew in different directions. The ducks were no longer in a row – the ducks were no longer in a pond! They were just all over the place, and it’s a real mental battle to bring everything back in and look at that elements you can control, and what is the actual risk versus the perceived risk.”
Podcast guest and experienced property investor Paul Wilson, director of Income2Wealth, says the speed at which things changed only served to compound these fears.
“There’s been no time to get used to the idea of these changes. In the past, there have been changes proposed, there have been discussions and there has been time for us to sort of think about how that might impact on us and what move we would make if certain decisions were made. But, COVID came and we’re all impacted and we’ve had to learn to zig and zag very, very quickly with very little time to consider where we are.”
The added element of “fear of the unknown” can cause us to be “a bit hasty in our decision-making process”, Wilson adds.
In this podcast, Megginson and Wilson dive deeper into the property investing mindset and offer some perspective around the property market, the impact of coronavirus, and how changes to tenancy legislation might impact individuals now and in the future – so people can make a better informed decision about where they’re sitting, and what sort of exposure they’re having to the current changes that are in the marketplace.
During the podcast, the pair discuss short-term solutions that have really long-term implications; some of the questions an investor should ask themselves to work out whether selling their property actually makes sense or not; and what options and support is available to landlords in the current market. Listen here!
