Leading by example

If you want to build a profitable property portfolio that delivers long-lasting wealth, then real education on where the market is now and where it is heading is essential.

So says OpenCorp co-founder and director Matt Lewison, who kicked off the company’s recent client night with a 20-minute market update that covered everything investors need to know about the state of Australia’s real estate market.

These regular client events, held in Sydney and Melbourne several times a year, are OpenCorp’s way of ensuring its clients are as informed as possible about their investments and the opportunities in the current market.

From a city-by-city snapshot of vacancy rates to borrowing trends, an update on macroeconomic factors and growth projections for the next 12 months, there were few stones left unturned during this brief but informative evening.

“There are eight market factors that impact the real estate market; in 2019, we call this the ‘octuplet whammy’,” Lewison explains.

One of the major changes over the last 12 months, he says, has revolved around access to credit. A number of factors have impacted investors’ ability to borrow in recent times, including changes to loan serviceability requirements by APRA (the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority), together with interest rate cuts.

One of the stats shared on the night revealed just how much other factors can impact your borrowing power – such as the number of dependants you have.

For instance, a couple earning $80,000 each with no children may be able to comfortably borrow $980,000, in a lender’s eyes; if the couple have two children, however, their borrowing power drops to just under $800,000.

From left: YIP editor Sarah Megginson with OpenCorp directors Allister Lewison and Cam McLellan and YIP publisher Kym Springer 

With an understanding that proven results are a powerful motivator, OpenCorp also invited client and international professional basketballer Andrew Bogut to the stage to share his strategies for success as a property investor. Due diligence and research are key priorities for Bogut, who is playing the long game with his property investments.

“Ultimately, there are so many factors that can impact your investment performance, from how much you can borrow through to where you buy and what type of assets you own,” Lewison says.

International professional basketballer and OpenCorp client Andrew Bogut at the company’s recent Sydney event

This is why a commitment to ongoing education is so important – and it’s also why OpenCorp makes it a priority to keep its clients informed and up to date.

“We want to make it easy for investors to take advantage of the positive changes happening in the lending landscape, which include the election result, the APRA reduction to assessment rates, and also interest rates dropping,” Lewison says.

“By spending just 10 minutes with an investor completing an updated financial snapshot, we can help you work out exactly what your next steps will be, and prepare a borrowing capacity on demand figure that we can easily update as your situation changes.” 

Guests mingling before and after the event

And the proof is in the pudding, as illustrated in the graph on page 48, which shows the long-term results of all OpenCorp client properties measured against the Australian capital city average annual growth rate.

Director of investment services Michael Beresford also demonstrated a new tracking tool that clients now receive on the ‘Mentor for Life’ investor program, which shows what investments are needed to meet a client’s financial goals. The financial models that track serviceability and equity are all done for clients on an individual basis and duplication is managed by each client’s mentor