Over the course of 2022, the negative sentiment towards property has been growing in the media and after a record-setting few years, a lot of people are now hesitant to take on any more debt.
Understandably, with interest rates rising many are a little worried about what the future might hold and are therefore prepared to sit on their hands and wait. Personally, that’s not the way I do things. So how do I deal with the fear of the unknown and move forward when everyone else is getting nervous?
There’s a great quote from Warren Buffett, where he says, ‘be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful’. This is exactly how I like to attack the property market and everything else that I do in life.
I know that the current market is still presenting plenty of opportunities for buyers. If you’re looking in the right areas, you’ll find that in-demand, high-quality properties are still selling incredibly well. I’m not looking for ‘cheap’ properties in poor areas where there are no other interested buyers.
I want to buy a property where I know that there is demand and there will likely be demand for a long period of time. If you hone in on these types of properties, then you can have a lot of confidence that they are going to stand the test of time and hold up through all market cycles.
The difference at the moment is that you can purchase these high-quality assets at a fair value and you’re not forced to pay an inflated price above the market value like we had been seeing over the last few years where supply was incredibly tight and there were a lot of buyers.
The second reason that I am able to overcome the fear in the marketplace is that I always ask myself what the alternative might be. Over the years, I’ve built up a large property portfolio through different market cycles. In that time, I’ve also accumulated some debt. More debt than many people might be comfortable with.
However, I do it knowing that this debt is not something that is holding me back. Quite the opposite. This type of debt is the thing that is helping me achieve my financial goals and live the life that I always dreamed of.
For me, it is far a far more risky proposition to do nothing. If I did nothing all those years ago, I would still be working the same job I had when I left school. I wouldn’t own any assets. I wouldn’t have my own business and my hopes of financial freedom and controlling my own destiny would be largely out of my own hands.
To me, that’s a terrifying thought.
So, when people talk about being afraid to invest in the current market or just waiting for the ‘right time’, just know that there is no right time. There is always uncertainty in the world and any investment comes with some degree of risk.
And while I’m a strong proponent of doing extensive due diligence on every single investment I make for myself and my clients, a better question to ask yourself is what will your life look like in 30 years time if you don’t step up to the plate?
If you are interested in the above, feel free to reach out to a Henderson buyers agent today for more information.
