Property – the growth versus income trade-off

The main trade off when it comes to property (and many other investments) is the trade off between income and growth. Every property expert will have their own opinion on the matter – and I’m no different.

My preference is growth and for the long term.

So the sorts of properties that I suggest for clients tend to be in the middle ring of capital cities. No flats. No high rises. No developers. It needs to have land associated with the purchase, so that the property can follow the maxim of “land appreciates, buildings depreciate”.

Property investment almost inevitably involves gearing and that can be negative, neutral or positive. There are many proponents of positive gearing, but my philosophy is that those strategies tend to lead to buying properties in areas where capital growth will be limited.

For most people who are interest in property as a growth asset – that is, they aim to have the underlying value of the property increase as their main focus – this is usually going to come in the form of a negatively geared investment.