To be a successful property investor, it’s not enough to keep up with the trends. You need to be ahead of the curve as a pioneer in an emerging trend.
In any new market, there exists an adoption curve.
Remember when Apple was crucified by the public for having come up with the Airpods?
What kind of crazy person would wear wireless earphones that could easily fall off and get lost?
But now, almost everyone owns a pair of Airpods!
How did we get here?
Well, that’s why we call it an adoption curve.
We’ve got technologists who are way ahead of the curve. They’d be the first to test out new technology like the first Airpods. These technologists don’t care even if nobody else is using it. They just want to test it and see how it works.
And when these technologists come up with good reviews about the product or service they tested… the early adopters come in to see the results for themselves.
Notably, the larger population is still sceptical at this point. That’s why there’s always a big gap between the early adopters and the early majority.
Surely, these people are just getting paid to say good things about the Airpods! There’s no way they actually like it! I’m not buying it.
But ever so slowly, the early majority starts to trickle in. Perhaps, your friend concedes to their curiosity and buys a pair of Airpods just to see what the fuss is all about. That’s when they start telling your group of friends that it’s actually good!
And then, all of a sudden… mass adoption becomes frenetic.
Once that chasm is crossed between the early adopters and the early majority… Suddenly, everyone’s rushing to buy the product they’ve been wary about for so long!
But why does this matter to you as a property investor?
The Secret to Beating the Curve
The same psychological shift happens in the property market, too!
Researchers start telling people about an emerging property market or location, yet the majority of the investing public goes:
No, that’s mad. Let’s not go there, it’s rubbish.”
But a couple of brave souls start buying in those emerging markets and they see that there’s actually a lot of upside in those locations. It then crosses the chasm in the psyche of the investing public.
After sleeping on that location for too long… suddenly everyone’s rushing in. And by the time that happens, prices are no longer as attractive as when the early investors started trickling in.
This means late investors get the shorter end of the stick. They are left with very little upside than they could have had if only they had started investing in that market early.
The lesson?
If you want to succeed in the property market, you’ve got to detach from the herd. You’ve got to be one of the pioneers in a new market.
In other words…
You’ve got to stay ahead of the curve!
As they say, you’ve got to be brave when everyone else is fearful. Because if you only move once the herd does, then you’d be getting the raw end of the deal. You’d be coming in when prices are already high, as opposed to investing when prices are still very attractive.
But how exactly do you stay ahead of the curve?
The 4 Ways
There are four ways property investors can beat the adoption curve in any new market. These include:
Way #1 – Being Aware of Good and Useful Patterns of What People Typically Chase in a Property Market
Staying ahead of the curve means anticipating where people would be going next. This includes being aware of patterns that people typically follow, in relation to other factors like the general health of the economy.
For instance, if the economy is really good, interest rates are low, and the prices of goods are not that high, people would typically gravitate towards buying highly-priced properties on account of their strong purchasing power.
On the other hand, if the economy is struggling, wages are low, and prices of goods are high, then you can expect more affordable properties in the suburbs to gain more traction.
Way #2 – Watching Out for Emerging Property Trends
Apart from economic and public purchasing trends, you’ve also got to be at the forefront of emerging property trends.
For instance, it may be true that the general trend now is towards affordability.
But that doesn’t mean people are just flocking to the middle of nowhere to buy the cheapest properties they could find. After all, people are still looking for liveable cities with enough proximity to jobs, infrastructures, and establishments that provide a good lifestyle.
This tells you that regional centres, outer ring suburbs, and apartments in the cities are still good markets to look into since property trends are gearing that way.
Way #3 – Learning How to Use Data and Insights
It’s easy to look at the numbers to figure out which locations people are buying in. But it’s not enough to just look at places where sales volumes are going up to decide whether a property market presents a good investment opportunity for you.
What’s more important is getting a deeper insight into what has been causing activity to spike up in a certain area.
So, what are the underlying reasons an emerging market is emerging? And are those reasons here to stay and stabilise the property market? Or is the opportunity just good for the short term?
Having insights into these things is critical in helping you decide whether to invest early in a property market or move on to the next.
Way #4 – Keeping a Close Watch on ‘Supercharged’ Suburbs
All that said about insights, it still pays to know which suburbs are seeing a spike in price activity. After all, that’s your first clue that a previously sleeping market might be about to wake up soon.
Terry Ryder, producer of the Price Predictor Index report, calls these ‘supercharged’ suburbs. And if you could get into one of these places before ‘mass adoption’ happens, then you could get ahead of the curve and become a pioneer in that market before it even blows up.
Get Ahead of the Property Curve
When all is said and done, being a successful property investor is all about predicting where the curve is going and beating the herd there.
As mentioned earlier, the first step to doing this is to detach from the herd, find out where they’re going next… and be one of the first investors there.
Following the four tips in this article can help you do just that. So, if you’re a passionate person seeking a life of freedom, choice, and abundance…
Start getting ahead of the property curve today.
