Why I Bought During the “Biggest Fall in 25 Years”
Check out what I found in my camera roll.
My Dad sent me this when I was looking for my first investment property.
October 27, 2018. Front page of the Sydney Morning Herald read:
“Biggest fall in house prices for 25 years: Experts warn that the Sydney property downturn is going to go much deeper over the next 12 months.”
Needless to say, he was worried.
Prices were down 8 percent from the previous year. A “crash,” they were calling it.
And at that point, I was early in my investing journey, still figuring things out, so the noise felt loud. Headlines always feel loud when you're at the starting line.
I love my Dad, and his advice is priceless for most things in life, just not property investing.
And this is something I see all the time now as someone who buys property full time. People mean well, but most of them haven’t actually watched what real fundamentals do over multiple cycles.
Out of respect, I’d invite him along to open homes. And every time, he’d find new reasons not to buy.
“There's no dishwasher. Tenants won't like this.”
“It only has one bathroom. What happens when guests come over?”
And the classic: “It’s too expensive!!!”
That property turned out to be one of my best investments.
I've used it multiple times to fund other deposits.
This is the part most people miss. It’s not about predicting markets. It’s about buying quality assets that keep working for you long after the headlines disappear.
Anyway, I’m sharing this because it’s a great little lesson in perspective.
Regardless of the headlines, here’s the reality of investing.
Markets go up, markets go down.
I’ve now lived through multiple “crashes” and corrections - and the pattern is the same every time. Fear sells newspapers, not portfolios.
But your biggest mistake won't be buying at the wrong time...
It’ll be never buying at all.
Author
Written by JP Ghabriel
Founder and Buyer’s Agent at Investr
Focused on long term, growth-first property strategy
