The young and ‘ruthless’

By Ahyat Ishak

YOUTH RULES: This is an observable trend - property investors are getting younger. One of my conveyancing lawyers revealed that 30 per cent of the people she executes the Sales and Purchase agreements for are those below the age 30 and it seems that it is becoming more common. It would be normal to assume that the young, those below the age of 30 is the segment of the population that doesn’t have the strongest purchasing power. Yet, why is this happening?

Ahyat Ishak More affluent parent generation: The No.1 reason why this is happening is the fact that the young generation now have a more affluent parental generation. Those from the baby boomer generation have amassed some amount of wealth and who else to give it to other than their children. This lucky young generation is one step ahead from those who are just starting out on their own.

Greater awareness of property investment: Secondly, the young generation also has greater awareness of property investment, having seen the successes and mistakes that their parents made. Some parents are also conditioning and training their children to be property investors even at a young age by bringing them to property launches, tenant visits and in all activities related to property investment.

Sharper learning curve: Thirdly, the young generation has a sharper learning curve. What may have taken five to 10 years for a baby boomer generation to learn about property investment, would take less time for the young. Nothing replaces actual experience it but the sheer speed with which young absorb the technicalities of the property investment game is simply astonishing. All it takes is a little guidance and the young are able to be more successful and wealthy than ever before.

Traits of young investors: Speed: It is not the big eating the small, but the fast eating the slow. Would you agree with me that when you have young people in any organisation or sports, the game tends to be a lot faster and more competitive. In the law of the jungle, the difference between the gazelle and the cheetah is that the gazelle is the cheetah’s meal. In the context of property investment, being half a step faster means the difference between good investment opportunities and great ones.

Sharper: Information is literally a click away. Young investors can access information on their their smartphones and tablets anytime and anywhere. Some research data indicates that there will be more mobile phone monitors than there are computer monitors by the year 2014. With the mobile technology revolution being the biggest technological revolution after the internet and social media, young investors have a wealth of knowledge when it comes to property related information.

Aggressive risk takers: The most powerful weapon available to young investors is time. Their youth means that their exposure to risk is lower and because of this are able to bring their monthly cost of credit much lower, allowing them to be a step ahead of other investors.

As a property investor, if you are not young, then have a young mindset to ensure that you constantly stay ahead of the game!

1 / 1

The young and ‘ruthless’

Leave Your Comment