For plentiful products, frequently transacted, and largely identical to one another, determining market value is relatively easy.
But purchasing a home is typically not like buying tomatoes at the grocery store.
Each property tends to have features that make it unique.
Even two houses, side by side in the same street, could be valued differently because of their individual attributes.
To make things even trickier, the property is typically not transacted frequently, so it may be hard to find a recent sale of a home similar to the one you’re interested in buying.
There is no "right" price.
Property is unlike most other things that you buy - there are no set prices.
Buyers and sellers must negotiate a mutually acceptable price.
While the asking price is a guide of what the vendor would like to achieve or what the selling agent would like to get, for you, the asking price is only a rough indication.
To determine how much a property is worth, you need to check all the very recent comparable sales, the property’s intrinsic value, and then also determine the following 3 figures:
- What price do I want to pay for the property?
- What do I consider the market value to be?
- What price am I prepared to pay, and when am I prepared to walk away?
By the way... don't even consider buying cheap properties.
Your future financial freedom will depend upon the quality of your assets, so even though a property may look cheap at the moment, it will most likely restrict you from developing substantial wealth in the future.
You can't really expect a first-rate return from a secondary property.
The fact is…you will never be able to replace your income with the type of cash flow you get from cheap properties.
For example, cheap properties in the newer outer suburbs or in regional locations may offer higher yields, as, in general, capital growth will be lower, but in the long run, this type of property is expensive because it won’t enable you to achieve your financial goals.
So look for locations where not only the local owner-occupiers are more affluent, but also where tenants can sustain rental payments and rental growth.
Your future income and prosperity will be tied to your tenants’ future income growth and their ability to keep paying you higher rent.
If you think about it, your rental increases will be your future income.
RealRenta is a platform designed to empower property owners like you. RealRenta offers all the essential tools that a professional property manager utilises, but at a significantly lower cost, less than a quarter of what you'd typically pay.
With RealRenta, you can efficiently manage various types of properties, including residential, commercial, share, and student accommodations. Our platform makes property management accessible and affordable, costing less than a cup of coffee per week.
We also offer a free version for you to explore. I encourage you to check it out and see how RealRenta can simplify your property management needs.
Jason Gwerder
Friday, 31 October 2025
