Facts First

Posted by Ali Platt

If you’re a regular reader of our Research Blog, or you’ve ever attended one of our fantastic events (there’s plenty coming up! Find them here), you would have heard us talk about ignoring the ‘noise’ and not letting the media dictate your decisions when it comes to buying and holding investment property.

Why is this something we even need to tell you to do? How has the media managed to infiltrate our thought process and decision-making, and why do we let them?

There has always been an almost reverential attitude towards the press for their role as ‘watchdog’, scrutinising the government and keeping us updated on current events around the world.

There is a fundamental problem with this: journalists aren’t experts on every topic. That doesn’t mean their reporting is not more valuable than any keyboard-warrior editing Wikipedia pages, or even you and I. They have a much higher capacity for investigative research and communication.

We must remember that at the end of the day, their area of expertise is in writing headlines that grab audiences and pull at their heartstrings. On top of that, with the Internet age came new pressures to both maintain and entertain an audience with an increasingly limited attention span.

We are all emotional creatures, and it’s been proven that we tend to pay attention and remember things a lot more when we have an emotional response. This makes a lot of sense when you think about headlines like this one:

‘Banks win, investors lose as APRA caps bite’ – Australian Financial Review 20/02/2017

Let me respond to this headline unemotionally by pointing out that at Blue Wealth, we stress-test your ability to hold the investment properties we recommend. Whether interest rates increase, rental yields decline or growth rates weaken, we assess every situation to mitigate your risks. Although ideal, surely this kind of unemotional response is not the first reaction to this headline.

I look at it and I think, ‘Why is investing in property now a competition?’ Suddenly, the investor is the underdog against the faceless machine, the bank. Everyone loves an underdog, and everyone has felt like a loser in their life. We read this headline and we identify with this dichotomy, sometimes unintentionally and unconsciously.

This doesn’t mean that you should harbor distrust for everything you read. Journalists are entitled to their opinion just like everyone else, and that’s what they are, opinions. Sometimes we forget this because of the delivery platform they have at their disposal. We have to consider the difference between truth and fact: one is subjective and the other is not.

Our research is about facts. We are experts on the Australian property market, and we have a proven track record of finding the right investment opportunities for our clients. We base our recommendations on what the Australian property market has actually done, and not what makes the best headlines.

We understand that ignoring media noise can be a challenge, especially when it’s so compelling at an emotional level. We’ve done all the legwork with our research so you can spend less time wondering where the best investment opportunities are, and more time doing other things, like taking a quiz to find out which Game of Thrones character you are. I’m Daenerys.

Posted by Ali Platt, on 4th Apr 2017