In real estate, property investors tend to be overloaded with information in the form of diagrams, statistics, data providers and recommendations. Confused yet? Here are some ways to overcome real estate information overload, thanks to Jessie Richardson from Property Observer.
1. To narrow down your search results and determine which information is accurate and reliable, consider and compare the data provided by the following organisations: the ABS, RP Data, APM, SQM Research, Residex, and REIA.
2. Pay attention to the different methodologies used by data providers in coming up with their results. This includes static price estimates, which look at a property’s median sale price and an area’s mean sale price. Price movement estimates consider changes in the median price, using the repeat price method, and hedonic price indices.
3. Assess and use information from different sources, including the Valuer-General, real estate agents, and as mentioned above, the ABS, Residex, and APM PriceFinder. The reason is due to the various sample sizes, details and time lags presented by each source.
Real estate agents and government bodies are now working together to provide better-quality and up-to-date information to property investors, said Richardson. So when investing in property, pay attention to the figures and methodologies used by Australia’s trusted real estate data providers to make informed choices about property investment.