Location, location, location is the laziest advice in my industry. Everyone repeats it and nobody defines it.
Location is not a postcode. Value holds where supply is hard to add and demand is hard to move.
On the ground that means three things. Employment genuinely nearby rather than an hour away. Real limits on how much new supply can be built. And streets people are willing to walk on after dark. Everything else is decoration.
The best street is rarely the best buy, because the most expensive block is already priced for its reputation. Value usually sits one or two streets out, where the reputation has not arrived yet. Buy the worst house on a street people are moving toward.
So look at where people are going rather than where they already are. Watch building permits, transport plans and where employers are signing leases.
Run those three tests on your own city. I would genuinely like to hear what you find, wherever in the world you are reading this.
The short version
- Location is not a postcode.
- It is a short list of specific things.
- Employment nearby, not one hour away.
- Genuine limits on new supply being built.
- Streets people walk on after dark.
- Everything else is decoration.
- Buy the worst house on a street people are moving toward.
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