Investors face unprecedented hurdle in 2016

The immediacy and frequency in which property data is published, combined with concerns about a property bubble, could cause investors to prematurely exit the market, according to Century 21 CEO Charles Tarbey.

Speaking in an upcoming episode of The Smart Property Investment Show, due to be released later in June, Mr Tarbey said more than ever before, investors need to know how to see through the overload of information.

“We hear about a train crash in India where 10 people were injured nowadays. That’s what our world is like. And you start to become paralysed. If you listen and go on social media today, you’ll go literally from boom to bust and back to a boom again, just within three or four different posts on Facebook,” he said.

“[In that environment] it’s incredibly difficult to make decisions, which is why I say to people, ‘Anything is possible when you don’t know what you’re doing’. If you are too educated, you won’t make a decision. And I think a lot of people don’t bite the bullet.”

Mr Tarbey said people who bought into talk of a property bubble from commentators such as Harry Dent, had panicked and exited the market prematurely, missing out on massive capital gains.

“I’ve learnt to be there. Be there when the boom happens. That is what the biggest issue is. A lot of people weaken and look at the future, and they either get a bit scared and they pull out and they walk away too early,” he said.

“My big thing is you’ve just got to be there. You’ve got to stay there. If you don’t stay there, you’re in trouble. If you have to get a second job or a third job, or if you have to change your lifestyle, you do that, because you got in there for a reason, you just need to be there when the cycle changes. And that’s where a lot of people fall away.”

Investors have to be realistic about their short- and long-term prospects in order to make the most of the current market conditions, Mr Tarbey said.

“If you’re in a strong capital city in one of the safest regions in the world, where the weather [is the envy of the world]… If you’re buying in a [good] area and you’re buying within your means… I think that you’re pretty safe.

“I just get a bit concerned with people who are trying to go too quickly with an investment. They want it to happen now, and it’s not going to happen like that.”

Mr Tarbey’s full chat with The Smart Property Investment Show will be released later this month. You can subscribe to the weekly podcast here.

To listen to Mr Tarbey’s earlier chat with The Smart Property Investment Show, click here.

[Related: Investors ignore warnings for off-the-plan property]