One of the nation’s top property moguls has revealed the secrets behind building his portfolio of over 350 properties – and why he has set his sights on acquiring 10,000 homes.
B Invested Australia founder Nathan Birch – who has a net worth of over $100m – is not buying up in prestige locations, or even areas that have been shown to skyrocket in price.
Instead, he calls himself a “contrarian investor” who is currently focused on struggling markets.
“I’d rather see a market where something’s crashed for the last decade and I can buy it for what it was 10 years ago,” Birch said. “That for me is a great opportunity.”
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Nathan Birch has revealed his latest investment move.
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Birch’s goal this year was to buy as many “bread and butter properties” – those valued between $100,000 and $300,000 – as possible.
While his initial plan was to purchase as many as 100 of them during the year, he has purchased at least 25 so far.
Despite increasing property prices, Birch insists that strategic investors can still find properties under $200,000 in key Australian markets.
Birch said that homes at this price point were “disappearing out of the market” and has purchased properties in Victoria, Tasmania, NSW and NT this year.
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Mr Birch purchased an investment property in Grafton, NSW this year.
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In NSW, he purchased one investment in Grafton for as low as $160,000.
Grafton, a city in the Northern Rivers region, has a median house price of $515,000 and a median unit price of $400,000, the latter of which has grown 12.7 per cent since last year.
“We’re in a world where there’s high migration and high inflation as well and these little cheapies are just becoming a thing of the past,” Mr Birch said.
“You can pick up stuff for $200,000 or even $100,000 — you can’t build it for that price.”
Birch has also been active in the Darwin market this year.
The median house price in the NT’s capital hit $638,000 in September, up $75,500 or 11.5 per cent from last year.
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Mr Birch has focused on the lower end of the market this year, looking to buy up homes priced from $100,000-$300,000.
According to Birch, anyone can plant their stake in real estate with $50,000.
“It’s not about being rich — it’s about being smart,” he said.
Birch said he had seen a lot of buyers wanting to purchase their dream home the first time around.
“If you can’t get the house you want as your first home, I don’t think many people have their first house as their dream house anyway,” he said.
“Get into the market and then grow from there.
“If you’ve got 10 or 20 little cheap properties that bring you in 100 bucks, 200 bucks a week in positive cash flow, then it’s the tenants from those properties that are paying for you to live in the house that you want to live in.”
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Darwin is another city where Mr Birch has bought up this year. Picture: Getty Images.
Birch said he had faced criticism about the number of properties he owned.
“The way I see it,” he said, “is that more rental properties are available for the most vulnerable Australians.”
“Less than four per cent of properties rent for $400 per week.
“I’m providing affordable accommodation for those people who would be locked out of the market.”
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Mr Birch said he wants to own 10,000 properties. Picture: Jonathan Ng.
Mr Birch said he is not building his portfolio for himself and has no intention of slowing down.
“I’m not playing for me today,” he said, “I’m playing for my kids and my grandkids one day.”
“Before I die, an ideal goal would be to get to 10,000 properties.”
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