Apartment in Randwick, close to The University of New South Wales in Kensington. Image courtesy of realestate.com.au.

Attention home investors! Now is a good time to purchase a property, especially apartments located around a train station in capital cities and educational precincts.
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a sharp decline in rentals because borders were closed, most noticeable in areas where there has been a significant flow of international migrants.

Now that borders are open and restrictions are taken down, the flow of international migration will continue to grow. There has been a high portion of student visa entrants in the last couple of months for the annual intake from Australian universities, causing a rise in the cost of rent in suburbs located around universities, colleges and international schools.

The property market dynamics are adjusting back to normal, and on average 45% of overseas migrants settle in Sydney and Melbourne each year. Here are some more reasons why you should consider purchasing the right investment property in the right location:

• The national residential property rental vacancy rate was at 1.2% in February, the lowest since April 2006. The vacancy rates in areas in outer Sydney and regional NSW were even lower with Wollongong and the Central Coast sitting at just 0.6%, and Newcastle at 1%.
• Rent in some areas is expected to rise over the next year from $3,000 to $6,000 due to the rental crisis.
• Areas in Melbourne and Sydney that experienced a sharp decline at the beginning of the pandemic will experience rental growth. In Sydney, it’s the Inner South West, Parramatta, City and Inner South, the Eastern Suburbs and Inner West. And in Melbourne, Inner Melbourne, South East Melbourne and Melbourne West.

The rental market will only get stronger, and with that, the gap between home and apartment prices will start to get smaller. Now is a good time to purchase an investment property and take advantage of the higher rental yields.