How To Design An Investment Property That Stands Out From The Crowd

In a market as competitive as today’s, selling a home or apartment is not as simple as putting up a sign and calling it a day. That’s because Aussie house hunters are shrewd, and typically attend open houses with a checklist of qualities that they’re looking for, whether they’re searching for their dream home or their next great investment property.

This means that property investors have their work cut out for them now more than ever before.

Note: Today, designing an ideal investment property that attracts serious buyers means considering factors like your property’s location, street appeal, interior design attributes, and fixtures like modern tech and appliances that can help your property stand out from the crowd.

Today, we’re going to discuss all the key ways you can give your property the edge in what is an incredibly saturated property market. With the help of this guide, you can get started designing an investment property that maximises your ROI and stirs up some competition during its time on the market.

Design for Functionality

Liveability is a paramount concern for all house hunters, so when you’re planning out the interiors for your investment property, consider incorporating functional aspects that ideally also boost your property’s aesthetic appeal. Investing in premium design services like stone benchtop installation, hardwiring for TV wall mounting, and professional landscaping to create low-maintenance garden spaces that blend seamlessly into your property’s wider interior design scheme.

Alongside ensuring practical property designs, prioritising functionality will give your investment property a wider market appeal.

For instance:

An open-plan design with ample built-in storage will appeal to most lifestyles and draw plenty of buyer interest. Similarly, more subtle but still undeniably practical design considerations like strategic window positioning to collect natural light and placing bedrooms in less noisy/low-traffic areas can also entice prospective owner-occupiers who are looking for that lifestyle factor.

Invest in High-Tech Fixtures

Including technological amenities in your investment property should ideally be considered an extension of investing in its liveability. This is because tech implements like smart doorbells, locks, and security cameras can help support the comfort and privacy of your property alongside providing points of convenience. As these high-tech fixtures can also be seen as additional selling points for your property, these small investments typically also provide a robust ROI.

Tips: When choosing high-tech accessories for your home, make sure to prioritise functionality over flash, however. Investing in induction stoves and smart lights, for example, will boost the energy efficiency of your property as well as its convenience.

Contrastingly, whilst hardwiring a digital intercom system into your investment property may seemingly provide value on the surface, this technology could become very outdated very quickly. In other words, think critically about any tech fixtures you’re looking to incorporate into the design of your investment property – just to ensure that none of your tech investments end up being a waste.

Emphasise Street Appeal

For your investment property to stand out, it needs to make a lasting first impression on potential buyers and tenants. As your property’s street frontage is the first thing that any prospective buyers are likely to see, it’s in your best interests to ensure that your investment boasts undeniable street appeal.

A home that looks clean, thoughtfully designed and well maintained from the outside usually attracts more interest and commands a higher price due to its street appeal. That, and properties with manicured front gardens and facades make for eye-catching real estate listings. More interest in your ads means more visitors for your open inspections.

Building your home’s street appeal can also be a low-cost endeavour, making this measure great for seasoned investors. You can easily boost your investment property’s street appeal by maintaining your gardens, repairing any damage to external fixtures, and using a consistent aesthetic.

If your property possesses a tired or outdated facade, then a strategic renovation could aid in growing value with minimal expenditure. Even something as simple as adding a front porch, updating your front doors or front-facing windows, or applying a fresh coat of paint can work wonders for boosting your property’s street appeal.

Look for an Investment-Grade Location

Unsurprisingly, the location of your investment property can often play a major role in determining the value of that asset. Investment properties that are centrally located and with easy access to local amenities like public transport, schools, shops, gyms, healthcare facilities, etc., are more likely to attract more buyers than properties that are located on city outskirts.

That being said, Australian real estate markets can surprise us, namely because local property markets across capital cities like Melbourne and Sydney have their own unique growth areas. If you do the required research, you may be able to pinpoint an investment-grade location that’s yet to boom, allowing you to purchase a property for a far lower price than its projected evaluation once that region does experience growth.

So what makes a location investment-grade? Think of developing amenities like new train stations, shopping centres, or even university campuses – anything that provides that location with dynamic value for its residents, and is likely to bolster that local economy.

School catchment areas are another factor that holds a surprising impact on investment property prices. If you are looking to build an investment property in a school zone, however, then it’s best to go with a larger floor plan to accommodate families. 2 bedroom properties aren’t as in-demand in suburbs where the demographics skew more towards large families. This is just one of the many reasons why it pays to do your market research!

Conclusion

Designing your investment property to stand out from the rest requires a well-researched approach. Maintaining an awareness of market conditions and your buyers’ needs will set you up to get the most money possible out of your property.

In this article, we’ve gone over some practical design tips to boost the value of your investment home.

For instance:

Choosing properties in investment-grade locations and with accessibility to a large variety of services is always a good bet. Similarly, leveraging street appeal will create a lasting first impression on potential buyers, which can help increase the final sale price.

Use the various tips we’ve covered in this article when designing your investment property to increase its market value and provide a healthy ROI for your real estate portfolio.

About Guest Expert Apart from our regular team of experts, we frequently publish commentary from guest contributors who are authorities in their field.