House that! Real Estate Institute of WA president Damian Collins explains how to make profit from real estate

Property purchases by Damian Collins, president of the Real Estate Institute of WA, are like a masterclass in real estate investment. And his latest buy is another example of how to make a few bucks out of housing. To be fair though, it helps if you have a few million of said bucks to kick off investments. But Mr Collins’ strategy can be applied across a range of budgets. He recently made $100,000 in capital gains every year for two decades on an Owston St property in Mosman Park. He used the proceeds to recently buy a $5.1 million home on Marine Parade in Cottesloe. “Land is what goes up in value, so I wanted a property that was very liveable but also had a significant chunk of the value in the land,” he said. “Land value is critical to capital growth but you have to also consider supply. If there’s lots of land still available, that will reduce the capital growth. “They’re not making anymore waterfront property in Perth anywhere close to the city, so properties close to or on the water with no more new supply are almost certainly going to perform well.” It’s not just water that provides rarity. Proximity to parks and amenities can do the job too. The principle partly explains why new homes in outer suburbs — where supply is continually topped in similar nearby estates — tend to have restrained capital gains.