Is your property strategy still right for today’s market?
One of the most dangerous phrases in property investing is: “It’s always worked for me.”
After more than 30 years investing in property, I’ve learnt that the market never stands still. Interest rates and finance change, legislation and tax evolve, tenant expectations shift and, as a result, the opportunities available to investors change too.
Yet it’s very easy to continue doing what we’ve always done simply because it’s familiar.
If buy-to-let has worked for you, it’s natural to buy another buy-to-let. If you’ve always invested in a particular area or funded deals in a certain way, it’s equally natural to keep doing the same thing.
There’s nothing necessarily wrong with that, but familiarity can sometimes stop us from considering whether there might now be a better option.
So I think every property investor should periodically ask themselves:
“If I were starting again today, knowing what I know now, would I still choose the same strategy?”
Adapting doesn’t mean constantly changing strategy
I’m certainly not suggesting investors should jump from one strategy to another every time the market changes. Constantly chasing the latest property trend is one of the easiest ways to lose focus.
But there’s an important difference between constantly changing strategy and adapting your strategy to the market you’re actually in.
Take HMOs, for example.
At our upcoming Virtual Property Exhibition, Stuart Scott, Founder of The Co-Living Revolution, will be exploring why co-living HMOs can outperform and how creating the right product can help landlords move beyond the traditional rent ceiling in their area.
Then there’s commercial property.
Many residential investors automatically assume their next investment will be another house or flat, but Suzi Carter, Owner of Commercial Property Academy, will be encouraging investors to look beyond buy-to-let and consider whether commercial property deserves a place in their strategy.
One of the interesting differences is how value can potentially be created. Residential investors often think about adding value through refurbishment, extensions or development, whereas in commercial property, changing the rent, tenant or lease can potentially influence the value without necessarily changing the physical building.
I’m not saying HMOs or commercial property are automatically better than buy-to-let. There simply isn’t one strategy that’s right for every investor in every market.
The important thing is understanding the options available to you and making an informed decision based on your circumstances, objectives and the opportunities in front of you.
A good strategy still needs good numbers
Of course, choosing the right strategy is only part of successful property investing.
You can find what looks like a fantastic opportunity, but if the refurbishment costs run away with you, the funding doesn’t work or the numbers simply don’t stack up, it may not be such a great opportunity after all.
That’s why Anthony Bailey-Grice, Managing Director of the Landlords National Property Group, will be looking at Better, Cheaper Refurbs (Without Going Around the Houses), while Kevin Whelan, Founder of WealthBuilders, will explore How to Find New Sources of Money for Your Property Journey.
Technology is changing the way investors operate too.
Guillaume Black, Co-Founder and CEO of Property Filter, will be putting AI to the test with The 25 Questions Test: Can Your AI Actually Run Your Property Business?
Rather than simply asking whether AI knows about property, Guillaume will explore what changes when it understands your area, strategy and pipeline.
These are very different subjects, but they all raise a similar question:
Could there be a better way of doing what you’re currently doing?
How should investors adapt?
After more than 30 years investing in property, I have a very clear view on this.
You don’t change strategy simply because the market changes. You adapt your strategy to take advantage of the market you’re actually in.
That’s one of the subjects I’ll be covering at our next Virtual Property Exhibition on Friday 4th September, where we’re bringing together 9 industry experts for a full day of live online property education.
My first session is How to Adapt Your Strategy to the Property Market, where I’ll share what I believe investors should be doing in the current market, where I see opportunities and how you can adapt without making the mistake of constantly jumping from one strategy to the next.
Later in the day, I’ll be sharing My Favourite Strategy and Here’s Why.
After three decades investing in property, I’ve used and taught many different strategies, but there is one I particularly like in the current market. I’ll explain what it is, why I like it and the circumstances in which I believe it can work particularly well.
Nine experts, different perspectives
The purpose of the Virtual Property Exhibition isn’t to tell you there’s one “best” strategy everybody should follow.
It’s to expose you to different ideas, strategies and perspectives so you can make better-informed decisions about what makes sense for you.
Across the day, our experts will be looking at the wider property market, HMOs, commercial property, refurbishment, tax, funding, AI and different ways investors can adapt to the opportunities they’re seeing.
Daniel Hill will open the event by explaining why he believes this could be The Best Property Market in 50 Years, while Mark Barrett, Founder of Property Tax Advice, will look at Budget 2026: The Tax Changes Property Investors Need to Watch.
And importantly, this isn’t designed to be a day of sales presentations.
We operate a strict no sales pitches policy. Each expert will deliver 30 minutes of focused educational content followed by a 15-minute live Q&A, giving you the opportunity to put your own questions directly to them.
The Virtual Property Exhibition takes place on Friday 4th September from 9:15am to 5:30pm, live online.
You can stay for the entire day, which is what I recommend, or simply dip in and out of the sessions most relevant to you.
And it’s completely FREE to attend.
Before you make your next move…
Before making your next property decision, ask yourself:
“Am I doing this because it’s still the best strategy for me today, or because it’s what I’ve always done?”
You may arrive at exactly the same answer, and that’s absolutely fine. But at least it will be a conscious decision rather than simply a habit.
After more than 30 years investing in property, I’ve learnt that when markets change, opportunities change with them.
The investors who do well are usually those who keep educating themselves, remain open-minded and are prepared to adapt when the right opportunity comes along.
That’s exactly what I want to help you do at the Virtual Property Exhibition.
Join us FREE on Friday 4th September.
Register Here
I look forward to seeing you there.
