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Without even knowing it John has been a great mentor to me. I’ve listened to all 146 episodes of his million dollar agent podcast, and as if what he has already contributed to the real estate industry isn’t enough, I’ve found it inspiring to follow the mission that he is still setting out to achieve.
Similarly, I like that John first became one of Australia’s top performing real estate agents, then only afterwards did he really focus on building his business. I think this is a good lesson for practitioners in any industry – that success doesn’t come overnight, so stay focused and just get good at whatever it is that you’re doing. The rest follows.
(John McGrath, photo courtesy of www.tompanos.com.au)
John’s the visionary behind McGrath Estate Agents, the business he started in 1988 which now spans approximately 100 offices and over 1,000 staff nationally. The company listed on the Australian stock exchange last year and despite challenging conditions it still increased market share and achieved $7.1 billion of property sales in FY16.
John is undisputedly one of the leading and most respected property experts in Australia. He appears regularly in the media and in October 2008 he was honoured by the Real Estate Institute of NSW with a lifetime achievement award for his contribution to the industry. He is also a Director of REA Group (realestate.com.au) and also the South Sydney “Rabbitohs”, sport being his early career focus before an injury fortuitously forced him to change course.
Needless to say it was a great thrill when John agreed to a half hour chat for the Long Property Show. We had an excellent discussion and I found him to be a very down-to-earth and easy to get along with kind of guy. There’s a real energy about him as well which I found highly contagious.
Our discussion focused on real estate investment strategies and also the national property market today in Australia. Here are some of the key topics covered in the interview:
- the lessons John has learned growing his real estate business, that he thinks might also be helpful for people growing their property investment businesses
- insights from the performance of the McGrath offices around Australia which shed some light on where the potentially high growth and promising markets are right now for investors
- advice to young professionals looking to buy their first property… what to do, where to look, who to talk to, and the key drivers for capital growth
- the uniqueness of our current property cycle and how monetary policy, foreign investment, baby boomers and global uncertainty may be distorting results
- John’s short term and long term view on house price growth for both Melbourne and Sydney
- the reasons behind housing stock levels being ~25% down on last year, the impact this is having on investors and what to expect next year in this regard
- how acquiring three or four good properties can literally set you up financially for life
John’s key tip for investors:
The only way to lose money on property is buying in areas you know nothing about, or being caught in a situation where you’re forced to sell before the cycle has completed.
Another key insight:
We know the share market is more volatile. Now there’s a large demographic of baby boomers, they’re 60-70 years of age, they’re wealthy but want to preserve their capital. The last thing they need is for their property values to halve overnight. So I think property for this big and wealthy group is going to continue being an extremely attractive asset class. I think good quality bricks and mortar is a great long term play.
John has the classic zero to hero story where he literally flunked high school and entered the real estate industry with no formal education or qualifications. It serves as a timely reminder that anything’s possible and even against the odds winners always seem to be able “find a way”.
So without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy this half hour discussion, with John McGrath:
Get in touch with John:
- Visit his website McGrath Estate Agents
- Follow John on Twitter @johnmcgrath100
You may also be interested in John’s books:
QUESTION OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this podcast episode with John? Please let me know in the comments below.
