Maximising rental returns: How can you make the most of Surfers Paradise properties?

Taking the time to make investment moves into the Surfers Paradise property market could be a great way to help facilitate your wealth growth, especially with more people beginning to call the region home. Growing national rental figures offer some incentive for this, with the latest CoreLogic RP Data Quarterly Rental Review highlighting the increasing figures seen throughout the country. 

Over 2014, the national rental rate rose by 2.6 per cent for both houses and units, which could be encouraging for those hoping to build an investment portfolio in the future. Specifically, house rentals rose by 1.2 per cent, with units seeing a median rental rate rise of 2.5 per cent over the 12 months to December. 

With a specific focus on the Gold Coast, the weekly rent for houses rose by 4.4 per cent over the last year and ended 2014 with an average rent of $470. In a similar vein, Gold Coast units saw rents increase by 4.2 per cent over the year – bringing the weekly rent for these properties up to $375 in December.

Now could be a wonderful time to consider making moves into the local property market to secure your own investment real estate in Surfers Paradise. Of course, after making these moves into the investment game, you could be wondering about how to get the most out of your portfolio – including maximising your rental income. 

What are some ways to help increase investment returns?

There are a number of ways to help boost your overall investment worth, as well as help increase the possible rent you can charge your tenants. Ensuring you find the right types of tenants for your properties is a great place to start. After all, if you find unreliable people to live in your home, chances are you'll have issues with getting rent paid in full and on time. 

So the importance of taking the time to properly interview and screen potential tenants before making a decision can help cut down on the amount of stress you experience in the future. Furthermore, hiring the services of a property manager could be a great way to avoid making amateur mistakes in the interview and tenant selection process. Their experience in the industry can help make it as streamlined and simple as possible.

If you're interested in a more long term boost, consider renovations to your home. One thing that people are beginning to undertake more often is the addition of a granny flat to their investment homes. These installations are disconnected from the rest of the home and make for a great way to either sublet the property, or to provide a space for teenagers/aging relatives to call home without being too far away from their family. 

This could be another attractive aspect for potential tenants, who are looking to find a new home to rent that has room for people to have their own space. Granny flats can be a cheaper option to consider than adding a new home to an already existing home – so it could be worth speaking to a construction consultant about the possibilities of this addition.

Finally, simply making some changes to rooms like the kitchen and bathroom can do wonders for the value of your investment real estate in Surfers Paradise. Because people spend a lot of time in these spaces, taking the time to modernise them and creating a room people actively want to spend time in is a great way to help get your investment off the ground, garner tenant interest and generally help boost the value of your investments.