The challenge is if something goes up quickly, it can, at times, come down just as fast – as some crypto investors have found out the hard way.
The same can happen in regional boom towns, think back to regional Queensland a decade or so ago where mining money rushed, inflating property prices, which slumped when the mining money left town.
In property the strategy of picking quick growth locations is dubbed “hotspotting”.
Rest assured you’ll read many headlines in the new year aiming to pick the 2026 hot spots – we’ll probably publish some too!
But hotspotting is not for everyone. It really depends on how much risk you can afford to take. That means, what can you afford to lose if the hotspot turns out to be a dud?
Hotspots can often be in regional areas or outer ring capital city where affordable suburbs can see a sudden spurt of catch-up growth. But what happens over the long term?
“The core issue with hotspotting is that secondary locations simply cannot sustain above-average price growth over the long run,” writes Stuart Wemyss for Property Update.
“The reason is straightforward: household incomes in these areas will not grow fast enough to support ongoing price appreciation unless buyers have access to other sources of wealth.”
So should you put your investment dollars in a hotspot or a slow-and-steady growth spot?
Investing in properties that deliver sustained growth is the best strategy over the long term. It’s often a question of time in market, not timing of the market.
Thinking of investing in 2026? Talk to us about landlording or view our current listings for sale.
