Is it wise to be looking at inner city apartments in Sydney as an investment if they are less than 50 square metres?

Hi John,
I'm not a property expert so it is only an opinion. Your investment choice will mostly depend upon your goals and your affordability. Typically land goes up in value at a much faster rate than buildings so I would look to buy a house/unit/townhouse close to schools, shopping, hospitals and transport.
Discuss your options and goals with a financial planner or property expert
Cheers
Scott

As mentioned by Scott you should talk to a property expert about all your options but I'll add a few points for you to consider:

- There is a lot of supply of new buildings in the coming years so not sure how this will work out in the end
- There are few lenders that will consider apartments smaller than 50 sqm so ensure you know how you are going to get finance
- Understand clearly what is your short to medium to long term property/investment strategy which should help you confirm if this inner city unit is right for you

Hope that helps.
Chris

Hi John
Good question. The initial advice from Chris and Scott is sound. Buying anything costing many hundreds of thousands of dollars or more is serious business so should be treated accordingly. Like any business/ investment, you MUST have a clearly articulated strategy (yes, written down) that includes what you want property to do for you (is growth or income more important?), what kind of property/ies will best achieve your goals, time frames, budget, finance, asset and risk management and monitoring, exit plan, etc.
Other factors include which locations offer the best opportunities, researching specific properties, how to source and negotiate an ideal property that fits your strategy.
A successful property investment plan is just like a building. The foundations don't appear exciting but they make or break the entire project. Ignore them and short cut to the more visible acquisition stage and you're 'building in' the seeds of failure. It may take years to realise the loss/ lost opportunity but the damage will have already been done.
As with a building, no single owner or even professional adviser knows it all. So, it's not just wise but critical to engage a team of specialists to combine their collective skills to your project. This includes professionals in independent property advice (as already stated), finance (sourcing and structuring), legal, accounting (tax, asset protection, estate planning), general and personal insurances, property management, etc.
Tragically, most property investors ignore even the basics. Little wonder then that vast majority only own 1 property. However, it's not all their fault. I think that's because it's very difficult for investor to find quality advisers to support them in all aspects of their property journey. And, not just in each field of expertise but, critically, someone to help them co-ordinate every aspect to maximise their outcomes and minimise their risks at each stage of their property journey.
I believe that this advice vacuum, especially around property, is a terrible indictment of the mainstream professional/ property/ financial services, including the investment advice fields. Self-interest or disinterest largely reigns, but I digress.
Without knowing your personal circumstances no one can give you specific advice. Who's to say you should even buy property in the first place? That aside, it's fair say there's enough concern over the supply side of unit projects in inner Sydney to warrant serious reflection on such a purchase. Why should this property outperform the thousands of others?
In summary, I'd encourage you to find a team of like-minded advisers with direct property experience who've spent years actively collaborating to help steer and educate clients to achieve more with less risk. Need some help with that?
Whatever path you choose I'd welcome your feedback on the above.