A few weeks later in investment land...

Not a lot has happened in terms of my portfolio this past few weeks and it seems not a lot is happening across Australia, with loan approvals down and from my perspective, a lot of houses sitting idol. This begs the question, if, and I do mean, IF we have an interest rate rise in February/March, will property totally stall? It's possible....demand seems to have dropped, albeit I think on a psychological level more than anything.

I am now constantly thinking of downgrading my investments. At the moment, I am shelling out a fair amount of cash in meeting repayments, insurance costs, rates and the occasional maintenance on my IPs. I know, I know, it's negatively geared, but I'm starting to get a bit sick of it. In the 5 years or so since I started on this journey, at no time have I felt that my efforts are so worthless. At no time did I think of "offloading" property just to increase cash flow. Could it be me, have I changed? Have I listened to the media too much with the doom and gloom predictions? Yeah, sure, Brisbane seems to be going ahead, but my other investments, for example the one in Toowoomba that I am trying to sell, is static. The block of 28 acres I have 40 minutes form the Hobart CBD has not moved an inch since the GFC. I suppose I'm feeling a new feeling, a period of no growth, of uncertainty, except now with interest rate rises.

I have also noticed that I no longer have an urge to bring up the topic as much as I used to and people are not as interested to pick my brain about the topic. This is a good and a bad thing....I always get into the downward spiral of fighting mini battles with hypocritical people who don't invest and then continue on to tell me that houses are too expensive. On the other hand, I like discussing property investing with people because often I get a little insight into someone else's head, someone else's mindset about money and property.

Anyway, I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, I have a little baby on the way, so I probably won't be posting as frequently as I have in the past...

Ciao...