SMSF Property: Hold or Sell in 2026? - with Junge Ma

Cairns grew 17% last year. Hobart grew 5%. On paper, the choice looks obvious. But choosing purely based on recent growth could mean buying into a market with less growth left ahead, while overlooking one with a full cycle of recovery still in front of it. In this episode, Junge Ma, Senior Research Analyst at InvestorKit, puts Cairns and Hobart side by side across 10 key metrics on a $750K budget. She compares prices, jobs, supply, vacancy, yields, building approvals, and cycle position to answer one question: which market fits your portfolio right now? The answer isn't as simple as picking the fastest growing market. One is in the second half of its cycle. The other is just entering a new growth phase. Which one fits your portfolio depends on something most investors never check.

If you're only following the national headlines, you'll miss what's happening in some of Australia's smaller regional markets. Wangaratta, a town in northeast Victoria, went through a correction phase between 2022 and 2024. But since 2025, it's been recovering. Supply is tightening, demand is strengthening, houses are selling faster, and rental yields are sitting at 5.0%, well above most large regional cities across the country. In this episode, Junge Ma, Senior Research Analyst at InvestorKit, walks through 10 charts covering Wangaratta's job market, supply and demand dynamics, building approvals, rental vacancy, affordability, and where the market sits in its growth cycle. She unpacks a common misconception: that low population growth automatically means low price growth, and why Wangaratta and markets like Greater Adelaide prove otherwise. CHAPTERS: 0:00 - Introduction 0:34 - Wangaratta Overview and Recent History 1:08 - Market Pressure Summary 1:34 - Population Growth and Why It's Not the Full Picture 3:05 - Job Market Activity and Infrastructure Investment 4:54 - Sales Market Supply and Demand Trends 5:58 - Days on Market and Price Growth Acceleration 7:06 - Incoming Supply and Oversupply Risk 7:47 - Where Wangaratta Sits in Its Growth Cycle 8:43 - Rental Market Pressure, Vacancy, and Yields 10:09 - The Affordability Advantage 11:01 - Short Term and Medium Term Outlook

Every year since 2022, InvestorKit has consistently produced the Australia's Housing Fundamentals White Paper, tracking fundamentals across three core categories: demand, supply, and confidence. Now in its 5th edition, we can finally look back and ask: what's actually changed over five years, and what's stayed exactly the same? Junge Ma, Senior Research Analyst at InvestorKit, breaks down the five year fundamentals matrix and explains why 2026 shows the highest number of "weak" fundamentals of any year so far, yet Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide, and regional markets like Bunbury, Townsville, and the Gold Coast have still delivered booming growth. If you've ever felt confused by "the market is weak" headlines while watching certain suburbs keep climbing, this episode is where that confusion finally makes sense.

An investor owns a townhouse in Altona North, Melbourne, surrounded by what looks like empty land. They're worried future oversupply could kill the property's growth, and they're weighing whether to sell before it happens. Is that concern actually justified? Junge Ma, Senior Research Analyst at InvestorKit, answers real questions our strategy team and clients bring to the research team, kept anonymous, with the focus on the question behind the question rather than the specific property. This one covers how to actually check oversupply risk using planning documents and building approval rates, and why the property's own underwhelming growth might have nothing to do with oversupply at all. This is a must-watch for any investor sitting on a property that's underperformed and trying to work out whether to hold or sell.

Five years ago, more than half of Australia's regions had a median house price under $600,000. Today, that's fewer than 1 in 5. As affordability keeps tightening, more investors are turning to townhouses as the next best option, but do they actually deliver competitive results? Junge Ma, Senior Research Analyst at InvestorKit, breaks down townhouses from two angles, cashflow and long-term capital growth, including an empirical study tracking 300 townhouse resales in Melbourne over 20 years. She also covers exactly what to look for if you do buy one, so you're not just settling for "second best." This is a must-watch for anyone priced out of the house market and weighing up whether a townhouse is a smart stepping stone or a compromise. CHAPTERS: 0:00 - Introduction 2:04 - Cashflow: Townhouse Yields vs House Yields 4:43 - Capital Growth: The 20-Year Melbourne Study 8:02 - Why Townhouses Are Still Worth Considering 10:03 - What to Look For in a Townhouse