Land or location? The property investment trade-off reshaping Australia's housing market
For decades, buying close to the CBD was the safest property investment play, but rising prices and a range of other factors are forcing investors to rethink whether land size or location will deliver stronger long-term returns.
Melbourne's inner suburbs have been eclipsed in price growth by the outlying parts of the city. (Image source: SouthWestImagesAus/Shutterstock.com)
What is the best bet for investors: a house with a big block of land out in suburbia or smaller house closer to town?
For 40 years, the answer has been a detached house - of almost any size - in a precinct close to the CBD.
But that format looks ripe for a change, driven by higher prices, the changing composition of buyers and shifts in the way cities function.
Short-term hotspots versus long-term property performance
When we look at the late…
