You can play ‘dead’ in property for 2024 or you can follow a plan to win, it is really the first choice you face in looking at your road ahead.

Few were buying in 2011 either, which is roughly the last time there was such a low level of buy to let optimism. Looking back, do you wish you had brought more or less property in 2011?

If growth is on your mind, then the focus on waiting for the perfect all money out deal can lead to you doing far less deals and the 10% saved in one deal is lost by the 200% uplift in equity over the medium to long term of not doing an extra one over the year.

Whether your road ahead is paved with gold or you are chasing a pot of gold at the bottom of the rainbow (money now versus maybe money later) is also up to you. All these approaches carry some risks, including doing nothing.

The great thing about property is in many scenarios once you are in the game, you can actually sit and wait it out. The time in the market versus timing the market is one approach that tends to work but it should be a deliberate assessment, not an imitation of an ostrich.

Head in the sand is one way to play and you might be ok to do so, particularly if you aren’t hungry and trust it is safe to do so. This works less well if you are wanting either a larger financial outcome or at least a return in the coming year versus the coming decades. Growth beyond the market requires a more active approach to your portfolio.

Assessment
It involves pulling your head up and looking around. Getting the lay of the land. Searching for hazards and for opportunities.