REVEALED: THE BIGGEST BLOCKERS TO PROPERTY SUCCESS

When it comes to property investing, most people don’t fail because they picked the wrong suburb or mistimed the market. They fail before they even begin — not from bad decisions, but from the wrong beliefs.

Property commentators Bryce Holdaway and Ben Kingsley say mindset is often the biggest barrier, not money or opportunity. After two decades advising Australians on how to build wealth through property, and being investors themselves, they’ve seen how a few common myths can keep people stuck on the sidelines.

Here, they break down the six most damaging beliefs holding Australians back and reveal the mindset shifts that could make all the difference.

Myth 1: “You Need to Be Rich to Invest”

This is the most common belief that holds people back. Many assume property investing is reserved for high-income earners or people who already have significant wealth.

In reality, wealth is built by what you do with your income, not how much you earn. Holdaway and Kingsley have worked with teachers, tradies, nurses and young professionals who all started with modest savings. The difference? They followed a strategy aligned to their goals, avoided spruikers, and played the long game. You don’t need to be rich — just intentional.

Myth 2: “I Need to Learn Everything Before I Start”

Education matters, but perfectionism is progress’s worst enemy. They’ve met countless people stuck in a loop of reading books, attending webinars, and watching YouTube videos — and never taking the first step.

Property investing is a marathon, not a sprint. You don’t need all the answers before you begin. You need a clear goal and a trusted process.

Myth 3: “I Missed the Boat”

We hear this every time the market rises. And yet people were saying the same thing 10, 20, even 30 years ago.

The truth? The best time to invest was yesterday — the second-best time is today. Property rewards time in the market, not timing the market.

Myth 4: “Property Is Too Risky”

Every investment carries risk, but inaction driven by fear is often the greater danger. In Australia, property represents more than investment; it’s stability, aspiration, and security.

Yes, buying the wrong asset in the wrong place is risky. But that’s a reason to get educated, not a reason to avoid the market altogether. When you buy investment-grade property in a good location with a long-term view, risk becomes manageable. You’re not gambling — you’re making a calculated decision.

Myth 5: “You Need 10 Properties to Retire”

Some investors chase a big portfolio. But the truth is, you only need enough income to live the life you want — and that often comes from two or three high-performing properties.

The authors have seen small, strategic portfolios outperform larger ones built on volume. It’s not about how many properties you own — it’s whether they’re working for you.

Myth 6: “I’m Too Young/Too Old to Start”

You’re never the wrong age to shape your financial future. Young investors often underestimate their greatest asset — time. Older Australians worry they’ve left it too late. But Holdaway and Kingsley say they’ve worked with people in their 40s and beyond who’ve built strong passive income streams later in life.

It’s not about age. It’s about clarity, action and alignment with your goals.

Bryce Holdaway and Ben Kingsley are co-authors of How to Retire on $3,000 a Week: The Property Couch’s Playbook for Passive Property Investing (Major Street Publishing RRP $32.99). They are two of Australia’s leading voices in property.

Australia’s housing crisis will not be solved by first-home buyer incentives or tax changes alone, with leading property figures warning governments must tackle supply constraints if affordability is to improve.

Speaking at the Kanebridge Quarterly Property Leadership Summit in Sydney last week, expert project marketing specialist Sam Elbanna, property investor and fund manager Paul Miron and property consultant Karla McNeice said that a lack of housing supply remained the central issue facing the market.

Elbanna, Director of CPM Realty with more than 30 years’ experience in project sales, argued that successive governments had focused too heavily on stimulating demand rather than addressing the barriers preventing new housing from being delivered.

“The misconception is that politicians think the way to solve the housing crisis is to drive demand,” he said.

“The reality is that’s not the way. This is a supply-side problem, and it needs to be solved on the supply side.”

Drawing on his experience in project sales, Elbanna said policies designed to help first-home buyers often had unintended consequences, pointing to previous grants that ultimately flowed through to higher property prices.

Instead, he said developers were facing increasing red tape, approval delays and rising costs, which were discouraging new housing supply.

“In the absence of stock, demand exceeds supply,” he said.

Miron, a Co-Founder and Fund Manager of Msquared Capital, said the housing debate had become overly focused on tax policy while overlooking broader structural issues.

He argued that affordability challenges stemmed from a combination of factors, including planning constraints, supply shortages, migration levels and interest rates.

“No-one can be 100 per cent certain on the real reason for property prices is going up,” he said.

“The reason why property prices are higher is a combination of interest rates, lack of supply, migration, vacancy rates and maybe taxes play a role.”

Miron was critical of recent federal housing policy changes, warning they could reduce the number of new homes being built and further constrain supply that was even highlighted in the budget.

He also highlighted the importance of the property sector to the broader economy, noting that residential real estate and related industries employed more than one million Australians.

McNeice, who advises developers on sales strategy and market intelligence, said understanding buyers had become increasingly important as affordability pressures intensified.

While affordability remained a major consideration, she said today’s buyers were focused on value rather than simply price.

“People are looking for value for money,” she said.

She said buyers were increasingly evaluating factors such as transport connections, walkability, nearby amenities and flexible living spaces that could accommodate changing family needs.

“What infrastructure is going on? Can I walk to the shops? Can I meet people at the local cafe?” she said.

The panel also discussed the mounting pressures facing developers, with Elbanna arguing that many projects become financially unviable from the moment a site is purchased.

“The viability of a development happens at the moment the site is bought,” he said.

He said rising construction costs, higher interest rates and overly optimistic feasibility assumptions had left some developers exposed as market conditions changed.

While acknowledging the growing number of smaller and first-time developers entering the market, Elbanna said property development required expertise across finance, construction, marketing and legal disciplines.

“It is actually a business that requires a level of expertise,” he said.

Looking ahead, the panel agreed opportunities remained in the market despite current challenges.

Miron said property should continue to be viewed as a long-term investment and cautioned against trying to time short-term market movements.

McNeice said success would increasingly depend on identifying projects that genuinely met changing buyer expectations.

Elbanna said affordable housing remained achievable, but developers needed to deliver more than just homes.

“We can provide affordable housing in this country,” he said.

“But we’ve got to wrap that affordable housing with the things that people want.”

As Australia’s housing affordability debate intensifies, the panellists agreed on one point: without a meaningful increase in housing supply, demand-side measures alone are unlikely to solve the nation’s property challenges.