One of my favourite film series is The Matrix, where our hero Neo seeks to uncover the system of deception within The Matrix to expose the truth.
Here today we have another type of matrix - where the three variables of house prices, commuter travel times and train fares overlap to form a 3-way 'matrix' of the best commuter towns around some of our major cities.
Sadly, I did not find a magic tool that allows us to decode this particular ‘Matrix’, although I recall there is one and I will update this post with the detail once I rediscover it. However, we could at least undertake the exercise manually (there are some clues in the report that we can pick up). You see transport links is one of the fundamental considerations of any homeowner AND renter. Can we save money by moving a little further out of town they ask?
Aside from the obvious potential savings of the commute itself, has to be the cost of housing as well, whilst staying close enough. The target audience for this piece today is probably homeowners, although we investors can also apply the same logic into our own analysis of potential property investment areas.
Which commuter towns offer the best journey times into the major city hub with the jobs for the tenants that will service our rent?
Which towns offer an affordable investment outlay for us?
Which towns offer the best yields and return on our investment?
Which towns have potential for further rental demand & capital growth - which means also looking at our other investment principles from my own ‘STAR matrix’ (schools, amenities & revenue in addition to transport you may recall)?
Perhaps we can beat the Matrix after all,...we just need the right way of looking at things deeper within rather than merely on the surface that's all.
We can do it; we can crack the Matrix code if only we put our minds to it…
Source & credits: The Telegraph