A property mogul has claimed the country’s middle class will disappear within the next decade and Australians should move quickly to avoid falling through the cracks.
Daniel Walsh – a buyer’s agent who also manages his own portfolio of more than 30 investment properties – said many of those who consider themselves middle class could become the working poor by 2035 as home ownership becomes unattainable.
‘Middle class people want to own a house because a house is the ultimate form of stability, and that is getting taken away very quickly,’ he told Newscorp.Â
Mr Walsh said property prices in major Australian cities, which have already reached sky-high levels, are set to surge even further driven by immigration, rate cuts and the government’s first home buyer incentives.
The 35-year-old from Sydney is putting his money where his mouth is and purchased more than 15 properties in the past 12 months to get in before prices go up.Â
‘I was warning everyone about this 18 months ago that CPI inflation will turn into asset inflation,’ he said.
‘People are trying to save money, but I am warning you that inflation will trend down, and then interest rates will fall, and then the property market will increase.’
Mr Walsh started buying property at the age of 19, when he worked as an apprentice auto-electrician for his father and was earning the minimum wage.
Prolific property investor Daniel Walsh (pictured left alongside his wife Sophie) says Australia’s middle class could be priced out of the property market within a decade
Mr Walsh, a former tradie, has grown a $35,000 deposit into a multi-million dollar property portfolio. He resides in a $7million waterfront home in Sydney’s north
Within seven years, he had grown his portfolio to eight properties along the east coast, worth an estimated $3million.Â
Now, Mr Walsh holds the keys to a $45million real estate portfolio with some $8million in offset accounts and $20million in borrowings from the bank.Â
He forecasts the middle-class – generally defined by steady jobs, property ownership and university qualifications – could morph into a new underclass as house prices climb out of reach and they are locked into the rental market.
According to Mr Walsh, the answer for Aussies at risk of getting left behind is to ditch the traditional route for building wealth.Â
Instead of saving for a deposit on a home you intend to live in, he recommends buying in a more affordable area while renting where you wish to live.
This method is known as ‘rentvesting’ and is increasingly popular with Aussies who are concerned deposits on homes in desirable areas will outstrip savings.
The strategy isn’t without its critics who point to the risk of buying dud investment properties and the advantages of living in a home you own.Â
But it’s a move that appears to have paid off for Mr Walsh, who managed to leverage a $34,000 deposit on a home in the NSW Macarthur region into a property empire.
Mr Walsh claimed house prices will only keep growing driven by immigration, interest rates and government relief for first home buyers (stock)
Now, the former tradie and train driver calls a $7million waterfront mansion on Sydney’s northern beaches home. Â
‘The property prices are growing quicker than what people save,’ he said.
‘If you can get in, get in.’
Daily Mail has contacted Mr Walsh for further comment.Â
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Urgent warning is issued for one group of Aussies – with house prices forecast to surge again