Hi Custodians.
I wanted to personally wish you a very, very Merry Christmas and an amazing new year.
I also wanted to reflect a little bit on this year and what I’ve learned and particularly from you, our Custodian Clients. The custodian community has grown and evolved.
We’re 25 years old this year! It’s incredible to think that we’ve been doing this for 25 years. I am amazed after all this time to see how many clients have willingly given us testimonials about their journey over the last two and half decades. I am truly grateful to them. They are a testament to why we do what we do.
You (Our clients) have been able to create a legacy – starting with such a low base, but doing one thing, and doing it well, and practising the philosophy of Custodian.
I wanted to try something different this year with a Mastery Workshop, to keep our investors aligned and remind ourselves of the long game. Hundreds of you attended these events in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and we even invited some of our new clients as an introduction to the Custodian Community.
Let’s take a moment to pause and realise that yes, Custodian provides a strategy and the tools to building wealth, but it’s also, and more importantly, a way of life in a lot of ways, because it provides clarity.
In today’s fast-paced, technology-dominated world, most people are missing the clarity and direction to keep them going. To me clarity is where you think, feel, say, and do in alignment.
Think, feel, say, and do in alignment.
Too many people think one thing and feel another, say one thing, and do the opposite. And a lot of people who come into Custodian say “I want to invest” but then they don’t. They say it, but they’re not feeling it.
And there’s that disconnect.
That, to me, is the real pandemic around the world: Too much confusion and too much energy spent spiraling down into negative thoughts.
We’ve got to feel our way through.
It’s simple. What we do is use a simple system, based on doing one thing and doing it well. And repeat. Finding an asset that grows and gives you cash flow.
It’s simple, but it’s not easy.
Why?
It’s like breathing.
I could say to you, that breathing is simple, but when you’re under stress, you are most likely to breathe faster or struggle to breathe depending on your stress levels. It’s Simple, but not easy.
Let’s talk numbers
This time last year, the residential market was going down, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne, where pretty much half of the Australian population lives. Sydney and Melbourne prices were going down by nearly 1% a month. I said it at Kickstart to get ready for this turnaround because there’s a wave of migration coming, and we have a shortage of housing. No matter what’s going to happen with interest rates, supply and demand determine the pricing of housing.
And sure enough, in May, after nearly 200,000 migrants had come to the country, the market turned around and the markets that we’re in went up and haven’t stopped since.
Now, 1 to 2% per month doesn’t sound like much, but that’s 10 to $20,000 per month that house prices have been going up by.
Today, a year on, yes, we’ve seen things turn around, prices in the markets that we’ve been in are up around about 10%, so maybe 80, $120,000,
but going up by probably $200,000 in the next year.
And what I would say to you is always do one thing, do it well. If you’re going to be buying property, do it now. Don’t wait, don’t put anything off.
John, what motivates you?
People often ask me about motivation. What motivates me is action, not the thought. If I’m going to do something, I do it now.
And I say that to you because if you’re gonna do something, do it now, let us know now, let me find something for you. Because within 12 months, whatever you could buy today will have gone up by 100 to $200,000 or more.
Here is why…
Today we are 100,000 houses short in the whole of the country. By June 30 next year, it’ll be 170,000 houses short. Both the Reserve Bank and the US Fed have started to signal and the money markets in Australia have indicated that the interest rates have stopped rising and more importantly, they’re now forecasting three rate cuts in the second half of next year. That’s a turnaround, particularly for us in our industry.
Just this week, the biggest transaction in Australian real estate took place where Stockland, our biggest real estate company, bought out all land leases, land bank, for $1.3 billion. Stockland are betting that land prices will go through the roof in the next one, two, or three years and I agree with them.
Fasten your seat belts.
We are witnessing an amazing time.
My message, going into 2024
My message to you is to slow down and get out of your head. We too often get caught in the rat race and are too much in our heads. Everything speeds around us so we tend to do the same and get caught in the noise.
Don’t let it get it you, slow down, breathe, enjoy nature more, spend time with your loved ones. Put away your device, and remind yourself and your loved one, especially younger generations, how to connect.
You are doing this for your family. Don’t forget what is important.
Remember, everything you do with Custodian runs itself, so keep doing it and enjoy life while your portfolio grows.
That’s my message to you.
Kickstart 2024
Finally I’d like to invite you to our Kickstart webinar in February 2024.
I’ve got one of the leading AFL coaches, a super coach and a super guy, by the way, joining me. I’m also gonna be talking to you about just some of the daily habits that I’ve been experimenting with myself during 2023 and the outcomes that I’ve had.
Diet, exercise, sleep amongst other things.
I am also going to share with you some interesting takeaways that I’ve learned through podcasts and recommend certain areas for your growth.
They’ll give you just a little bit of clarity in your mindset but also in your feeling habit.
Let me finish by saying that if you want to buy something next year, please let us know. We’ll have to bring in the wait list again because there’s gonna be a shortage of stock and that’s gonna be right around the country. So if you want to get on the list, let us know as soon as you possibly can.
Be safe, spend time with people that you love, tell them that you love them.
That’s really the most important thing we can do.
Be happy and have a great time, cheers.
John
