By Carina Stathis For Daily Mail Australia
06:21 22 May 2024, updated 08:23 22 May 2024
A young property investor who was expelled from school but now has a portfolio worth $35million has been slammed for his blunt advice about getting into the housing market – but others say he’s got it ‘bang on’.
Jack Henderson, 27, bought his first property at 18 while working in construction and living at home in Western Sydney before moving to Newcastle at 21. He then opened his buyer’s agency Henderson Advocacy in 2020 and now owns 15 homes.
Mr Henderson has spoken on the current housing crisis and said buying a home is far more achievable than people might think, and that they just need to be willing to ‘sacrifice more’ to do it.
While rising interest rates and short supply may deter buyers who think they have no hope of buying a property on an average income, Mr Henderson thinks otherwise. However, his advice hasn’t been taken too well on social media.
Mr Henderson recorded himself viewing statistics reported by the ABC which highlighted the average income needed to afford a home in each capital city.
According to the research from the Parliamentary Library, Australians need an average income of $293,578 to afford a house in Sydney and $189,962 for Melbourne.
But Mr Henderson claimed there’s alternative options available including looking further from the CBD.
‘By the looks of these numbers, no one’s ever going to be able to own a f****** home – especially if you live in Sydney,’ he said in the video.
‘Or is the real issue not housing affordability but what people want to live in for the incomes that they earn? A little bit of the old champagne taste and beer budget syndrome I reckon.’
Mr Henderson said he agrees that the bigger cities are expensive compared to others around the nation – but that’s because they are ‘some of the best in the world’ to live in.
‘If you’re someone who earns an average income I don’t think it should be expected that you could live within 10, 15, 20 minutes of a major global city,’ he said.
But he highlighted that there’s still properties in the Sydney market available for less than $800,000 – buyers just need to sacrifice living close to the CBD.
Mr Henderson then shared two examples where he and his parents grew up and the houses available today.
One three-bedroom, one bathroom home in Bidwill sold earlier this year for $730,000 – but he claimed most young Aussies today won’t consider such a buy because it’s 46km west of Sydney.
‘Now I know what you’re all thinking – “Oh I’d never live in Bidwill, wouldn’t even let my dog out in the street in Bidwill”,’ he said.
‘And that is the issue. Too many people out there that won’t start where they need to start to be able to get into the market.’
He claimed buyers on a single or combined income of $150,000-$180,000 will likely be able to buy in outer Sydney.
Speaking to FEMAIL, Mr Henderson said there are plenty of options for first home buyers but a combination of fear and a lack of understanding is holding people back from buying.
‘When you’re starting out, you can absolutely begin in the outer suburbs of Sydney then make progress from there,’ he said.
‘There’s a perception that you need a lot of money to begin with otherwise you won’t own a home. But this isn’t the case.’
And if buyers don’t want to live in the suburb they’re buying in, Mr Henderson recommends ‘rentvesting’ – renting where you desire to suit your lifestyle and buying elsewhere.
The property guru rents a flat in Sydney’s eastern suburbs but would never dream of purchasing in the suburb because it’s too expensive.
‘They don’t teach anything about property in schools so people don’t have the education or understanding. If they did, they might think differently,’ he said.
‘I have a warped sense of perception. My mum grew up in housing commission and my dad grew up alone – their situation couldn’t have got any worse. But they started where they could afford.
‘I think it’s all about doing something as opposed to doing nothing at all.’
When purchasing property, Mr Henderson ops for existing builds rather than brand new.
He said that with new builds there’s little track record of the area to help determine if it’ll be a decent investment. Not only that, but buyers pay a premium because the renovation is new.
This, he says, means all the value is in the land rather than the dwelling, as properties can be replicated by land cannot.
Early in his investing journey, Mr Henderson learnt about property through trial and error and relied on a mentor who’s now retired.
All of his properties are residential and he doesn’t plan to sell them unless really necessary.
Click here to resize this module
Over time he hopes to acquire more property and eventually have a portfolio worth $1billion.
His strategy is straightforward – buy good quality properties in good quality areas.
As for his advice to others, Mr Henderson recommends utilising government grants and schemes available to first home buyers to save thousands on stamp duty and LMI.
However, not everyone has agreed with his advice about buying property further away from cities, especially in New South Wales and Victoria which charge tolls on roads.
‘The gaslighting is strong,’ one wrote on TikTok.
‘Drive 50 minutes each way, $20 tolls, $30 a day in parking. Sounds perfect,’ another added.
Others praised the ‘refreshing’ advice.
‘100 per cent well said,’ one agreed. ‘Correct. People want their first home to be their dream home, with everything close to everything.’
‘Everyone just wants to checkmate without playing chess. Exactly what you said Jack!’ another wrote.
‘Exactly what I’ve been saying. People think they should be living in a five-bedroom house in the middle of Sydney CBD at 23. Start small, work your way up.’