An Australian property magnate with a portfolio worth $80 million has revealed the one decision he deeply regrets – calling it his $700,000 mistake.
Allister Lewison bought his first property at the age of 22 while working as a night manager at Woolworths, earning $22,000 a year. He managed to raise a down payment by pooling money with his brother.
Fast forward to age 30 and a few property investments later, he decided to buy a small house on a large block in suburban Melbourne in 2005 for $315,000.
His intention was to subdivide the property and build a townhouse at the back of the block, but he got cold feet.
Despite investing $180,000 in the new construction, fears of rising interest rates and the global financial crisis led him to sell the property just three years later.
Melbourne resident Allister Lewison regrets selling a property in 2008 as it would have been worth an estimated $1 million today. He paid $315,000 for the property in 2005
The unit (pictured) was on quite a large block and Allister planned to subdivide it and then build a townhouse at the back. It took three years and with the global financial crisis looming, he decided to sell the property
He decided to sell the front house first, and shortly afterwards the back house.
“I was always going to sell the front property, but when I heard about the GFC I thought I should sell the townhouse too,” he said.
He wishes he could keep the house as it would be worth $1 million today, leaving him with $700,000 in equity.
“In mid-2008, the cash rate was 7.25 percent and the mortgage rate was 9.50 percent, and we were concerned that rates would continue to rise,” the now 46-year-old said.
‘If I had used the equity to buy another property, I would not have paid stamp duty and estate agent fees, and I would not have lost any rental income.
‘Selling was a big mistake. If I had kept it, it would be worth $1 million today.
‘In retrospect, I should have bought a new property to begin with instead of building from scratch. I probably would have bought two or three properties in the same time.”
‘Selling was a big mistake. If I had kept it, it would be worth a million dollars today,” he said. Now Allister owns properties across the country (Brisbane investment properties pictured)
He has realized that buying brand new properties has more value than building them himself
Allister, co-founder of Open Corp, told FEMAIL when he was younger he didn’t know how to calculate the equity of a property and thought he had to buy in the same suburb where he lived.
He started investing to ensure he had enough money to live a good life in retirement, but during his real estate journey it has grown into more than that.
“I think we are doing the government and the people a favor by buying investment properties,” he said.
Now he’s helping other young Australians follow in his footsteps by developing a property plan and executing a strategy.
Allister is now helping other Australians follow in his footsteps by developing a property plan and executing a strategy
‘The best time to enter the market is as soon as possible. It will only become more difficult to make a down payment as real estate prices rise,” he said.
“Do what you can: borrow from mom and dad’s bank, team up with a sibling, cousin or friend to take advantage of market growth.”
Currently, Allister has properties in Victoria, Perth, Sydney and Brisbane. Adelaide has also recently piqued his interest.
If he could talk to his younger self, he would say “something ambitious,” as in always looking forward to the future.
‘Maybe [I would say] something like “you have no idea of the opportunities that will present themselves to you in the future because you chose to invest in real estate,” he said.
“The time you spend with your family now, the travel and special projects you can do and the overall flexibility you now have… the hard work is worth it and once you start, everything will fall into place. ‘
Allister says his decision to invest in property has paid off for him and his family – pictured here on holiday