Rich Harvey

But what it does, it just reflects the value of the most recent batch of properties that have sold.

It doesn't reflect the longer term value of that suburb.

So it's really important that people drill down beyond the statistics to get the on-the-ground information about what's happening and what that suburb's like.

Oh, fantastic question about gentrification.

Look, I'm an avid property investor and I'm highly in favour of buying in those suburbs that are going through change or gentrification.

What that means is that they're going from an older person

down and out style suburb into a new and up and coming suburb and that's because the old guard are moving out and the new guard are moving in so there's a different demographic coming into that suburb and i think it's definitely very much related to higher income earners moving into that suburb

So Craig, some of the typical signs of gentrification, my friend Peter Kalouzos, who's the property professor, he's written some great articles on this.

He talks about the number of tradie utes parked outside the front of houses that are being renovated or rebuilt.

The local shops, you start to see more gourmet butchers and specialty shops.

And that's a reflection of the higher level of household income from those people moving into the area and demanding those particular suburbs.

You know, there's been some suburbs that have really suffered from a stigma of housing commission in past decades.

And now they're being highly sought after because their location is fantastic.

It's in close proximity to the city or the beach.

If you take, say, Carlton in Melbourne, there's a lot of high-rise towers that are housing commissioned.

But Carlton's fantastic because it's close to the university and very close to the city.

I own a property there and it's great, really strong capital growth.

So I would say to people, don't be put off by the stigma thing.

It basically changes significantly over time.

Great.