Monet and money: real estate lessons from a master painter

Claude Monet’s paintings inspired great Aussie artists, and his life delivers valuable lessons for real estate owners and investors too.

I’ve spent more than two decades writing mainly about money, but today will shake it up a little.

On the suggestion of a wise but weird colleague, this column focuses on Monet rather than money, and what homebuyers and investors can learn from the artist.

Claude Monet dies in 1926 aged 86 and is a founder of Impressionism, an art movement featuring rapidly-painted colourful dabs and the inspiration for some of Australia’s greatest artists.

Monet was a property owner who often painted his gardens, and today art lovers can stay in his former house in northern France through Airbnb.

Visiting that property is now on my bucket list, but it will take money and patience – also key ingredients real estate success. Monet’s art and life also deliver these lessons for property buyers.

FUZZY IS GOOD

Look at closely at a Monet painting and you may feel like you’ve had a few too many drinks.

The fuzzy images and blurred lines are a lot like real estate. We never get a clear picture of where the housing market is heading, whether the price is fair, and how interest rates will affect property prices.

Learn to embrace the fuzziness. If everyone knew exactly what was happening with real estate and when, there would be fewer opportunities to make a profit, buy a bargain or become a successful investor.

Claude Monet remains one of the world’s most famous artists.

EXPECT STRUGGLES

Nobody’s property path is a straight line upwards, so prepare to experience dips and downturns and to question your property purchases and investment decisions.

Even Monet had personal struggles, and in a letter wrote he was “sickened” and “demoralised” by his life and was “abandoning all hope of success”. This was when he was aged 40 and more than 20 years before many of his now-priceless masterpieces were painted.

Negative thoughts creep into positive brains, so recognise that you will have unhappy experiences, have a plan and stick to it.

LONG-TERM WINNERS

Property, like famous paintings, delivers the strongest gains when owned for many years – usually decades.

Individual Monet artwork has sold for more than $100 million in recent years, climbing in value 40 times since the mid-1980s.

Aussie property price growth hasn’t been that spectacular, but home values are generally six to 10 times higher over the same period.

Trying to make a quick buck from real estate is dangerous. But almost all property owners who have hung on for at least a decade are doing very nicely.

TRUST FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Never underestimate the power of gut instinct.

We’re often told that if a financial offer or deal sounds too good to be true, it usually is. But with property purchases, those first impressions can be clouded by emotions – in particular the fear of missing out (FOMO) such as during the latest real estate boom.

If you’re not sure if your first impressions are correct, surround yourself with a team of independent helpers such as an accountant, buyer’s agent, lawyer and trusted friend or relative with experience in the game.

Monet painted snapshots of life and nature that have flourished over time. Good property decisions can do the same.