32yo Aussie boasts about buying a whole apartment block

A millionaire property developer who bought an entire block of apartments in a major Aussie city has boasted about the price of the significant investment.

A millionaire property developer has boasted about buying an entire block of apartments in Perth for a fraction of the cost of a larger block of land in Sydney.

Eddie Dilleen, who grew up in public housing and bought his first house at 18 while working at McDonald’s, said he snapped up the block of 10-12 apartments in Belmont for $4.1 million.

“That was on like 1,600 square metres of land and 10 minutes to the city. And it’s only five years old,” the 32-year-old said in a clip posted to TikTok.

He claimed the entire block could be rented out for roughly $400,000 a year.

“(That’s) a block of 12 units – so 12 properties – for almost half the price of one (block of land) in Strathfield.”

“Sydney’s just very expensive.”

In Sydney’s western suburb of Strathfield, the median cost to buy a single unit is $710,000 and the median house price is $3,745,000, according to realestate.com.

Speaking to news.com.au, Mr Dilleen compared his recent apartment block purchase to a five-bedroom 800 sqm property in Strathfield, which recently sold for over $7.5 million.

“This whole block of units, on double the size of land, was like half the price of land in Strathfield.”

He said he also purchased the property at an undervalued price.

“I believe that’s worth five million, so I was able to get such a really good price for that.”

Mr Dilleen recently purchased an entire block of 12 apartments in Perth. Picture: TikTok@eddiedilleen

The 32-year-old secured the deal for $4.1 million. Picture: TikTok@eddiedilleen

With over 100 properties under his belt, the 32-year-old who lives in Sydney, said Perth is one of his favourite states to invest in.

“Perth is one of the most affordable capital cities in Australia right now. And in Sydney, people can get priced out very easily.”

He said rental returns or yields are also “really high” in Perth compared to other states.

Yield refers to the amount of money an owner takes home after subtracting the overall costs of maintaining a property from the rental income.

“In Parramatta (in Western Sydney) you might pick up a house for like $1.5 million, but the rent might only be like $800 a week. So the yield on that would 2.7 per cent.”

“Where as I bought a unit for $210,000 in Perth and I rent that out for $390 a week roughly, so that would be 9.5 per cent yield. That’s quadruple 2.7 per cent.”

Mr Dilleen said his Perth apartments could be rented out for roughly $400,000 a year. Picture: Supplied

Now is also an ideal time to buy an investment property Perth, according to the property investor.

“There’s cycles where a state will double in value over a three four year period, they’ll have this massive growth phase,” Mr Dilleen said.

“Everyone right now is saying ‘Queensland is going up so much, let’s invest in Queensland’. But’s it’s already doubled in value … You’re almost too late for this cycle.

“But the cycle is like waves at a beach, they’ll come back again.”

In Perth, he said “the wave is forming”.

“It hasn’t crashed yet, it's still going up. I believe Perth will jump up 40 per cent over the next two years, at least.”

It’s why he has very clear advice for Sydneysiders looking to buy an investment property: “Buy in Perth”.

“Anyone would be crazy to buy in Sydney right now for an investment purpose. It would be stupid for people buying in Sydney to get a rental yield.”

From housing commission to property millionaire

Mr Dilleen bought his first property when he was just 18 with the savings he had accrued from two minimum-wage jobs.

From there, he used a combination of his savings, a self-managed super fund, lender’s mortgage insurance and equity to leverage his way into getting more properties.

At 32, he’s now amassed 104 properties. 80 per cent of his portfolio is also “under rented”, meaning he prices the rent less than he could likely get for them.

Looking back, Mr Dilleen, who is about to release a new book How to Buy 10 Properties Fast, said his secret to success is not being afraid to do something different.

“If you follow what everyone else is doing, then you’ll get everyone else’s results. If everyone says ‘save your money, work hard and then pay off your house’ and they’re getting average results, you have to figure out a different way. Think outside the box.”

“When I first started out, I couldn’t afford a property to live in. So I bought cheap little properties all across Queensland and Adelaide and they’ve all gone up because they’re affordable properties, and they go up with inflation.”

He also advised prospective first home buyers that it’s better to get in the property market earlier with a small deposit.

“Yes, your repayments might be higher. But at least you’re getting into the property market, and you’re taking the leap of faith.”

Looking to the future, Mr Dilleen, has set the ambitious goal to eventually own 1000 properties.

“They say ‘don’t hate the player hate the game’. But don’t hate anyone, learn the rules, learn how you play Monopoly, and then play the game.”

Eddie Dilleen has bought 104 properties at the age of 32. Picture: Suppled to news.com.au

He bought his first property with the saving he had accrued from two minimum-wage jobs. Picture: Suppled to news.com.au

House prices continue to grow

It comes as PropTrack’s Home Price Index report, released this month, found dwelling prices in capital cities increased by 0.4 per cent, and are now 7.64 per cent above prices in March 2023.

Costs were rising the highest in smaller capital cities the quickest, with year-on-year growth in Perth, Adelaide, and Brisbane soaring by of 18.62 per cent, 13.47 per cent and 12.90 per cent respectively.

The median value of a home in Sydney ($1,069,000) is still considerably higher than the $832,000 average price of a home in other capital cities.

Perth home prices record an annual growth of 18.62 per cent. Picture: iStock

In comparison, the median dwelling value of a home in Melbourne is $802,000, and $801,000 in Brisbane.

PropTrack’s senior economist Eleanor Creagh said home prices will likely continue to increase throughout 2024.

“Housing demand is also being buoyed by population growth, tight rental markets, resilient labour market conditions and home equity gains,” she said.

“Meanwhile, the sharp rise in construction costs and labour and materials shortages have slowed the delivery of new builds, hampering the supply of new housing.

“The imbalance between supply and demand is likely to further offset the impact of affordability constraints and a slowing economy. As a result, prices are expected to remain on the rise in the months ahead.”

– With NCA NewsWire