From Property Sceptics To A Seven-Property Retirement Portfolio
- Peter Ward
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
CASE STUDY | Chris & Leanne
 Properties 7 |  Capital invested $2,963,000 |  Current est. value $5,844,000 |  Capital uplift $2,881,000 |
Starting position
This couple did not start as willing believers in property. They had owned investments before, but the experience was full of late rent, damage, tenant problems and stress. By the time APG re-opened the conversation, they had effectively written property off. A workshop changed that. For the first time, they could see where the earlier approach had gone wrong and how a patient, research-led strategy could produce a very different result.
What Changed
They started with their home and a clean slate. Over time they built a sizeable portfolio through the classic APG pattern: buy in a market with genuine growth capacity, hold through the cycle, then use improved equity and yield to buy again when the next move is justified. Their results show the power of a true long-game strategy.
Results To Date
# | Purchase | Capital invested | Current est. value* | Capital uplift | Growth | Yield Then | Yield Now |
1 | Mar 2004 | $233,000 | $825,000 | $592,000 | 254.1% | 4.6% | 15.7% |
2 | Jun 2006 | $320,000 | $798,000 | $478,000 | 149.2% | 5.2% | 16.2% |
3 | Mar 2009 | $377,000 | $710,000 | $332,000 | 88.2% | 4.0% | 7.6% |
4 | Aug 2011 | $417,000 | $760,000 | $343,000 | 82.3% | 4.1% | 6.6% |
5 | Apr 2015 | $404,000 | $792,000 | $388,000 | 96.0% | 5.5% | 8.6% |
6 | Feb 2017 | $527,000 | $1,085,000 | $558,000 | 105.9% | 4.0% | 6.8% |
7 | Apr 2024 | $685,000 | $875,000 | $190,000 | 27.7% | 4.8% | 4.9% |
* Based on the averaged current-value estimate column in APG's results report (10 Mar 2026).
 Client reflection Looking back, Chris and Leanne often say the biggest transformation wasn't simply building a seven-property portfolio. It was gaining the knowledge, confidence, and long-term strategy that allowed them to invest with clarity rather than uncertainty. | ||||
