“The return of an investment divided into 72 will determine how long the investment will take to double in value.” Albert Einstein. This is now the famous Rule of 72.

The often quoted capital growth of properties in Australian capital cities is 7% per annum. Using the Rule of 72: 72 divided by 7 = 10years. Indeed statistics over 50 years showed that properties in Australian capital cities double every 7 to 10 years.

Say, an investor would continue to invest in properties up to 65 years old. the investor is now 45 years old. He/ she therefore has 20 years to invest. We estimate from the above that properties double in value every 7 to 10 years. Hence the investor with 20 years of investment time has 2 property cycles to use to his advantage (20 years divide by 10 years).