How This 34-Year-Old Built a $20 Million Property Portfolio, and the Rules He Used to Get There
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Readtime: 5 min
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Most stories about big property portfolios start with a leg-up: family money, a windfall, or a salary most people will never see. Arjun Paliwal’s doesn’t. He moved from New Zealand to Australia at 18, started out in banking, finished an MBA by 25 and bought his first investment property while still working full-time. By 34 he had built a personal portfolio worth around $20 million, spread across more than 17 properties.
He didn’t get there by chasing prestige postcodes or betting on which capital city would boom next. He treated property as a long-term wealth strategy, bought where the data said growth was likely, and spread his risk across markets. That same approach now runs InvestorKit, the buyer’s agency he founded in 2018, which has helped more than 2,000 clients buy more than 3,000 properties.
From Banker to Buyer's Agency Founder
Paliwal’s early years were deliberately unglamorous. Through his 20s he chose building an asset base over lifestyle upgrades. The first property was bought on a banker’s salary. Each purchase after that was chosen on the numbers, and the portfolio grew from one property to more than 17.
Along the way he noticed that plenty of Australians had the ambition to invest but not the time to research markets, compare properties and manage every step around work and family. In 2018 he founded InvestorKit to do that work for them, with a team that splits strategy, research, acquisitions and client support so each decision gets specialist attention. He has since written a book on his approach, Driving the Data, and InvestorKit was named REB Buyer’s Agency of the Year in 2023, 2024 and 2026.
- Founder: Arjun Paliwal, Founder and CEO
- Founded: 2018
- What it does: Buyer’s agency for Australians building property portfolios
- Track record: More than 2,000 clients and more than 3,000 properties bought, per InvestorKit
- Recognition: REB Buyer’s Agency of the Year 2023, 2024 and 2026
- Getting started: Book a free discovery call
The Rules Behind a $20 Million Portfolio
Paliwal’s approach comes down to a handful of principles that anyone building a portfolio can borrow, whether or not they ever hire a buyer’s agent.
The first is to follow the fundamentals, not the postcode. Prestige suburbs and big-city headlines make for good dinner-party talk, but they don’t guarantee growth. Paliwal buys where the underlying fundamentals support future growth, and lets the data rather than predictions about the biggest capital cities decide.
The second is to diversify. A large portfolio concentrated in one city is exposed to one market cycle. Spreading purchases across different markets means a flat patch in one place doesn’t stall the whole plan.
The third is to play the long game. Property is treated as a long-term wealth strategy, not a get-rich-quick play, which means deciding up front when to buy, when to hold and when a new market makes more sense than another purchase in a familiar one.
The last is the least exciting and probably the most important: build the asset base before the lifestyle. The sacrifices in his 20s are what gave the portfolio room to compound. InvestorKit now applies the same data-led process for its clients.
The Mistake Most Aspiring Investors Make
The trap is copying someone else’s portfolio without copying their circumstances. What worked for one investor depends on their income, borrowing capacity, timing and appetite for risk, and a property that was right for them five years ago may be wrong for you today.
That’s the gap a strategy-first buyer’s agency is built to close: working out what your own numbers allow before a single property is shortlisted.
Arjun Paliwal and InvestorKit FAQs
Arjun Paliwal is the founder and CEO of InvestorKit, an Australian buyer's agency. He moved from New Zealand to Australia at 18, started his career in banking and built a personal property portfolio worth around $20 million by 34.
InvestorKit is a buyer's agency founded in 2018 that helps Australians build property portfolios. It says it has helped more than 2,000 clients buy more than 3,000 properties.
A data-led one: buying where the fundamentals support future growth, diversifying across markets and treating property as a long-term wealth strategy.
InvestorKit was named REB Buyer's Agency of the Year in 2023, 2024 and 2026.
If you want to build a portfolio the same way, on data rather than hunches, InvestorKit offers a free discovery call to map out where your numbers can take you.
This article is general information only and doesn’t take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Consider seeking independent financial advice before making any investment decision.
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