2016 is panning out to be a more challenging year in property as home loan approvals drop, investor activity cools and Sydney’s price boom ends.

While a small number of lucky investors are able to become millionaires through property investment, on the other hand the opposite can be said for those investors which haven’t done enough research and don’t make the right choices – instead they tend to struggle.

Here are five reasons why most property investors will never become property millionaires.

Also read: How to become a property millionaire in 2016

Being impatient

Property investment is a long-term investment, not a get-rich-quick scheme.

The problem for many investors is that they become impatient, wanting to sell quickly and look for the next best thing, instead that makes for a bad investor who misses out on opportunities and gives up before any real wealth can be made.

The wrong timing

At the other end of the spectrum, property investors which are waiting too long for everything to be ‘perfect’ – the right property, environment or time in the cycle – before starting would often miss out on an opportunity altogether

Also read: The truth about Aussie property investors

The longer a property investor waits, the longer it will be before they obtain the success and the money to match.

The key to investing at the right time in any market is knowing when the market has reached a favorable supply and demand balance.

The wrong location

The right state, suburb and location are vital for good property investment.

Without the right research, guided by short-term goals or the latest fad, property investors will miss out on the suburbs and properties which are most likely to outperform.

Also read: Five property lessons for 2016

Learning too much

Some investors feel like they need to wait until they’re property exports before dipping into the property market, but that takes half a lifetime.

Once you start learning some basic investment concepts you suddenly realise there are a whole lot more things about investing that you don’t yet understand.

The trap is that many investor’s think they now need to learn even more, so they read more books, go to more seminars etc. and all the while missing out on actually making any investment.

Also read: Five tips to help your kids onto the property ladder

Not paying the right price

Rather than looking for a property at a good price, these investors focus on looking for a ‘cheap’ property without realizing that they will make more money by buying a valuable property at the right time in the cycle.

Some are also blind-sighted by buying a property which is higher than its intrinsic value – such as new and off-the-plan properties which come at a premium price.