Hi All,
I am not an Australian resident so I have to buy off-the-plan. However I am looking at some property in Southport, Brisbane. It’s a two bedroom unit selling for around AU$250,000 It will be negatively geared, which doesn’t bother me as I am looking at capital growth. However I don’t want to be left paying the whole mortgage so it will have a tenent.
I was hoping for some feedback from you good folks on the forum as to the current state of the Brisbane area and if it is a growth area or if there are many properties standing vacant at the moment. Unfortunately I am unable to travel down at the moment but hope to fit a trip in by Autumn.
Thanks for your guidance.
Adam
[8D]Adam,
I think you mean Southport in the Gold Coast, there is no Southport in Brisbane that I know of,
If it is Southport this is a great area with good growth potential but as an off shore buyer you risk paying to much.
I was there last week from Melbourne checking out some property, I strongly suggest you hire a buyers advocate to represent you.
Happy property hunting
M
Hi,
I suggest you subscribe to the Australian Property Investor magazine (http://www.apimagazine.com.au) as it contains a summary of all the major markets (including Brisbane).
I don’t care much for the editorial comments – often written by academics rather than seasoned investors, but the statistics are handy.
Bye,
Steve McKnight
**********
Remember that success comes from doing things differently.
**********Steve McKnight | PropertyInvesting.com Pty Ltd | CEO
https://www.propertyinvesting.comSuccess comes from doing things differently
I think another good source for you to check out might be http://www.matusik.com.au . These guys try and crystal ball based on demographics amongst other things and they have been pretty accurate since I have known about them. (Wish I had known sooner). They produce a report called Snapshot. I actually met Michael Matusik last week and had a grewat chat, seems like a nice bloke.
This is not an endorsement and you must judge for yourself the merits of the report but at least it may give you some more statistical information about the area you want to buy in. An uneducated decision can cost you a lot of money but a bit of money spent up front educating yourself could make you a whole lot more.Enjoy
AD [:0)]
(Andrew)“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.”
Hi Guys,
Thanks for the advice [
]. I’ll check out the web sites (Soohie can these be uploaded to the links?) and I’ll look into getting a buyers advocate.Cheers
Adam[8D]
Hi Adam,
Just to let you know that I have recently purchased a unit in Southport (Gold Coast), and am verrrrry happy with the purchase.
It’s in a very modern four year old biulding, 700m from broadwater, 700m from Australia Fair shopping centre, 300m from the Gold Coast hospital, 2.1 km from the ocean beach, 3.5km to centre of Surfers Paradise for $192000, rental return $220 pw.
I’ve studied the area pretty well and came up with a conclusion that Southport could be a right combination of good rental return and even greater capital gain. It’s not totally dependant on turism. People live and work there, while it fully enjoys the charm of the Gold Coast.
Please, please be careful and stay away from merketeers, who usually target people overseas and interstate. If you can, go to Southport and see the prices for yourself, or at least check the prices over the net on sites like http://www.realestate.com.au or http://www.domain.com.au.
One more thing. Hurry. Prices are creeping up, I’ve noticed.Thanks
Milo
Hi Milo,
Thanks for the information. Yes Southport does look like a very attractive opportunity. I am looking at buy into a new development. I have put in an offer and the price of the other units have already started to go up! [
]It’s comforting to hear your comments about not relying on tourism as it means this will be a growth area in it’s own right. Likewise I understand there to be a lot of facilities in the Southport area, such as shopping centres, hospitals and the like. Fingers crossed as this is my first (of many!) investments.
Cheers
Adam
[8D]
“Those who try and fail are far better than those who do nothing and succeed”Hi Adam,
The web addresses mentioned are at the ‘useful links’ post. I will pop them into the ‘useful links #2’ so that you can find them easier.
Are you using deposit bonds on the off-the-plan purchases?
Cheers
Sooshie []“Giving is a Blessing, receiving is the bonus”
Hi Sooshie,
Thanks for putting them on the “Links Page” [
].Re-deposit bonds: No I’m not I was just going through the normal mortgage route. Is it more advantageous to use deposit bonds? [?] Sorry for the dumb question, still learning
Thanks
Adam
[8D]Hi Sooshie,
Thanks for the pointer on Deposit Bonds. I had a quick search on the forum and came up with quite a few previous posting. Useful ones (for me) were:
http://www.propertyinvesting.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1672
and
http://www.propertyinvesting.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=332#Cheers
Adam
[8D]Adam
Just some info.
Southport is indeed the main business centre on the Gold Coast. Having said that, it is not exactly a big business area, compared to other cities with 500 000+ population.
It is at the north end of the Gold Coast, which is useful as it is commutable to Brisbane. The hospital is also a plus as it attracts hospital workers who need rentals, and possibly older retirees who want to be close to a hospital. Another plus is The Southport School (boys) and St Hildas (girls) which are the top fee paying schools on the Gold Coast and amongst the top schools in Queensland.
However because it is is the business area, it is not as attractive to most(?) people buying on the Gold Coast, who are generally looking for beach, shopping and recreational facilities. (When I say most this is a personal opinion which has no research basis behind it!)
Thus, it may not get the capital gains of other ‘prettier’ areas that are being bought up by (a) retirees from Sydney and Melbourne or (b) families looking for somewhere nice to bring up the kids. I often think that those rich Sydneyites who are driving up the prices buy where they have holidayed, and that would not be Southport.
Big gains are being made on the Southern end of the Gold Coast. I bought a block of land for $65k there in March 02, and blocks in the same street have been recently sold at $180k and one cheeky guy has his on the market for $220k. Wish I’d bought two, as that boat has now sailed!!
AD –
Another reason that Michael Matusik may be worth listening to, is that his wife (I think she may be his wife, Matusik not being a common name, but I don’t know for sure) is very senior in Town Planning at the Brisbane City Council, therefore she would know the plans for areas being regenerated by the Council in the future. The BCC is a wealthy Council, and unlike Sydney and Melbourne it is the only Council for the vast majority of Brisbane so can take a big picture view of town planning. The BCC has quite a sophisticated town planning department, who take a very long term view which is not interrupted much by changes in government.
Choc
Choc,
Thanks some very useful information. I am still moving forward with the purchase and just trying to get the mortgage sorted out. Being non-resident I can only get an 80% mortgage, so makes the finance a little bit harder.
Cheers
Adam
[8D]
]. I’ll check out the web sites (Soohie can these be uploaded to the links?) and I’ll look into getting a buyers advocate.
]
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