I've spent close to three months searching now and made a few failed offers.
My aim is to just get into the market on the low end with something that is easy to manage and decent rental yield to just buy and hold. Hoping to get something around the 250k mark. Once I'm in I will look at more creative options like sub-dividing renovating etc
I'm hesitant to buy in mining towns as little cautious of the ups and downs and would rather buy in an established area.
As such two areas that peaked my interest are Auburn in NSW and Carlton in Vic. There are a fair few suburbs similar but just picked one from NSW and VIC with slightly different situations
Auburn is 19km's west from Sydney on the train line and not far from Parramatta. It is very multicultural and has a lot of apartments in the area and seems to have a very low rental vacancy. I gather the CG probably wont be massive but the rental yield is very good of 7.5%+ on the purchase price which I think is very good so close to the city. I've linked a property
for sale there that seems to be the standard for the area:
http://www.realestate.com.au/property-apartment-nsw-auburn-107139088I've read reviews on the suburb that are very mixed so really not sure. Racial tensions seem to be high there as well so does concern me a little.
Carlton is obviously in the heart of Melbourne and is full of student accomodation, something i'm not even considering. In saying that like Auburn theres plenty of apartments around(not student accom) that is showing even higher rental yields some as high as 9%. Carlton seems to have a lot of decent reviews though but 9% yield in the middle of the city seems really strange and am very weary of this. Once again linked a property that seem fairly common:
http://www.realestate.com.au/property-apartment-vic-carlton-107247267As said there's plenty of properties in these suburbs and others close by but when some of these properties have been sitting around for 6 months it makes me think there maybe some stigma associated with them. From raw numbers though they look ideal to what i'm after but no use buying if there just money buckets…
Cheers,
Matt
Both are good depending upon your goals. Carlton will always be a popular inner city destination known for its restaurant strip. Auburn is in the westernest suburbs & that won’t change.
If you can find something decent in carlton, go for it.
I cannot speak for Carlton, but I have lived my life in the western suburbs of Sydney, and currently own a house in Seven Hills, which is a few suburbs along from Auburn (the other side of Parramatta). These suburbs do tend to have a bad reputation, which is understandable, there are a few problems here, but I do not think it is that much worse than other areas.
One thing I have noticed is that even within the suburb, there are good and bad parts, good streets and bad streets, where I live in Seven Hills is perfectly fine, in fact I really like living here, a lot more than when I lived in Mascot (supposedly a much more desireable suburb than Seven Hills) but I know that if I live in a 'dodgy' street then it would be different. I guess you need to have a look closely at the suburb and determine if you are in one of the better areas.
570 Lygon St is an exception to the usual student accomodation in Carlton. It was built as student accomodation originally but unfortunately or fortunately for the owners .. the required specification for students only was not mentioned in the contracts. So a group of the owners went to the body management and finally the council and overturned the 'student only' use. Unfortunately for anyone purchasing .. the banks still see them as such.
From student only to variable tenancies .. they went up 40% overnight. Now the places that were trading at 110-130k now trade at closer to 200-230k .. simply because of the change in agreements.
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Xdrew,
Thanks for the response think you have identified exactly why they are priced as they are. I've been very weary of Auburn and think i might cross it off my list.
Interesting what you say about the Lygon street, Carlton though, seems that once that 'stigma' associated with being an ex-student accommodation disappears prices could continue to rise above what they are. Might have to chat to my mortgage broker and see what he thinks. Find it odd that banks would be hesitant if its your normal run of the mill apartment and not tied into student accommodation. Considering the prices of other apartments in the area could be worth further investigation.
There not likely to add the specification of it being student accomodation are they?Cheers,
Matt
Actually,
http://www.collegesquare.ymca.org.au/about/Pages/default.aspx
Obviously is student accommodation….
Fully wrote:Actually,http://www.collegesquare.ymca.org.au/about/Pages/default.aspx
Obviously is student accommodation….
Still student accomodation, and run under management. The conditions of occupation is whats changed. Under a student covenant the management are only allowed to have the place used by current active students and no-one else. Under the newer terms the property can now have an owner occupier or rental tenancy OR a student within the property.
They still fall under the banks criteria as student accomodation. And for that I'd be hard pressed to find a single broker in Melbourne who is prepared to lend on them at the moment. If you know anyone who is lending on student accom at the moment please tell me, as my understanding is the goodwill for lending on these has just about dried up.
as for Auburn, is this the old ambassador motel which was converted to units several years ago?
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