Hi All,
I am new to the property market and am currently looking at building a house to take advantage of the first home builder grant. I have been looking at areas on the south coast of NSW and the Illawarra, as I need to live in the property. The idea is that we will live in the property for at least the required 6 months and then look to sell the property and aim to turn a profit on it. I have been looking at land in a new subdevelopment in Berry NSW and it seems as though this may be an option. The property is currently close to the highway (approx 300m). The highway is currently slow (50km/h) but there are plans for a bypass which will speed it up to 80-100 km/hour. I am aware there will potentially be noise and visual impacts although visual is considered minimal as the property will face away from the highway.
I am interested in peoples thoughts on what effect the highway might have on the property prices in the area. It is a small town which relies on tourism for its support however is only a 15min drive from Nowra a regional centre (maybe shorter after the bypass). The property will be across the highway from berry but is still quite accessible with an overpass which has pedestrian and cycle access on both sides. The access to the highway is obviously close improving the transportation for people who work up the coast.
Here is some bypass info:
http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/roadprojects/projects/princes_hway/foxground_berry_bypass/
An opinion piece about the highway splitting the town:
If anyone has any advice, previous experience around bypasses, suggestions for further research I would love to hear it.
Thanks in Advance
Nathan
It depends upon the town – Goulburn, Albury & Wodonga have been bypassed on the Hume Hwy and are still thriving cities. Tarcutta and many other small towns have simply died.
Have a look at Mittagong/Berima and the time it has taken for them to get back on their feet as tourist towns (Berry would be similar IMO).
As Scott has said the bypass solution does not work for all towns. For Berri, it could go either way.
From memory Berri is that type of town you would deliberately drive to so you could appreciate all that it had to offer. The question is would the loss of much of the passing traffic be outweighed by a desire to go to Berri.
Yeah seems as though it is a difficult one to judge. I'd say there is a reasonable chance some of the local business will suffer from the lack of passing traffic, It will still be a nice spot to stop on your way through however a lot of people wont bother leaving the highway. Thanks for your advice guys I think I will stay away but watch with interest.
My guess is that regional areas will take a hit as the economy slows. If we see a lower dollar and inflation over the next few years people will look to live closer to their work and area of activity. That will reduce demand for many areas and may see some move away to capture savings in living closer to their areas of most activity. I saw this Sydney when there was a big move west and then several years later they were moving back because it was cheaper to pay higher rents/prices and live closer in than the commute and time costs.
Hey Freckle, did they build a Sydney by-pass? I hear that town is still booming.
Hi Nathan,
I know Berry pretty well being born and bred there. Given the area is a 'destination' town for the Sydney mob, I don't think the bypass will have a huge effect on the local economy. However it will impact significantly on the price of some properties because of the stupidity of the planning which sees it cut the town in half and ruin the beautiful setting – sorry, having a rant! A lot of houses currently looking over paddocks towards the mountains will be looking at a concrete overpass when the bypass comes. Shoulda gone the southern route and followed the trainline
The other thing to consider carefully when deciding where to buy is the on/off ramps. You'll notice a lot of established houses at the southern end of the main street and the bottom of kangaroo valley rd are currently on the market because of the impending ramps (or possibly the fear that it will have an impact on their property.) Also I'd be a little careful buying in the new subdivision behind the speed camera heading out of town southbound (huntingdale??) because there's been a lot of talk that the bypass would impact on the values and I think it maybe putting buyers off – having said that if you've done your research and are planning to hold it for a few years until after the bypass is finished, perhaps you can get a good equity gain because some of the blocks are well priced. Ideally you would want a vacant block in town but there's not really anything available.
Interestingly, we had friends who sold their home for next to nothing in Berry 25 years ago because it was on the line of where the bypass was supposedly going and now it's worth a fortune.
Good luck, you'll love the town of trees if you do decide to move there!
Rusty
Nathan,
Following from my previous comment funding has been approved for the Berry By-pass and the RTA has a fancy interacting digital image thingy on their website which gives some idea of where the bypass will be.
Rusty
Hi Rusty,
Thanks for the update, the video is very clear now! We were looking in the Huntingdale park estate which will be effected by the bypass for sure. We have decided not to take the risk as we are not sure how long we would be staying and it is too large a risk for our first property. It is a shame though as you say some of the blocks are quite reasonably priced.
You are still living in the area then? Have you done much property investing in the local area?
Hi,
Interestingly we looked at a few houses in Berry over the weekend and are just trying to figure out if the bypass will impact on them. Apart from our PPOR we haven't invested there as yet.
So does that mean Berry's off the list for you or you will just try and find a block elsewhere in town?
– Rusty
Have a look at what the large international companies and large Australia grocery companies are doing. If they are building new supermarket and hardware store than someone has already do the risk analysis of the effect of the bypass for you.
Hi Rusty,
We have currently moved our search a little further North to the Kiama/Gerringong area. We are looking at options to take advantage of the potential to holiday let in peak periods as we have options to stay elsewhere when we need to. Potentially an annoying way to live but will be a big help to us in saving for our first investment property. Were you able to come to a conclusion on what you think the bypass will do to the properties you looked at? Were they in town?
Thanks for your suggestion Don!
Nathan
Nathan,
We've certainly ruled one out because it's just too close to the bypass. Will be looking at a couple this week with the potential to subdivide, keep the house and sell the block -if funds allow!
Now might be a good time to pick up a bargain with the Bypass creating uncertainty. Good luck I'd be interested to know how you go.
There are certainly some desperate sellers. One house we looked at was asking offers above $440000, then listed as $440000 now down to $400000. Bank val came in at $425 and the agent said they're still pretty negotiable. Reckon you could get it for $380 but the question is what will it be worth when it looks onto the bypass?
Money to be made if you get it right, but you could also have no CG at all. We've decided this one's too big a risk.
I'll keep you posted.
Yeah thats exactly what put us off especially having no experience and at such an early stage of our PI career. Thanks Rusty!
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