Hi Hfat,

Where to buy and what are the emerging suburbs in Melbourne? ?? I can only share the experience of my first property investment that i bought back in mid 2005. It is located in the inner city bayside suburb of St. Kilda (cafe' society capital). A 2 bedroom apartment bought for $252,000. I renovated it (new kitchen/bathroom/floors etc.) and in the space of two years it has grown to a value of over $431,000!!!! I attended an auction today of an apartment in the same block as mine (not even renovated) and it sold for $431,000. So that is quite an impressive growth, due mainly to the fact that their is currently a huge DEMAND for the area and its neighbouring suburs (elwood, st. kilda west etc) and their is simply not enough stock to meet the DEMAND!!
I suggest that if you can get into the market in these areas (particulary east st.kilda which i feel is a little undervalued) it would be "less risky"  and very hard to lose money on your property over the long run whilst also achieving above average growth!
JUST REMEMBER DO YOUR RESEARCH AND NEVER PAY TOO MUCH IN THE FIRST PLACE! KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE MARKET.