Hi DWG

I was considering buying a investment property there in December 2007, however was in process of changing employment and decided not buy.

Houses in Corio are slighly more expensive, partly due to closer proximity to th Corio Village Shopping Centre which I undderstand is the largest in the Geelong area.

Both suburbs have a lot of ex-housing trust weatherboard 2/3 bedders some of which have been done up are or in other cases torn down replaced by two modern 2 bedroom units. A standard block in this area is 600 plus sqm which allows for a multiple unit development subject to council consent of course.

Yes, people I spoke to while I was over there (real estate agents, taxi drivers, etc) did mention that the area does have a high proportion of people on welfare. Conversely it does also provide more affordable housing alternative to people who work in North Geelong and are willing to commute.  

 I was partly interested in the area due to the proposed expansion of Avalon Airport. This may have now been shelved due to the ciurrent economic climate. This is worthy of further investigation. 
Also at the time, I also remember the Victorian state government made a budget comiitment to fund the construction of low-cost housing  in the area.

Hope this helps
Frank

Hi

I have not invested in Calabria, however I was there 18 months ago visiting relatives.

I was staying at a town called Foca near the Ionian Sea coast in the province of Regio Calabria (southern most province) which has some of the best beaches in Italy.  I noticed there was quite a lot of appartments being developed along the coast in places like Rochella Ionica.

It seems a popular place during the warmer months of the year (ie:July-Sep) as northern Italians flock down to soak up the sun.  However, according to my relatives its a lot quieter during the winter months. Agriculture is still the most important industry in the entire Calabrian region, however I got the impression that the tourism is becomming increasingly important to the area. Many locals left of the region after world war 2  to pursue employment  in the industrial north part  of Italy due to a lack of employment opportunites in the industries other than agriculture. As a far as I could gather, this is still an issue. 

In terms of your proposed investment, if you are looking for long-term capital growth then you would want to look at population trends and also look for evidence any emerging industries that are going to stimulate and sustain the local economy.
If your buying near the coast then renting out the property during the summer should not be difficult, however this may be a concern during the remainder of the year.  

At the end of the day, like any investment you'll need to do your due dilligence. Hope this helps.

Regards
Frank  

Hi
I believe this information can be obtained from your state’s Land Titles Office for a fee. A land conveyancer or real estate agent may also know where to source this information.

Regards

FrankIerace