Hi,
I currently live in Hobart, but will soon be moving to Melbourne for work. I am looking to buy a two bedroom apartment in the docklands to live – I will rent out the second bedroom to help with the mortgage repayments. I like the idea of the docklands as it would be a short walk to work, plus it is near the footy at Telstra Dome.
I was just wondering what are your opinions on the docklands and whether now is a good time to buy or would I be better off renting for the time being?
Regards
Brad
At the moment it is quite cheap to rent in the docklands, however having said that the prices there are negotiable as well.
I inspected a property there. A nice 2 bedroom place. The owners had it on the market for a while and had dropped the price from $420k to $380k and said they needed to get $380k for it at the very least. I got the impression this was their mortgage payout figure.
With that in mind I imagine a number fo the sellers in Docklands are in a similar position and you may be able to negotiate a reasonable price. I think, considering the age and location of the docklands apartments that a reasonable 2 bedder could be had for around the $350k mark, though with some persistence you may get it a bit lower. On the other hand there are plenty of good 2 bedroom places deeper in the city going for less.
Docklands is about lifestyle and i think if you give it at least another 5 years it will be a hot place to live and own. At the moment it is a little remote from the traditional activity centres of the city and is right where all the industrial sites used to be. So there are cheap old houses, brothels, light industrial and so on all around that part of Melbourne. It will take a while to get more like East Melbourne, it may never make it. But it is nice enough I think (I live in East Melbourne, so I’m biased).
I hope this has helped.
What you have to consider is how long will you remain in Melbourne. If you are looking long term then the Docklands will be a great long term investment. Ten years from now dockland will be a blue chip investment. If you are moving for only a couple of years then you may be better to look in St Kilda, Elwood Port Melbourne, Albert Park for an older say art deco apartment which will hold its value in the short to medium term
Nigel Kibel
http://www.propertyknowhow.com.au
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Hi Braddles4,
If you want to rent the second bedroom out, have a look at Franklin St where you might get $200 / week (considering to rent out 1 bedroom apartment is roughly about $300 – $320 mark). However obviously it is a bit far from your work and Telstra Dome (about 10 minutes by tram).
cheers
Docklands is an unknown in my opinion.
One thing’s for sure, there’s a huge number of vacant apartments and rent is extremely low due to over supply. Melbourne has just undergone a huge apartment boom all over the city, and inner suburbs.
The state government has plans for the region but I’m not sure it will ever compete with suburbs like Port Melbourne, St Kilda, Albert Park and South Melbourne which are close by. Melbourne has so many great precincts and Docklands may not ever be up to it. It has a few good restaurants but not much else. To me it looks like hype. So what if it’s on the water. It’s not that attractive anyway.
If you want lifestyle I recommend moving to St Kilda, Port Melbourne of Albert Park. From there you can catch a tram into the city in 10 mins or even walk if you feel like it. Also Chapel Street in South Yarra/Prahan, and Acland St/Fitzroy St in St Kilda are right on your doorstep and they make Docklands look like a ghost town and they’re on the water.
Docklands is in a league of its own, and is inappropriate to compare to suburbs like St Kilda, Port Melbourne, South Melb etc. Docklands precinct facilities are world class – and is unfair to be de-valued by comparing such facilities to cheaper local level facilities. As to the current over supply of properties in the Docklands – I say Yippee! Great time to buy (when nobody else wants to) By the time everybody wants a piece of it, the prices will be too high for most of us to afford.
In every market condition – downturn / upturn whatever – there are opportunities for all of us. Change our strategies to most the most of the current situation.PropertyAllSorts
Doesn’t matter what type of property – as long as the figures stack up!!
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