Best Melbourne Suburbs to Invest up to $500K

On the General Property forum there was recently a thread on which areas people speculated would record good gains in the not-so-distant future.

The response (or rather the relative lack of it) is disappointing. My guess is that human nature takes precedence. If people think a particular area is going to boom, they're not going to let fellow investors get wind of it. In other words, you got to do the research yourself.

I'm a newcomer to the world of property and essentially still a first home buyer. But here's my two cents worth: when searching for a home to buy in Melbourne's outer east (proximity to my parents' home and workplace taking precedence), I chose Croydon over Ringwood, Bayswater, Boronia and Ferntree Gully.

Ringwood is pretty pricey these days for an average first home buyer, and perhaps a little 'busy' and congested for me. One of my workmates in particular told me not to buy in Ringwood. But Ringwood north is very nice, if you can still find a detached house on substantial block of land that's not under transmission lines, within your price range, consider that. Boronia seemed nice and even Bayswater was decent but was told by numerous people to avoid buying in these areas. To be honest though, any of the areas you could buy into at under 500K would have a stigma of some sort. That's the impression I'm getting. Even Croydon used to have a bad rap, from what I've heard and read.

Ferntree Gully…some told me it's a nice place and I saw a few houses there myself while shopping for a first home, but it's bordering on becoming a little too far from the CBD. If I wanted to live as far as FTG, I'd rather be looking even further out at say, Sassafras, which although is out in the sticks, is a beautiful tree-lined area, winding roads and general seclusion. In essence, it's actually special and has something going for it.

The options under 500K in the outer east expand considerably if you're looking for something like a unit/ townhouse. But for a detached house with land in that budget, it gets a little harder.

In the days when I was looking, Heathmont was my top choice, and it's had good apparent growth since then, pricing out the sub 500K buyers. Of course, I wanted to get something in Mitcham, Nunawading and even Vermont South, but I'd be hard-pressed to find something livable (and with land) in those areas under 500K.

Croydon is quiet and livable, is serviced by rail and buses, easy access to shopping, lots of schools including some prestigious ones. I like the area north of Maroondah highway, near Croydon Hills and Warranwood. In essence it is like being in the country and being able to drive to something more city-like (ie. Ringwood, Boronia) in minutes.

There's a book I've been reading that talks about buying average 3 bedroom houses on a 'family-sized block' in a 'working class area'. I think Croydon would qualify as 'working class', and you can probably still find such houses on blocks of land 800sqm or above, and for under 500K. To me that sounds like a decent buy. Maybe it's something that my Dad drilled into me, but as you can see I'm a big fan of actually owning land. If you wanted to buy into a unit, townhouse, apartment etc I'd be searching hard in the middle and inner suburbs. But good luck finding even a unit under 600K in Doncaster, Balwyn or Templestowe!!

Also, I'd rather be living in an older house in Croydon than a brand new house in say, Cranbourne, Berwick or Lyndhurst, or Hampton Park, even though you would certainly be able to afford land in both instances.

But remember again, I'm just a first home buyer looking to turn into an investor. Just thought I'd give you one opinion since you're getting none otherwise!

Note that the West is something I haven't researched into, but there is apparently good potential there also, so have a look into it…areas such as Werribee or Hoppers Crossing…Tarneit…

There was a fantastic lift out magazine in the Sunday Age the other week that comprehensively reviewed all Melbourne suburbs. If you like I could photocopy it for you and post to you?
BTW Melbourne's predicted population growth is huge.
Regards, Maree

Would this happen to be the Domain Property Review? It's a very interesting read with star ratings for quite a few suburbs. It's also interesting to see how the star ratings have changed since the last similar publication. Not sure if the increase in rating in some suburbs is anything to go by, but it could indicate increased confidence in the property market.

Not surprisingly though, the suburbs that you know and love have the highest star ratings but are also the most unaffordable. Some of the cheaper suburbs that buck this trend are arguably the ones you wouldn't want to be caught dead walking the streets in. Either that, or walk the streets and you'll be dead anyway. As an example, one of those suburbs I was considering was supposed to be so full of ferals that it wasn't going to be a nice place to live in.

OK, just kidding yeah…but read carefully and form your own opinion. Don't just look at 'star ratings'.

No worries – will copy tomorrow and pop in the post, it is a magazine style format and probably to large to scan and email. Cheers

Hi Christianb,

Can you still get into these burbs for under $500k, pretty good value if so.

I'm going to plug Boronia again as their council is proactively trying to change the community. Wantirna is tapped out, with very GREEDY vendors and a bit of a monopoly with the agent in town. It is very rare that I call people greedy but really at $750-$800k? It is Wantirna?!

Sunshine still ok, you can get in around $500k. It's getting pretty tough now…

D

Yeah pity I didn't get into Sunshine when you could buy in for $250k, pretty much in the centre of town Ah well, time to make money

D

Hi Gronk007,

Yeah, I did like Mitcham, Ringwood and Heathmont. The thing about Heathmont is that there is the not so nice bit, so have to be choosy. I also like Croydon South but that has also gone up quite a lot. Still like Bayswater which you can pick up a bv house for around $400-$450k. You can get into the nasty bit of Wantirna South for around $400-$450 Just depends. I think it is going to get pretty hard to find anything under that price quite soon. Family houses are a good bet, as are retiree size units of 2 beds in small blocks of 3 or 4 with courtyards.

Just my opinions

D