Hi All,
I have been thinking about buying an investment property in Albury. I currently live in Canberra, and as many of you woudl know, the prices here are disgusting.
My partner has all his family in Albury so we would vist regularly. Canberra is also not a great option as my partner is military. So if he gets posted elsewhere and I move with him, it would be hard to maintain a property in Canberra. I would not like to travel back to Canberra just for inspections and repairs. I am looking at buying in Albury (possibly Wodonga).
I am looking at 2-3 bedroom places in central Albury. I think in a few years there is a possabilty of moving there. From what I can tell, the rent would cover all but about $300 – 400 a month for the mortgage.
Is the rental homes in central Albury in demand? Would i be better off buying an apartment in this area? In canberra many families rent because it is so hard to get into the market. Is Albury similar? Or is it mostly apartments that go for rent?
Are uni students a good market to tap into? I know that students in Canberra are one of the reasons why inner city rental prices are so high.
The other thing I was thinking is buying in Wodonga and then leasing it to Defence Housing.
I really want to get into the rental market but Canberra is out of my league for now.
Any advice on the Albury market would be greatly appreciated.
hi lambchop
i am new to this site and property investing but i think that you should be talking to your partner about the implications of being posted to the albury area in terms of RA and the army making you live in the property that you own rather that providing you with a housing solution, i am in the defence also and am currently looking at these implacations and structures to get around the problem (trust company ect) to remain in receipt of RA but still be able to invest in property in the area i am posted.
sorry i cant help on the area even tho i was posted there for 18 months i wasnt realy intrested in property at the time.
hope this helps
wal
You need to do more research.
Where can you buy a place for $60,000? That's the purchase that will cost you $300-400 a week in interest? I think you have your figures wrong.
I wouldn't buy a unit. They are EVERYWHERE and rental demand is not strong in Albury.
If you bought an ex housing commission place ($130K) and did a quick reno (paint, carpet) it would rent for $210 a week which is CF neutral.
Personally I don't think Albury will go anywhere fast due to poor population growth but I have friends that disagree with me so who knows.Wall 88, you make a good point, thanks. I think if we were posted to Wodonga we would end up living in any place we owned so that would be ok. Please let me know what you do find out about the subsidies though as it would be good to know just in case.
Catalyst…. the $300 – $400 is what I would be out of pocket. The properties I have been looking at would require a mortgage repayment about 300 dollars p/m over what the rent return would be. This is what I meant. I did not mean that $300 is all the mortgage would be. I don’t expect to find a place for $60,000.
I am still need to do more research on the area. There are many articles out there on the big cities, but not much on places like Albury.
The housing commission idea is an interesting one. I think it would end up depending on whether i would want to live in the place in the end.Sorry that did sound a bit harsh. Being in an investment state of mind I always count 100% + purchase when calculating out of pocket.
If you have the money invested somewhere else (even in the bank) that is in effect costing you money.
If you have $80,000 sitting somewhere it could be earning $300 a month so that IS a cost to you.Good luck. Some of the Housing comm places are quite good. Others aren't. Research the areas. Personally I like North Albury and wouldn't touch west Albury. Some Real Estate agents won't put rental places on their books in some streets there.
Good luck. I like the feel of the town. Everyone was very friendly each time we visited. I wouldn't mind living there myself if it wasn't so far away (and cold).
Lambchop
I have been investing in Albury and Wodonga, it is worth thinking of the place as a whole ie with a population of 100,000 people approx. The places dont increase in prices like capital cities however the costs are close to covering expenses.ie lower capital appreciation but higher rental return
You can pick up a brand new 4 bedroom house these days, including stamp duty costs and all for around $320 to $340k and renting at $380 to $400 a week. (This was the case in Wodonga, Albury would be similar but there are about $5K more in costs to cover off rainwater tanks etc to meet planning requirements) I said brand new as there is still depreciation also that basically makes the place close to cost netural.
I think the vacancy rates at present are less than 0.5% (wodonga) and have been for some time, but you just need to get a copy of the local saturdays paper and the vacancy rates are written in there,
Good luck
mr463.
Lambchop,
Whenever i a m looking to buy an investment property I call a number of real estate agents and ask to speak to their property managers. You can find out what areas of town they would not put tenants into., what areas have the highest demand, what type of property are most sought after as well as any other 'tricks of the trade' to attract quality tenants.
When you buy an investment property you have an ongoing relationship with the property manager, so they are going to be more 'truthful' for want of a better word, regarding the suitability of the property as an investment. Salesman just wnat their commission and then they move onto the next property. The last thing a property manager wants is to be dealing with troublesome tenants, problematic properties (repairs etc) and unhappy landlords.
I have even had my property manager go and inspect prospective properties for me to give me her feedback on which property would be the best buy. ( I don't live in the town where i have two of my best properties)
cheers
Sonya
HI, I was in the Military for 10 years and i am aware of RA requirements. During my service i brought 8 investment properties at different times in my career. The key to investing in property is to use you head and not your heart. Your family is in Albany so there is a very strong emotional pull to buying there. However well selected properties in Major cities are the investments as they will always have strong underlying demand. <moderator: delete advertising> Ty
There are a lot of factors to weigh into when investing in Albury / Wodonga
First, it has been previously a town that resided on the transit from Vic to Nsw. With the recent bypass thats no longer a transit requirement. It doesnt stop it from being a nice convenient 4 hr stopover from Melb .. or a 6 hr stopover from Sydney. Its just not necessarily a direct destination anymore.
Second, the pressures on both industry and land prices are making towns with established industrial zones and good transport systems much more desirable. Albury/Wodonga may be at a lowpoint now, but it has all the right ingredients to provide a good quick employment grid for any industry that requires workers, transport and location close to commercial/business zones.
Third, because of its position and usage, it too has suffered from the rural drought. Any rains or change in farming patterns around it and it just takes off again.
In summary, as long as its a well established town with good infrastructure and good business potential, it beats the hell out of a lot of other proposed investment destinations. However .. all this requires industry and manufacturing to return to the area. Thats a judgement you have to make for yourself.
Returns can be as high as 8.5% and units can start from 70k for a 1br .. 100-120k for a 2br and about 250k for a house (W/B is less).
Because of the tenancy and work situation rents are low in comparison and there are a lot of long term low budget tenancies at the moment. There is a high amount of established units in the area and good parklands.Because of the relatively low unit price it is still possible to buy whole blocks of units, which is great if you want to avoid dealing with owner contributorys (you own the lot .. so you control that aspect)
There are two major shopping centres in the area and one major shopping strip. There is a Centro Lavington (North Albury) and a Centro Wodonga. Both are substantial shopping centres which supply all basic needs.
Without stating the obvious, dont forget in Wodonga you are dealing with VIC law and requirements .. and in Albury/Lavington/Thurgoona you are dealing with NSW law and requirements.
I have 3 investment properties in Albury so that undoubtedly influences my opinion. One is cashflow positive, one cashflow neutral and one negatively geared. I have never had a problem finding a tenant, all were tenanted within 2 weeks of being advertised each time.
I would avoid much of West Albury and Glenroy. You really need to know the area as there are some fine areas of Lavington and some absolute hovels.
Albury is good in that it is close enough to Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra. It also has pretty much everything you need in the way of goods and services.
However, I wouldn’t buy another property there as I think there are so many better options. As far as rental return goes it is fairly low. I’d say on average around 6%. Also don’t look for growth in the short term here, I would say property prices in Albury have decreased slightly in the past 5 years and at the moment they have stagnated. A purchase in this region is, in my opinion, a buy and hold.
Hi everyone, just moved to albury and i am looking into investing in real estate. Does anyone know how much are the rental yields and capital growth rates at the moment? Should i invest in a house or a unit? Also , do i get any help as a first time buyer? Any reply would be much appreciated.
Hi everyone, just moved to albury and i am looking into investing in real estate. Does anyone know how much are the rental yields and capital growth rates at the moment? Should i invest in a house or a unit? Also , do i get any help as a first time buyer? Any reply would be much appreciated.
Hi @kristop – rental yields vary a lot depending on the price you pay and the rent you achieve. In general you will get more rent for more bedrooms and nicer paint/carpet/cosmetic condition. Plenty of research for you to do before you jump in. Albury is a great town but not the only place to invest either. Are you planning on living in it?
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