Any experience with Gosford?

Hi Shabar

I'll admit…   i'm a local.

If you are looking for a commuter special (500 mts walk to station) i would avoid anything on the hospital side of the train line. Commonly known as 'the wrong side of the tracks' (Holden Street, Faunce St West etc).

I would choose something in either Hills St, Beane St East or Gertrude St. You should be able to get a good 2 bed unit / townhouse for low 240's.

If you weren't too worried about the 500mtr walk to station, then Harry Parry Drive would be the go…   you can get some very nice 'executive units' with water views, 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, granite bench tops etc for low 300's.

Hope this helps…

Matt

Hi, i just thiught id join in this conversation.

Ive been staying up the central coast for 3 years now (i dont own anything so id like to think im not biased, but i currently rent in Woy Woy) here is my opinion.

Umina cops a lot of flak about the mt druitt by the sea stuff. These days it is getting revamped slowly and i have noticed more and more nicer houses going up and families down there. The CBD is set to be redeveloped and the Umina mall to be knocked down and re-done. Being close to this area in Woy Woy I go down to this beach almost every week and have never been a victim of crime. The beach is gorgeous and usually you have a large area to yourself. Many times i’ve had the entire beach to myself on colder days. This is really an area to keep and eye on. Same goes for Ettalong Beach next door to Umina, however this is already getting much more expensive.

Woy woy is a beautiful area but let down by council inaction. I live here for the convenience of commuting to sydney, it really is great for that. 1 hour exactly to St Leonards, fantastic. The cbd is in decline though and many businesses have relocated to either Umina, Erina or some cases Ettalong.

I do not like Gosford Cbd at all. Apparently it is in line for a huge makeover so this would be worth considering but its current state is dreadful. Junkies galore in the park outside, and one of the shopping centres even being bulldozed into a carpark due to it being so dead. This area has plenty of potential though, someone just needs to spark it. Personally i would buy in East Gosford. It is a very nice suburb a stone throw away from Gosford and Erina and seems very peaceful. I would expect it to boom in future years.

Erina is nice however very busy. It really is the cbd of the central coast now, taken over from Gosford, however there is no train line so traffic is a nightmare. The shopping centre however, is fantastic.

Narara, lisarow, niagra park etc in Gosford are all reasonable suburbs in my opinion. They are all further away from the beach but seem nice if you buy on the right street.

I would not buy in the Wyong shire unless you are near water. I was suprised one of the previous posters mentioned Umina as a problem but not Wyong. Just go and have a drive around this area ( Wyong itself and Watanobbi especially) high housing commission, an extra half an hour commute to sydney each way than woy woy and a cbd that seems to be filled with drug users. People ive known up there have told me Woy woy and Umina are double bay compared to Wyong, and these are people that live there. Driving through i would tend to agree. Bateu bay and forresters beach are beautiful areas up that way however.

All in all i guess we are all opinionated, however not owning property anywhere yet, i like to think i can offer a good insight. I would close off by saying that almost anywhere in gosford area particularly would be a safer bet than Western Sydney. People complain about crime up here but sometimes i think its to keep a booming population away. Driving through supposed crime hotspots like Woy Woy and Narara at night, i’ve been lucky to even see a person on the street. It overall is just quiet. Driving through Mt druitt at night though or Campbelltown ( which i have when i lived in Sydney) there are gangs trawling the streets, particularly near the train stations.

Hope this provides some insight.

Well this is a late response.

However I suggest you read and watch the following;

An independentresponse to the development proposed for the waterfront by the Urban Development Institute of Australia:
http://www.udia-nsw.com.au/resource/UDIA%20NSW%20Gosford%20City%20Centre%20Plan%20Submission.pdf

Business insider interview giving a small insight to the pro’s of the development
http://www.businessinsider.net.au/stories/property/the-landing–meet-the-project-leaders

I have purchased a 3 bedroom house which I am currently living in at North Gosford – however this is for a long term investment. It was under well under $300.000 and you can still buy houses at this price.

I would suggest not buying a unit or townhouse (unless maybe you can get a good deal off plan) – reason for this is that there are A LOT of townhouses going up and with the developments will be a lot of units also. So there will be a huge supply and a delayed demand – until gosford is in full swing. If you buy a cheap older apartment now I think it will stay in the lower rental bracket for a long time even once the city is built.

Houses on the other hand I bet will increase- If I rented my house now (within 6 months of buying and minor modernisation -under$3500) it will pay for the mortgage entirely. at $360 pw.(vs $290 estimate on purchase) Once developments take place we have a house in an area where units and townhouses are in abundance and decent houses are in less supply.

(15mins walk to CBD)

Gosford has a long history of being unsustainable with Joblessness and being a dead city. There is a fear that they will build all this waterfront and it will still not attract business. Major reason being Tuggerahs large modern and affordable business parks. just a short drive north.

There would be a huge reliance on Government to move it’s departments to Gosford CBD – at the moment they expect that a QUARTER? of the office space that will be built will be government departments. – I personally think a lot rests on State gov departments moving to Gosford.

Research yourself. I am only mid 20s so am not savvy or experienced but did my research and am confident that it will pay off. our goal was to have a house we could pay off in less than 5 years and keep for 20 and have the rent contribute to our next investment or home.

I was speaking to a mate of mine who is an experienced property investor. He suggested to invest in Gosford, and he's got a number of properties there.

For me personally, I'm sticking with researching and investing in Sydney's West. This area seemed to have good growth in 2011.