West south facing apartment

Hello all,

I have been looking at two apartments in the same block. One is east north facing and other one is west south facing. The first one is immaculate so I wouldn't have to do anything to the apartment. However, the courtyard is almost half the size of the other one. There is also an undeveloped site in front of the apartment and it will be built in late 2011/early 2012 and  finalised approx 2014. The second one also has an apartment block being built in front of it but the structural work is done and the noise is minimal. The difference between the two in square metres is the first one is 74 square metres and the second one is 80 square metres (courtyard size).

The first one has been on the market for 5 weeks now and has dropped in price from $399 to $389. I put in an offer for $370k which seems low but the very same agent sold an apartment for that price in November 2010. I have also been told by a resident yesterday that his apartment which is on the west facing side was valued at $380k in July 2010. I wasn't too concerned that the agent rejected my offer but he did it in a very rude manner and didn't ask me to counter offer. When I said, I'd leave my offer on the table more out of courtesy than anything, he was kind of like thanks but no thanks. I think he's a jerk and I'd prefer not to deal with him. A couple originally bought the apartment for $370k 18 months ago.

The second apartment has been on the market for 5 months but I don't think she has been motivated to sell. She got an offer of $365 last year and rejected it. Several of the apartments seemed to sell at the $360k – $370k range at that time so it was probably a good offer in those market conditions. The reason why they dropped apparently was because a new development was selling and this forced the price of older properties down. This property is coming up to 4 years old. I wanted to make the same offer of $370k but given I'd have to replace the carpet and paint the walls, I'd have to spend more money on it. This apartment was originally sold for $420k when the apartment block sell.

My real concern is the west south aspect. I know some nationalities will not even consider buying an apartment because it is west facing (feng shui). I work from home all day so I actually prefer a bit of shade during the day but I'm worried about how cold the apartment will be in the winter when it does not get the morning sun. Based on this, the other apartment is probably a better deal and I'd be prepared to up my offer but I don't think I could deal with that agent. I'm just not sure what to do at this point and whether a west south facing apartment is a dealbreaker.

This area near Homebush was overpriced a few years ago and properties sold off the plan were sold at ridiculous prices and if people are selling them too quickly, they are making a loss. I think the market has corrected and it's now at a good price point. Ideally, I don't want to pay more than $375k.

Any help/advice would be great. I'm new so be gentle