Hi all,
I've lived in Melton for some time now, and have been watching the property market closely over the past 2 - 3 years now.
I have also studied Werribee, Ballarat, Hoppers and Sydenham.
I can say that from all the data I have collated and the things I've seen, I'd be happy to invest in up to 3 houses/units in Melton over the next 12 months.
Melton is great for rental yield, but not so good for Capital growth unless you have a keen eye for opportunity.
There are currently 4 - 5 units for sale near the Melton train station.
All are approx. 22 years old, 2 bedroom, and need that little reno's touch.
They're all going for $135 - $145,000.
The rentals there are $145 at minimum, and some are on $170 p/w
With a bit of TLC, rent can get as high as $175 p/w as there is a great shortage of rental properties in Melton at the moment.
If you do a search on
www.realestate.com.au for rentals in Melton, you will see that by next week, half of them would have been rented out.
I haven't seen a unit near the station be on the vacant list for more than 3 weeks - no matter what the asking rent is.
If you do the math, you'll see that Melton (along with Ballarat and Geelong) is good for rental yield, especially the units as long as you complete your due diligence
If your looking for capital growth in Melton, I would recommend Westlake, Woodgrove Walk, or Central Melton. Most houses in the west are under 15 years old and there is no lateral movement.
We built a house 9 years ago for $160,000 and it was valued last month by RACV to be $310,000.
That's great news, but unfortunately the market value and the sale price are not always the same.
As Melton has had a HUGE sale boom (Over 200 listings on the books at any given time for the past 2 months), there is more of a market for buyers, leading to more powerful negotiations and less leverage for sellers.
As Melton is the 2nd largest growing suburb in Victoria (over the last 12 months), and with plans for an increased shopping mall, harness racing course and plans for 2 new estates, It's going to surpass Geelong and Ballarat.
Demographically, each suburb's population will happily fill the needs of rentals today, no matter what area you choose.
Choosing between, or comparing Melton to any other suburb really comes down to what you feel more comfortable with.
I'm sure if I had lived in Ballarat or Werribee I would be biased on those suburbs.
I'd try and get in on the areas that have houses going for around the $200k mark as they have room to grow. You could expect a $350k house to keep doubling over the next 20 year or so, but that would only be the "Market Value" and as stated above, people just wont pay that.
Put some investment options on paper and compare one $350k house to 2 $180k houses.
Some other good resources are found at:
http://www.propertyupdate.com.au/
http://www.propertyinvesting.com/
http://www.residex.com.au/index.php?content=top100&from=lhsmenu
P.S.
I just put an offer on an IP this morning for a house in Melton.