Altona, Vic
- Thread starter eden
- Start date
I have stayed in Altona since July 2007. This is the first time that I see such an extensive amount of seaweed. I would say the seaweed problem does not occur all the time, at least it doesn't occur for almost an entire year that I have stayed here.
I don't smell anything from my house which is located about 1.5 km from the sea. Hence, if the smell is an issue, potential buyers could try to find for houses further away from the sea.
Our family has always loved driving along the Esplanade from the western end at Apex Park to the eastern end at Altona Coastal Park. This is a very scenic drive with superb views of the very long coastline, which is hugged with Norfolk pines. We enjoy the walks on the Pier, along the foreshore, around Cherry Lake, from Apex Park to Truganina Park across Skeleton Creek Bridge, on the receded shore of Altona Coastal Park during low tides, etc. We also enjoy the view of the huge Kooringal Golf Course which we find captivating.
At some places along the foreshore e.g. at Seaholme and at Apex Park, you can clearly see the Melbourne CBD (including the Eureka Tower) and the Dandenong Mountains.
We have seen tour coaches bringing tourists here. I think primarily because there is a Beach Market every Tuesday. In addition, there is the Altona Homestead, Cherry Lake Sunday Market, the Altona Miniature Rail not far away and of course, the annual Altona Bayside Festival with its colourful parade, firework and competitions.
We don't regret having our home in Altona. Of course, thing will be better if the seaweed problem could be solved.
There's a photo of Skeleton Creek here:
http://www.hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au/page/page.asp?Page_id=1966&preview=true&resetNv=true
Some photos of Cherry Lake:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/anthony-linda/sets/72157600918839391/detail/
I don't think the smell will be an issue from the houses. It's noticeable when you are right at the beach near the seaweeds, but definitely not from the built up areas.
just another question
for those of you that are familiar with prices in beachside suburbs,
eg altona,
where esplanade properties are between 800-$1m, which is fair enough
but how much of a price drop is it to be living one street in, I mean, you don't get any sea views unless you are lucky, yes you are close to beach, so is there a magic formula or guideline that we can use or judge?
for those of you that are familiar with prices in beachside suburbs,
eg altona,
where esplanade properties are between 800-$1m, which is fair enough
but how much of a price drop is it to be living one street in, I mean, you don't get any sea views unless you are lucky, yes you are close to beach, so is there a magic formula or guideline that we can use or judge?
I am not aware of any magic formula but I think this will also depend on many other factors such as the land size, location within the suburb, proximity to train station, shopping, etc, residential type (house/unit), house type (brick/weatherboard, number of storeys), condition and age of house and so on.
For Altona, if you are talking of location, the priciest houses are those on the Esplanade and near Pier St. Houses south of the railway line are more expensive than those north of the line while houses towards the eastern part are more expensive than those on the western part.
In May 2007, when I was looking for a house, this 3-storeys townhouse at 2 Manning St Altona (look at Google Maps, Street View), which have views of the sea from the living room and all bedrooms, was selling for $470K. The median house price for Altona had gone up greatly since then.
one thing to remember about altona is the the heavy industry right on the door step. thats why the prices are cheaper than say Rosanna. if you don t mind livinge close to the likes of mobil,quenos and few others its ok.
the beaches aren't perfect either. not bagging it I actually like the area and would live there if my budget would allow have a good look around before buy is what I would say.
cheers
meggala
the beaches aren't perfect either. not bagging it I actually like the area and would live there if my budget would allow have a good look around before buy is what I would say.
cheers
meggala
to me this couldn't be a better sign,
it means that the potential has not yet been exposed yet,
just a few years you would have said EXACTLY The same thing for brunswick/coburg, YUCK! industrial area with prisons, who would want to live there! the rest is all history!
Except these areas are "heavy industrial", refineries, big tanks etc. It's one thing to have an area filled with warehouses which can be re-located/turned into housing, but how likely are mobil to turn around in the near term and re-build/re-locate their major infrastructure somewhere else?
The residential part of Altona is located considerably far away from the industrial part. If you look at Google Maps Satellite View, Altona North is the closest suburb to the Mobil Refinery, followed by the northern part of Seaholme and the western part of Newport, then Altona's residential area. Hence, from Altona's residential area, you will be unaware of the existence of the industries. This is unlike areas in some suburbs where houses just face the factories or industries. An example will be residences just opposite the Mobil Refinery in Yarraville. But this does not prevent the price of these properties from skyrocketing.
Also you won't see any trucks going through the residential areas, unlike those thundering through Yarraville's Francis Street and Somerville Road. The V-line trains also bypass the Altona Loop by travelling directly from Laverton to Newport Station using the outer line. I always have seat when I board the Werribee Train in the morning at Westona Station.
When my wife pointed out to me, I then realized that Altona does not have a single traffic light within the residential area. It relies on 3 roundabouts at the major intersections, which is a very common feature in the Western suburbs such as Werribee, Hopper Crossing and in the new suburbs such as Point Cook, Caroline Spring. However, unlike the other suburbs, the roads in Altona are wide and very straight. The roads in the other suburbs tend to be curvy, meandering and narrow, some with one lane - features that I greatly dislike though this may be designed to reduce car speed. The road system in Altona is like a rectangular grid while those in the other suburbs have many intertwining circles and boulevards, which I find confusing when finding directions. The speed limit in Altona is 60 km/h on Civic Parade and Millers Rd. The speed limit on the road in front of my house is 40 km/h. Hence, I find driving in Altona leisurely and relaxed while I tend to be very wary on the many one-lane 70 km/h roads in Wyndham Vale, Werribee & Hoppers Crossing.
I agree that the Mobil Refinery and the Qenos Plant is a major factor keeping down the house price in Altona. Without the industry, its median house price will be vastly different. It is precisely because of this reason that I am able to afford a house in Altona in May 2007. A crucial selection criterion at that time is that the house must be within 10 minutes walking distance from a Zone 1 train station. With a map of Melbourne, I went along the different train lines starting from the Melbourne CBD outwards and looked at the advertised house located near each train station. I soon realized that with my budget, if I looked eastwards, this will land me in a Zone 2 suburb as far away as Springvale and Noble Park. It was then that I discovered Altona and found that its median house price with still within my budget at that time.
So I went to check out Altona and talked to people on the streets for their views about the living environment. In fact, it was a lady who was walking two dogs who pointed out the house that I had subsequently bought and is now living at. I found the surrounding very peaceful, quiet and safe, especially that my street frequently has federal police cars.
The population density of Altona is very low - total of about 11000+. My wife was counting the number of people passing the front of our house each day and she said it may be as many as 10 persons. Despite a small population, it has 4 primary schools and 2 secondary schools, many sports clubs, 5-6 playgroups. My wife brings our baby girl to a playgroup every week and she told me there are people who come from Altona North, Altona Meadows and Point Cook to join the playgroup at Altona and the reason is because they like Altona but they couldn't afford a house here.
Hence, I think despite the industries, Altona still presents many pros as a good place for residing - proximity to City, beach, train station, many parks sports and recreation areas, low population density, etc.
Here are some articles on Altona:
http://www.theage.com.au/news/property/oil-painting/2006/01/06/1138066783048.html
http://www.realestatesource.com.au/...-Suburbs-Since-the-2001-Real-Estate-Peak.html
http://www.reiv.com.au/news/details.asp?NewsID=489
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/01/01/1198949817052.html
Also you won't see any trucks going through the residential areas, unlike those thundering through Yarraville's Francis Street and Somerville Road. The V-line trains also bypass the Altona Loop by travelling directly from Laverton to Newport Station using the outer line. I always have seat when I board the Werribee Train in the morning at Westona Station.
When my wife pointed out to me, I then realized that Altona does not have a single traffic light within the residential area. It relies on 3 roundabouts at the major intersections, which is a very common feature in the Western suburbs such as Werribee, Hopper Crossing and in the new suburbs such as Point Cook, Caroline Spring. However, unlike the other suburbs, the roads in Altona are wide and very straight. The roads in the other suburbs tend to be curvy, meandering and narrow, some with one lane - features that I greatly dislike though this may be designed to reduce car speed. The road system in Altona is like a rectangular grid while those in the other suburbs have many intertwining circles and boulevards, which I find confusing when finding directions. The speed limit in Altona is 60 km/h on Civic Parade and Millers Rd. The speed limit on the road in front of my house is 40 km/h. Hence, I find driving in Altona leisurely and relaxed while I tend to be very wary on the many one-lane 70 km/h roads in Wyndham Vale, Werribee & Hoppers Crossing.
I agree that the Mobil Refinery and the Qenos Plant is a major factor keeping down the house price in Altona. Without the industry, its median house price will be vastly different. It is precisely because of this reason that I am able to afford a house in Altona in May 2007. A crucial selection criterion at that time is that the house must be within 10 minutes walking distance from a Zone 1 train station. With a map of Melbourne, I went along the different train lines starting from the Melbourne CBD outwards and looked at the advertised house located near each train station. I soon realized that with my budget, if I looked eastwards, this will land me in a Zone 2 suburb as far away as Springvale and Noble Park. It was then that I discovered Altona and found that its median house price with still within my budget at that time.
So I went to check out Altona and talked to people on the streets for their views about the living environment. In fact, it was a lady who was walking two dogs who pointed out the house that I had subsequently bought and is now living at. I found the surrounding very peaceful, quiet and safe, especially that my street frequently has federal police cars.
The population density of Altona is very low - total of about 11000+. My wife was counting the number of people passing the front of our house each day and she said it may be as many as 10 persons. Despite a small population, it has 4 primary schools and 2 secondary schools, many sports clubs, 5-6 playgroups. My wife brings our baby girl to a playgroup every week and she told me there are people who come from Altona North, Altona Meadows and Point Cook to join the playgroup at Altona and the reason is because they like Altona but they couldn't afford a house here.
Hence, I think despite the industries, Altona still presents many pros as a good place for residing - proximity to City, beach, train station, many parks sports and recreation areas, low population density, etc.
Here are some articles on Altona:
http://www.theage.com.au/news/property/oil-painting/2006/01/06/1138066783048.html
http://www.realestatesource.com.au/...-Suburbs-Since-the-2001-Real-Estate-Peak.html
http://www.reiv.com.au/news/details.asp?NewsID=489
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/01/01/1198949817052.html
Yes, you might be blissfully unaware of their existence except for the fact that you have to drive past them tanks and refineries to get in or out of Altona!
You make some good points, it has some nice areas, not saying I wouldn't live there, was just making the point that the beach DOES have a strong smell at times (even with the seaweed removal) and that if you are buying with the view that those industries might move out of the area, I think you would be wanting to take a VERY long term view, only imo of course, they could pack up and leave tomorrow!
I saw this property which is not far away from the beach & Pier St, sold for 390K:
http://www.realestate.com.au/cgi-bi...eader=&cc=&c=63817783&m=0&s=vic&tm=1231290531
Probably small land size but bedrooms' sizes are not small (from the house plan) and looks quite good from the photos.
This property which is much further north which was sold for 350K has quite a large land size of 660 sq m:
http://www.realestate.com.au/cgi-bi...eader=&cc=&c=63817783&m=0&s=vic&tm=1231290531
These company's wont be going anywhere in a real hurry. Even if the businesses cease to operate, quite a few are contracted for atleast 50 years to a ground water clean up that is due to years of poor environmental processes that have lead to ground water polution (a smaller scale version of the botany bay case). I work for one of these companies so i know how bad the situation is. I still think that these companies are far enough away from the nice part of Altona to cause a huge halt to growth. I am certainly looking at the area for my next IP... By the way there have been good growth suburbs in Sydney close to and surrounding similar chemical and industrial areas.
Hi, I think you should have another look at Pier street, there are a least four open air cafes, and the Tuesday market gets bigger every week. The Black Sorrows played in the park only last week. Julia Gillard lives there, and the actor William Mcguiness, any other famous names?
Hi, I actually think, could be wrong, but for a house on the Esplanade, you are looking at more than at $1500,000 the next street back, Queen street, you would be looking at the $800,000 mark. Have a look at Seaholme too.
Read about the Altona Beach Redevelopment Project from the local newspapers:
A 40 metre wide beach will be constructed from Romawi Street to Bayview Street, placing approximately 75,000m³ of sand on the beach. Three stormwater outfalls will also be upgraded during the works.
The project will restore the width of the beach, minimise sand drift, improve the stormwater drains and water quality, enhance the recreational experience for visitors and make beach maintenance easier.
http://www.hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au/Page/page.asp?page_Id=4098&h=0
A plan of the Beach Renourishment is attached.
I think this enhancement will increase the attractiveness of Altona.
A 40 metre wide beach will be constructed from Romawi Street to Bayview Street, placing approximately 75,000m³ of sand on the beach. Three stormwater outfalls will also be upgraded during the works.
The project will restore the width of the beach, minimise sand drift, improve the stormwater drains and water quality, enhance the recreational experience for visitors and make beach maintenance easier.
http://www.hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au/Page/page.asp?page_Id=4098&h=0
A plan of the Beach Renourishment is attached.
I think this enhancement will increase the attractiveness of Altona.
Attachments
i agree,
its not very pretty getting from altona to the freeway or williamstown, and especially on the werribee line travelling through the mobil refinery.
we lived there too for 1 year in 06/07 and on queen st. Altona is not bad mind you.
Some other comments
yes the seaweed issue is a consistem problem for the hobson bay council the place does get whiffy from time to time.
There is also a water treatment plant between altona and altona meadows, close your window when driving across the bridge, the western end and the bird cage can get a bit affected by a sewage whiff at times, near the korringal golf course etc.
Queen street is quite a busy road, as it links altona meadows/pointcook through to altona and onto millers road etc, so i wouldn't buy on this street personally,
i think the streets perpendicular to the beach would be better.
Also they close off the esplanade in the summer as there can be alot of boy racers and traffic.
There's an article in The Age today on SmartBus Route 903 (between Altona and Modialloc) which mentions Altona:
http://www.theage.com.au/national/ticket-to-ride-and-ride-and-ride-20090514-b4r2.html?page=-1
".......Kirkwood leaves his passengers with a cheery wave at a car wash in Oakleigh South, introducing his replacement Manjit Singh, 28, a Sikh from the Punjab who has lived in Melbourne for five years. He smiles shyly from under a black beanie. "You're going to love Altona," Kirkwood shouts as the bus doors close behind him..........................When we arrive a little after 2pm, the sun is shining. It is market day. Stalls are set up in the main street selling vegetables, eggs, home-made cakes, Dutch pancakes. I walk along the pier, enjoying the sea air, the milky blue of the sea and sky. Kirkwood is right: it is good to be in Altona........"
Information about the SmartBus Route 903:
http://www.transport.vic.gov.au/Doi...016B560A71FB31B2CA257575001C9452?OpenDocument
I had seen information displays with buttons at bus stops and was wondering what they were for. Now I realize that these display real-time update of bus arriving time, which is obtained by satellite tracking of bus positions through Global Positioning System. What is important to the passengers is that this is a high-frequency bus, arriving every 15 minutes.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/ticket-to-ride-and-ride-and-ride-20090514-b4r2.html?page=-1
".......Kirkwood leaves his passengers with a cheery wave at a car wash in Oakleigh South, introducing his replacement Manjit Singh, 28, a Sikh from the Punjab who has lived in Melbourne for five years. He smiles shyly from under a black beanie. "You're going to love Altona," Kirkwood shouts as the bus doors close behind him..........................When we arrive a little after 2pm, the sun is shining. It is market day. Stalls are set up in the main street selling vegetables, eggs, home-made cakes, Dutch pancakes. I walk along the pier, enjoying the sea air, the milky blue of the sea and sky. Kirkwood is right: it is good to be in Altona........"
Information about the SmartBus Route 903:
http://www.transport.vic.gov.au/Doi...016B560A71FB31B2CA257575001C9452?OpenDocument
I had seen information displays with buttons at bus stops and was wondering what they were for. Now I realize that these display real-time update of bus arriving time, which is obtained by satellite tracking of bus positions through Global Positioning System. What is important to the passengers is that this is a high-frequency bus, arriving every 15 minutes.
