Any thoughts on Taylors Lakes, please?

[mandyther]

HI Everyone,

I have been looking at some of the threads re Taylors Lakes, but most of the info is about 4 years old. As I am new to Melbourne I would like to know what type of 'reputation' Taylors Lakes has currently, and whether or not you think that there is potential for continuing good growth in that area. It is only about 20kms from the City and for that type of proximity, it still seems reasonably well priced. Also, more upmarket than Sydenham/Delahey/Hillside. What are your thoughts/advice please?

Thanks Mandyther

 

[archangelAU]

Hi mandyther,

We currently live in Taylors Lakes. We have a 3 bedroom place single story. We have bought land in Hillside and should have our new place built by july/august next year.

We love where we are in Taylors Lakes as we can walk to watergardens but with large growing family we have decided to sell around Jan/feb if not before. Taylors Lakes has the best reputation out of Sydenham/Delahey/Hillside/Caroline Springs/Taylors Hill. I will give you a run down of the the suburbs with my thoughts and how I would rank them. We bought in Taylors Lakes about 5 years ago and property price since then has gone up by 57% in our case anyway. As long as it sells I guess...saying that property seem to be still selling well at momment.

1. Taylors Lakes
Basically 2 areas of Taylors Lakes. Older area which is on left hand side of keilor/melton rd heading towards melton. And newer area on right hand side. The right hand side are a few years newer (15 years old) and closer to watergardens and a better area in my opinion. Access to freeway and trainstation and shops are great also, good sized land and only handful of townhouses.

2. Hillside

Basically 2 areas of Hillside. First area which is on left hand side of keilor/melton rd heading towards melton. And Second area on right hand side. The right hand side is a far superior area to the one on the left as it has no units or townhouses that are highly visible whereas every second house in first area is a unit. Houses and land size in both area are very good ie 650sqm+. Also location is not far from watergardens or Trainstation, shops,etc. Houses are beautiful in second area where we are going to build on 800sqm block

3. Caroline Springs
Newer area but contains both house and units. Shops and schools close by but a little further out and freeway not as close as hillside/taylors lakes.

4. Taylors Hill
Essential the same as Caroline Springs but Caroline Springs has the better name. Looked at land in this area but was a little further to travel and quite expensive as I guess land is getting everywhere and should increase with gov grants etc.

5. Sydenham
Lots of units and townhouses and hence lots of rentals only better in delahey as rds are wider.

6. Delahey
Same as sydenham but rds are very narrow and like a rabbit warren.

Hope that helps.

Cheers,

Arch

 

[firefox]

I am also thinking of buying in Taylors Lakes area. Any more comments?

 

[IndexFund]

I live in Sydenham and yes Taylors Lakes is the most expensive area out of the lot but Sydenham is much closer to Watergardens shopping center and much closer to the train station. IMO Sydenham will appreciate a lot more in the future.

They are also going to build a Myer at Watergardens.

Either way Hillside, Sydenham and TL are all good.

 

[Aimjoy]

Taylors Lakes, ... whether or not you think that there is potential for continuing good growth in that area.

Well it seems to be back on a CG path again now after being flat since 2003 - see attached graph.

Past history is no indicator of future growth though

 

[ozi]

2. Hillside

Basically 2 areas of Hillside. First area which is on left hand side of keilor/melton rd heading towards melton. And Second area on right hand side. The right hand side is a far superior area to the one on the left as it has no units or townhouses that are highly visible whereas every second house in first area is a unit. Houses and land size in both area are very good ie 650sqm+. Also location is not far from watergardens or Trainstation, shops,etc. Houses are beautiful in second area where we are going to build on 800sqm block

I live in Hillside and the above isn't very accurate. The left hand side of the highway is actually broken down into 3 pockets. You have the Parkwood Green Estate which is the cheaper and less desirable part, where there are lots of units. Then you have the Sugargum Estate (6000sqm blocks) which is highly exclusive where many million dollar plus mansions are. Finally Hillside 2000 (2000sqm blocks) which is also fairly exclusive with houses generally in the $600k - $1M range. Obviously you wouldn't buy a rental in Sugargum or Hillside 2000, but if it is to live in for yourself, these are the most desirable pockets in Hillside.

Cheers,
Ozi

 

[units4me]

Quote "It is only about 20kms from the City ".

I think you should check your map.

 

[firefox]

It is 23km NW of the CBD
http://www.suburbguide.com.au/info/area-info/taylors-lakes

 

[archangelAU]

I live in Hillside and the above isn't very accurate. The left hand side of the highway is actually broken down into 3 pockets. You have the Parkwood Green Estate which is the cheaper and less desirable part, where there are lots of units. Then you have the Sugargum Estate (6000sqm blocks) which is highly exclusive where many million dollar plus mansions are. Finally Hillside 2000 (2000sqm blocks) which is also fairly exclusive with houses generally in the $600k - $1M range. Obviously you wouldn't buy a rental in Sugargum or Hillside 2000, but if it is to live in for yourself, these are the most desirable pockets in Hillside.

Cheers,
Ozi

Yes you are correct. However I did not include those areas as I believe the poster was looking at an IP and I was thinking more of the line of young family renters with growth and IP being worth around low to mid 300k.

Still great prices being so close to city, airport and country.

 

[podilamaya]

Hi All

Thought of dig up this old tread rather than creating new one; since my question is same as topic of this tread,

I'm currently looking to buy a house with 4 rooms with land size around 700m2 to live in around Taylor lakes. my budget is around 600,000$

important factors for buying decision is;
1. Walking distance to a Primary school or school with school bus service (most important)
2. Access to train station Metro
3. Access to V/line train service as well (nice to have, wife works in bendigo)


Can you guys give your opinion on Taylors lake area and what should I look for when I buying a house in that area. any suggestions on other suburbs also welcome.

 

[tone1]

I live in the suburb.

A lot of people will knock it from an investment perspective because new land is available in the Plumpton area, however the distance between Taylors Lakes and Plumpton adds quite a lot to travel time during peak periods and is much further from the local train station.

Taylors Lakes has fantastic connections to the CBD through the Watergardens line (30 minutes to the loop) and freeway (essentially freeway the entire way from the suburb to the edges of the CBD down the Calder Freeway, 20 minutes or so off-peak to the CBD and about 40-45 minutes on-peak, although sometimes I get to the CBD on-peak in about 30 minutes with less traffic). For comparable suburbs in distance from the CBD, you'd be hard pressed to get to the city in a faster time by train or car. Also, to get to Bendigo by car, the Calder Freeway is right there.

If you bought in the new estates further out, you can easily add 20 minutes in peak hour to make your way past Taylors Lakes to the freeway towards the CBD. The traffic out in the new parts is, as you would expect, pretty bad. The shorter your journey down Melton Highway to the freeway, the better.

There's established bus links throughout the suburb and many lead to the train station and to local schools. Watergardens Shopping Centre is nearby.

In terms of schools, there are plenty. Nearby Keilor has many reputable schools. The local ones have improved a lot as well.

For a PPOR, I think it's a good spot and ticks your boxes. Great suburb for families, and young professionals are starting to replace downsizers.

 

[podilamaya]

@ tone1

Thanks for the nice descriptions about the Taylor Lakes, I have been driving between pakenham and swanhill every weekend for a year, but never been out of the Calder Freeway

You nicely explained the same reasons, I selected Taylor Lakes area, but after reading bit on internet. Im thinking about sydenham has well (mainly due to Sydenham Hillside Primary School and neary by kindergarten)

Is there much different between sydenham and taylor lakes.

all suggestions are well.come.

 

[tone1]

In my opinion, Taylors Lakes is a much nicer suburb than most of Sydenham. There are good sections of Sydenham that are comparable in "nice-ness", being the section between Sydenham Road, Lady Rose Crescent, Hume Drive and Overton Lea Boulevard, mainly because it is the newer part of the suburb. This section is mostly walking distance to the station as well. You'll probably save some money buying in this section of Sydenham compared to Taylors Lakes. $600K is going to get you the cream of the crop in Sydenham, whereas in Taylors it won't.

Hope I've helped.

 

[albanga]

It is important to distinguish emotion based PPOR decision from an investment based business decision. Of course it is good to consider CG as a driver but IMO it falls below a few other key criteria when selecting a home, especially one you plan on raising a family in.

So based on that, as investment goes I think you can do a lot better than Taylors Lakes. It falls short in a number of areas that are key drivers for CG. It still offers the things that drive CG but more as a passing mark as opposed to a key highlight of the area.

Say for example public transport.
The closest train station from Taylors Lakes is Sydenham and the next best from that Keilor Plains. You simply are not within walking distance to these which means for those without a car you need to rely on a bus service. Yes Lakes has buses as well but its not a fantastic bus system.

Schools are available but none that are top notch reputable schools, yes they are decent enough but again, rich people are not paying top dollar to get into the area to get their kids into them.

Apart from Watergardens there really no nice strip of shops or restaurants to eat in. You can go Taylors Lakes pub or the strip next door but your not taking a hot date there.

Point I am making is yes it does have amenities that do drive GC but not at any kind of rapid growth that makes it a solid investment. As a PPOR though then you need to then consider other things that are not CG drivers but important as a lifestyle choice.
Taylors Lakes is easy to get around, not much traffic, nice walking paths (especially around the lake areas with pets), Quiet safe, lots of local sporting options.etc

 

[tone1]

Say for example public transport.
The closest train station from Taylors Lakes is Sydenham and the next best from that Keilor Plains. You simply are not within walking distance to these which means for those without a car you need to rely on a bus service. Yes Lakes has buses as well but its not a fantastic bus system.

Disagree. If you buy on the western side of Taylors Lakes, you can walk to the station. The Watergardens train station is technically in Taylors Lakes, on the border to Sydenham.

Also, why aren't the buses "fantastic"? I don't really understand. The majority of the suburb would be within walking distance to a bus that leads directly to the train station. There was a recent overhaul of bus routes and more of the suburb is now serviced, plus bus timetables have changed so they arrive/leave very close to a train arriving/leaving.

Schools are available but none that are top notch reputable schools, yes they are decent enough but again, rich people are not paying top dollar to get into the area to get their kids into them.

Disagree. Keilor's schools are above-average and it probably drives the real estate market there and neighboring parts of Taylors Lakes. Many families move into the area to send their kids to these schools.

Apart from Watergardens there really no nice strip of shops or restaurants to eat in. You can go Taylors Lakes pub or the strip next door but your not taking a hot date there.

Somewhat disagree. Watergardens has recently opened up a strip of restaurants near the station, at least 5-6 restaurants to choose from, and are outside (not in the shopping centre). For an outer suburb, I think this is pretty good. You can't expect the availability of inner-city dining. In saying that, the choices are pretty boring. The new pub isn't too bad.

 

[albanga]

Hey Tone,
I think you have misinterpreted my post. I did say they have things that drive CG but only as a pass mark. All the things you mentioned in response just reinforce what I said about giving them a pass mark to be honest.

Public Transport
You said "If you live on the Western side then you can walk there" but that doesn't make it great for public transport. Compare it to somewhere that does have great public transport with multiple options such as close train stations, trams running direct into the city, bus services with multiple routes.

Schools
You said "Above Average" but that's still a pass mark. Compare it to an area with great private schools. 10 minutes up the road to Niddrie you are zoned to Essendon grammar, St Bernards, St Columbus, Laver Hall, Ave Maria.etc. You simply cannot compare.

Restaurants
Again your stating 5-6 restaurants makes it appealing. But this is hardly buzzing. Again compare to Niddrie and say Keilor Rd with atleast 30 restaurant options.

My point is Taylors Lakes have amenities but its not what makes people buy there. People buy there for reasons that do not translate as well to CG.

 

[GreyGhost]

My point is Taylors Lakes have amenities but its not what makes people buy there. People buy there for reasons that do not translate as well to CG.

I agree with this part totally!