Aspect / Position

Hey Guys,

I'm just wondering peoples thoughts on the following.

Would you be deterred from purchasing a particular property because of aspect / position?

Understandable that properties with northerly aspects are the most attractive given the amount of natural light, but if a particular property crossed all the boxes but had say a southerly aspect (ie. Balconies, Living Areas, etc. facing South) would this be enough to reconsider the property?

How much would this affect the property in terms or rental appeal and also capital gain? Any at all?

Reason being, I've seen a number of properties that tick all our boxes, but the aspect isn't the most appealing...

Interested in peoples thoughts...

Cheers...
 
If it's a standalone house, there would usually be some aspect of it facing north? :)

Our home oddly enough is almost completely brick wall on the north face - only small bathroom and laundry windows... but then we get morning or afternoon sun into the main living areas and bedrooms, so it's nothing to get too worried about.


I feel the biggest problems are with high rise apartments, where apartments on the south side never see the light of day.

Cheers,

The Y-man
 
Yes. I prefer a house that is above street level. If it's elevated even better. You don't feel as closed in. Yes yes yes
 
Hey Guys,

I'm just wondering peoples thoughts on the following.

Would you be deterred from purchasing a particular property because of aspect / position?

Understandable that properties with northerly aspects are the most attractive given the amount of natural light, but if a particular property crossed all the boxes but had say a southerly aspect (ie. Balconies, Living Areas, etc. facing South) would this be enough to reconsider the property?

In a hot area a south-facing balcony etc is better than one facing west IMHO.

Where the main living area (lounge) is at the front of the house but the backyard is at the rear then a lounge facing south could be OK if you built a deck or patio at the rear.

Then there are other considerations like view - eg I went to an auction of a house yesterday that had a north-facing lounge with sea views. That was good but the penalty was that the backyard would have been shaded for much of the time (good in a hot area but on balance not so good in Melbourne). Overall I'd say that the ocean views trump other considerations, but the house didn't sell (the lack of even a carport probably put people off it - though people tolerate that in an inner suburb like Albert Park or Carlton).

I agree that position is more important for units than houses. You're sacrificing space and you can't knock it down, so you're stuck with what you buy with a unit.

For rows of units the very front or very rear tend to be better than the middle, especially if these come with more land. Some people like a front unit for its street frontage and front lawn, while others prefer a rear unit for privacy (no one walks past it, assuming it's a single storey block or with no stairwell at that end).

My observations are that the higher the density the greater the chance of at least one unit having a really bad position. Eg you might have one on the bottom floor that has little natural light as there's a stairwell or storeroom blocking the window.

Although such units may have yuck factors, they still seem to sell at good prices. Eg a 1br unit in a dodgy part of Frankston Central that had been seriously trashed by tenants and needed extensive work to be habitable was quoted at $100k+ but sold for over $130k. The bedroom was very dark even at midday - its window looked right at a brick wall 1 metre away (a small alcove for the storeroom). Hence even if done up there were severe orientation problems that could not be fixed.

Conversely my PPOR occupies either the best or second best position in the block (depending on taste) and in my view it did not attract a significant price premium. And the rent being paid (before purchase) was if anything below market, largely due to an agent who hadn't raised it and improvements to take advantage of its position not being done.

I regard orientation as being somewhat important but position in the block (if a unit) as being even more important. And if the two coincide then that's even better. Driveway steepness: Level is best but agree that high side is better than low side - if only to quell ones imagination about floods and out of control cars careering through your roof!

Such an advantage would deserve a price premium, but I'm not convinced it would attract a signifcant rent premium (unless effort was made to really take advantage of the orientation).

And even if this was done, I'm not convinced that there would be any long-term capital growth gains after the one-off of any value-adding. Eg let's suppose a bad position property was priced at 95% of one with a better position. Assuming good orientation is something that has constant, timeless appeal, the well positioned one should always be dearer than the first and have the 'wow factor' the other doesn't. But I don't see why they should not appreciate at the same rate, with the inferior property remaining at 5% less (a rising tide lifts all boats and there will always be people for whom affordability is key).
 
For my PPOR, I definitely would preclude certain properties due to aspect. In fact, I've done so in the past.

I'm not sure, however, that most people realise how important aspect is, so I doubt it makes that much difference to either rent or sales price, and it wouldn't put me off buying an IP (if everything else about the deal was good).
 
Hi Guys,

Thanks for the all the responses...

The property in question is in fact a Unit... It's in a medium density development (44 apartments), 2 levels which occupy the second and third floors (nobody on top)... It's about one in from the corner of the block...

The trade-off for the north facing balconies, is balconies facing south to the Melbourne CBD with city views...

Understand that with Units its impossible to change the orientation once built/bought, however, essentially the apartment will be a short-term PPOR for approx. 2 years before becoming our 2nd IP.

Everything else about the apartment is great, with the exception of this...

Do South Facing balconies always get no natural light at all, not even the slightest amount in summer? There's no trees or high rises in the immediate vicinity of the development blocking any natural light...

Hmm... is it unrealistic when looking at units to be able to 'have it all', especially when you're not buying off the plan and getting the initial pick of the bunch?

Thanks again for the feedback and interested an any other further thoughts you all may have...

Cheers...
 
I did think about aspect when I bought my PPOR here in Melbourne Docklands. As I work from home I chose to be on the east side (CBD view influenced me) so that on summer afternoons when I'm working the sun is round the other side of the building. It's worked out just as hoped - rarely had to turn on the a/c during the summer.

I doubt whether the average tenant would notice though. An on-the-ball agent might just choose to offer a viewing time when the sun (or lack of it depending on season) was in a favourable position.
 
I doubt whether the average tenant would notice though. An on-the-ball agent might just choose to offer a viewing time when the sun (or lack of it depending on season) was in a favourable position.

We ensure that rental viewing times take place at a time that suits the season, to avoid the house being too hot or too cold, and I know that agents do the same when selling a house. It makes good sense.
 
How much would this affect the property in terms or rental appeal and also capital gain? Any at all?

I think I should mention - if there is Chinese money in the area, Feng Shui can mean a *lot* and can affect rent as well as cap gain.

So if you happen to be looking at Unit 8 on level 8, and street number 88.... :D

Aspects in terms of positioning of water, mountains, views etc all play a part.

Cheers,

The Y-man
 
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