Ballarat
- Thread starter pickle pickle
- Start date
I got hold of my cousin tonight. He lives in a semi affluent part of Ballarat (Alfredton) and said there and Lake Wendouree too expensive for PI. He has a PI in Wendouree. He paid $80K for it as a 4 BR just a few years back. It's now worth $220K and he rents it for $260/week. He recommends that area, plus North and Central Ballarat. Pretty obvious areas, but it was good to hear it. I was looking at Wendouree and Central anyway.
I asked him whether there was a preference with locals for weatherboard, brick or Victorian and he didn't feel there was though did admit that Victorian will always rent quickly but are more expensive to maintain of course.
He has a friend to works for a rental agency and said they generally base rental for houses at $60 for each bedroom, $20 if it has an extra bathroom and $20-$30 if it's in a good location. Good feedback I think.
I'm going down in a couple of weeks to see if I can find something. Prices are rising quickly so finding CF+ would be challenging, but I don't need CF+. Something that can become CF+ in a couple of years would keep me happy. Fingers crossed.
I asked him whether there was a preference with locals for weatherboard, brick or Victorian and he didn't feel there was though did admit that Victorian will always rent quickly but are more expensive to maintain of course.
He has a friend to works for a rental agency and said they generally base rental for houses at $60 for each bedroom, $20 if it has an extra bathroom and $20-$30 if it's in a good location. Good feedback I think.
I'm going down in a couple of weeks to see if I can find something. Prices are rising quickly so finding CF+ would be challenging, but I don't need CF+. Something that can become CF+ in a couple of years would keep me happy. Fingers crossed.
Have a look at Ballarat on google maps. Lake Wendouree looks like it has water in it, but my locally living cousin told me it's empty. It's a man made lake but I was still taken aback.
Yup, it's regularly empty of late. Did your cousin have an opinion on Redan and the almost central regions of Ballarat?
Area's around the lake are expensive since it is the local equivalent of water front (despite the lake being dry for 3+ years). Also there are some nice streets near the hospital (webster, mair, etc..) but again they are likely to have lower yields.
Redan probably has some ok spots (but I don't know it very well).
Personally I like Ballarat North (anywhere near the station) and Black Hill but I don't know if the investment numbers stack up well there compared to say Ballarat East or Wendouree.
Redan probably has some ok spots (but I don't know it very well).
Personally I like Ballarat North (anywhere near the station) and Black Hill but I don't know if the investment numbers stack up well there compared to say Ballarat East or Wendouree.
Long time reader....first time poster. 
I've just bought 2 properties in this area. I have invested elsewhere before, and have come to this area for 2 reasons:
1) This is where my wife's family are
2) The numbers stack up for my strategy
I had been researching 3350 (all Ballarat has this postcode) for over a year, prior to purchase. I started investing only a few years back.
Some thing's I found:
- Rental Demand is excellent.
- Rental Return per above.
- Market has been flat for cap growth. But the 8-10% avg growth seems sustainable.
In terms of areas of Ballarat, I liked Alfredton (Family Location with good education and new estates), Mount Clear/Mount Helen (Good for both education and employment - IBM et al, Rental hotspot), Ballarat North an affluent area and 'place to be' and Ballarat Central (Closer to city attracts renters).
Whilst inspecting homes (I saw 10+ prior to purchase. I am picky so only inspect what matches my strategy), get ready for a massive insight into older towns! Single streets can hold a house from every decade, and some people live in some pretty ordinary places that sometimes can be a hundred years old!
Should you invest there? I guess I voted yes for the area with my wallet!
I've just bought 2 properties in this area. I have invested elsewhere before, and have come to this area for 2 reasons:
1) This is where my wife's family are
2) The numbers stack up for my strategy
I had been researching 3350 (all Ballarat has this postcode) for over a year, prior to purchase. I started investing only a few years back.
Some thing's I found:
- Rental Demand is excellent.
- Rental Return per above.
- Market has been flat for cap growth. But the 8-10% avg growth seems sustainable.
In terms of areas of Ballarat, I liked Alfredton (Family Location with good education and new estates), Mount Clear/Mount Helen (Good for both education and employment - IBM et al, Rental hotspot), Ballarat North an affluent area and 'place to be' and Ballarat Central (Closer to city attracts renters).
Whilst inspecting homes (I saw 10+ prior to purchase. I am picky so only inspect what matches my strategy), get ready for a massive insight into older towns! Single streets can hold a house from every decade, and some people live in some pretty ordinary places that sometimes can be a hundred years old!
Should you invest there? I guess I voted yes for the area with my wallet!
Actually if you're searching by postcode, 3350 won't cover that much of Ballarat really. You would also want to include postcodes 3355 Wendouree, Lake Gardens & Mitchell Park, 3356 Sebastopol & Delacombe & 3357 Buninyong.
So true, that's why it's so hard to try and give advice on a particular suburb of Ballarat - you can barely even give it for a particular street in some cases. Each suburb has pockets of older and newer homes as well as affluent and feral pockets, but the oldness or newness doesn't neccessarily corelate with the affluence.
Bringing up an old thread... but we went house-shopping in Ballarat last week. I had been keen on Ballarat North/Soldiers Hill/Black Hill. But I think prices have moved too much now. We don't have much of a budget ($250k) but it would have got us something quite reasonable last year. I think we need another $20-$30k now.
So, starting to wonder about Ballarat East, which is quite a bit cheaper. Does anyone have any fresh thoughts?
Also, put in an offer in Alfredton ... but it was a low-ball and was rejected. Will wait and see if anything comes of it.
I had been keen on Delacombe, which certainly fits the budget, but I think there's too much development and empty land around. I like Redan, but there's little on the market in the price range ATM.
So, starting to wonder about Ballarat East, which is quite a bit cheaper. Does anyone have any fresh thoughts?
Also, put in an offer in Alfredton ... but it was a low-ball and was rejected. Will wait and see if anything comes of it.
I had been keen on Delacombe, which certainly fits the budget, but I think there's too much development and empty land around. I like Redan, but there's little on the market in the price range ATM.
I purchased in Ballarat East in April, a 3 bdr ex council house for $175k. Rents out for $195 per week. Found a tenant quickly and have had no problems apart from a cracked window due to a passerby apparantly
Haven't heard a peep for the last few months and the rent has kept coming in.
The swimming pool is close and recently updated according to some work colleagues from there and the bus goes past the property. It is a 9 minute bus ride to the railway station and the centre of town.
Schools are close by and the area is a good candidate for gentrification as its on the Melbourne side of Ballarat. At the moment it still has a lower socio-economic class residing there but a growing number of owner occupiers moving in. Takes just over an hour to drive into Melbourne outside peak times and the train takes about 75 minutes.
New jobs being created by a large company opening up somewhere up there in November.
Capital growth averaged 10%+ over the last 10 years.
Haven't heard a peep for the last few months and the rent has kept coming in.
The swimming pool is close and recently updated according to some work colleagues from there and the bus goes past the property. It is a 9 minute bus ride to the railway station and the centre of town.
Schools are close by and the area is a good candidate for gentrification as its on the Melbourne side of Ballarat. At the moment it still has a lower socio-economic class residing there but a growing number of owner occupiers moving in. Takes just over an hour to drive into Melbourne outside peak times and the train takes about 75 minutes.
New jobs being created by a large company opening up somewhere up there in November.
Capital growth averaged 10%+ over the last 10 years.
Will pay a visit. Love Ballarat since the first time I visited it. Any idea when the Begonia Festival is held each year?
Best regards
forumite
Moved to Ballarat last year, basically to get more bang for buck. Picked up a 1930's 3bd art-deco wonder in Soldiers Hill for $285k, valued at $330k last month. I catch the train to Melb 4 days a week and they are indeed pretty full carriages. But best part is listening in to some of the locals each morning. One in particular is a Property Investor, he's loving the fact that Melb investors are coming into town. He reckons they pretty much pay the advertised price whilst locals always try to low ball by 15%.
The lake is looking like a lake again (about 66% full) and I concur that Redan is a good pick, along with East Ballarat
The lake is looking like a lake again (about 66% full) and I concur that Redan is a good pick, along with East Ballarat
That will be March 2011, here are details, 'Enter the Secret Garden" (don't you love it):
http://www.ballaratbegoniafestival.com/
You've just missed the Golden Wattle Festival in Maryborough, but the Goldpanning championships are coming up, then there is Lavandula Lavender Farm, very, very beautiful:
http://www.lavandula.com.au/
It's just up from Daylesford.
Incredibly beautiful.
thanks for all that, folks. I'm thinking Ballarat East could indeed be a goer. It certainly fits the budget, and the houses are a bit more structurally tidy that what we saw (and could afford) just north of the railway station last week.
That's interesting what you said, Shermy, about Melbourne investors seen to be paying full price and the locals undercutting by about 15%.
The place we put an offer in was quoted at $220,00-$230,000 (renting for $225,000). So we offered $205,000, which was counter-offered at $230,000.
We said $210,000 and have left it at that, with no reply from the vendor - first open home was last Saturday though, so it's early days. Had been considering going as high as $220,000 if necessary, but perhaps we aren't too far off the mark now. hmmm...
thanks again.
That's interesting what you said, Shermy, about Melbourne investors seen to be paying full price and the locals undercutting by about 15%.
The place we put an offer in was quoted at $220,00-$230,000 (renting for $225,000). So we offered $205,000, which was counter-offered at $230,000.
We said $210,000 and have left it at that, with no reply from the vendor - first open home was last Saturday though, so it's early days. Had been considering going as high as $220,000 if necessary, but perhaps we aren't too far off the mark now. hmmm...
thanks again.
Hi Everyone,
Thanks for keeping the dialogue on Ballarat running...the forums have been a bit dry on good old Ballarat for a little while...
Am doing some serious homework on Ballarat and surrounds for the next 3-6 months...just bought a place 8 weeks ago in Melbourne, so I need to take a breather
Thanks everyone!!!
Thanks for keeping the dialogue on Ballarat running...the forums have been a bit dry on good old Ballarat for a little while...
Am doing some serious homework on Ballarat and surrounds for the next 3-6 months...just bought a place 8 weeks ago in Melbourne, so I need to take a breather
Thanks everyone!!!
