Best Address in Melbourne, Victoria

Hi All,

This is such an awesome site, I must say. So much information, its incredible!
Anyway, I am looking to buy an 2bedroom apartment within 3-5km radius of Melbourne CBD. Suburbs that I am looking at would be Southbank, St.Kilda, South Yarra, Docklands, Melbourne etc. One room to rent out, one room to stay in.
My budget is 550k MAX..it would be great if you guys could put your 2 cents in this as to which address is highly recommended.
I like the Palladio/Boyd/buildings facing the marina in Docklands.
What do you guys think ?

Many thanks,
PX
 
(1) Stay away from apartment complexs such as the ones at docklands

(2) 550K would be better used in the 5-10km ring around melbourne were you could get 2 x 2 bedroom units, or a 3 bedroom house and 2-bed unit!!

(3) thats all 2 cents buys in todays value
 
I totally respect your comments

BUT

would you guys mind clarifying why Docklands isnt a good buy
to buy 2 bedroom apartments?
or places like Southbank, South Yarra, St.Kilda etc. ?
 
I totally respect your comments

BUT

would you guys mind clarifying why Docklands isnt a good buy
to buy 2 bedroom apartments?
or places like Southbank, South Yarra, St.Kilda etc. ?

I'm not expert on CBD apartments but a concern is scarcity. Particularly in Docklands/Southbank there are 100's of apartments with new blocks going up constantly. As soon as the new block is completed your 1-2 year old apartment looks less attractive. Also when it's time to rent or sell you probably have 4-5 for sale/lease at the same time, which may drive down prices.
 
Last edited:
I'm not expert on CBD apartments but a concern is scarcity. Particularly in Docklands, Southbank there are 100's of apartments with new block going up constantly, the latest built one will alway extract a premium. Also when it's time to rent or sell you probably have 4-5 for sale/lease at the same time, which may drive down prices.

Another thing is that apart from restaurants these precincts are really lacking community facilities eg schools & libraries. Sure there's public libraries etc in the CBD but they're one or two tram rides away. If you're lucky there's views, but these might not last forever if another tower goes up. Besides plasma TVs are getting cheaper and better ;)

In contrast, go to a major suburban centre like Carnegie, Bentleigh, Heidelberg, Eltham, Chelsea, Werribee, Altona, Williamstown, Croydon or Sunbury and you'll find nearly all facilities within 10 minutes walk of the main street. Plus if you buy a unit it will probably be in a small low-rise complex (with low body corporate fees) and maybe even its own courtyard.

Peter
 
I totally respect your comments

BUT

would you guys mind clarifying why Docklands isnt a good buy
to buy 2 bedroom apartments?
or places like Southbank, South Yarra, St.Kilda etc. ?

My main concerns are:

1. maintenance and upkeep - these large scale developments are a nightmare when it comes to keeping them in good shape, security, insurance, etc. Add to this that the Owner's Corporation rarely reaches a decision without much lobbying, due to the difficulty of getting a majority in a 200+ unit block.

2. South Yarra, St Kilda are ok - for older style low rise. Use the difference in price to refurb it and do it up.

3. Southbank and Docklands - your apartment is new (or near new) one day, it's crappy and old the next because the one next door is better....


Cheers,

The Y-man
 
What is the reason for buying the apartment? Is it a lifestyle choice? a future investment property maybe? You looking to hold it for 5 years and sell it? You working in the CBD and want to walk to work? Do you just want the high rise apartment lifestyle?

Until you can let us know your reasons for buying your place, its a little hard for us to recommend the best place to live!
 
Re

I dont know, but I have a different view about inner city apartments.

Petrol prices is going to increase, some predict that its going to reach $8 per litre. If that happens, then ppl would want to live near where they work or close to public transport. And one of the more affordable options would be the apartments.

Warrenkh
 
I like the Palladio/Boyd/buildings facing the marina in Docklands.
What do you guys think ?

Many thanks,
PX

The other specific issue I have with these buildings is the orientation. The side with the good water views are on the South side - traditionally the darker, colder, cheaper side. By contrast, the northern facing apartments (sunny in winter) have got industrial views, that can be built out in the future. That is why I favour the other side of the river - namely the Mirvac plot in Docklands.

These have north facing apartments, with great water views (can't be built out!) - but you pay for it!

Same would probably apply to Freshwater Place and Eureka.

Cheers,

The Y-man
 
Yes Y-Man,

I totally agree with u.
The side with the Mirvac development is great. I'm curently looking at one over there. With views of the water (Yarra River) and Port Melbourne as it is a corner apartment. Gota pay for it though.. 500-600k.

Public transport isnt TOO bad either.. plus its close by the city etc.
I think it should be a good investment that will appreciate in value and also provide good rental returns.(550p/w for 2 bedroom - checked with the agent)
What do you think ?
 
I have owned, or still do own, apartments in the following suburbs:

Southbank
Fairfield
Abbotsford
Thornbury
Parkville
Prahran
North Melbourne/CBD fringe

Of these, the Southbank one was the first to get offloaded as a "dog" property - it simply failed to perform and had massive maintenance costs.

The others (except for the NM/CBD fringe one) have performd quite well in terms of cap gain and general yield.

Interestingly, the 2 underperformers are also the ones with lifts...

Cheers,

The Y-man
 
So Southbank isnt a good location to buy an apartment ?
I'm asking the question because I am also looking at this area.
I'm looking more on the rentability side, thats why I'm looking to buy an apartment.

So would you recommend Docklands (lorimer street - facing the marine waters) as a good investment location ?

What would your expert opinion be Y-man ? You seem like an experienced investor yourself.
 
So Southbank isnt a good location to buy an apartment ?
I'm asking the question because I am also looking at this area.
I'm looking more on the rentability side, thats why I'm looking to buy an apartment.

So would you recommend Docklands (lorimer street - facing the marine waters) as a good investment location ?

What would your expert opinion be Y-man ? You seem like an experienced investor yourself.

I view the Lorimer St apartments as a Lifestyle Decision - i.e. a PPOR for yourself to live in.

I think they would suck as an investment purely from the maintenance cost point of view (a good 10-15% of any rent income will go towards maintenance), and with the level of rent you are after, the proportion of population who could afford it AND want it, would be very much smaller (i.e. a family paying $550 pw could rent a house in the suburbs). Also, most of the people looking to share an apartmen in inner Melb are looking to pay ~$150 pw.

Cheers,

The Y-man
 
I respect your opinion Y-Man..

it will be great if I can have second opinions too..
the apartment that I saw in Docklands costs 550k, Lorimer St.
Mirvac are the developers. The living room has top to bottom glass walls..therefore views of the waters(yarra river) on one side and
port melbourne on the other. (The marina waterfront is just directly in front of the apartment.)
2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1 storage room and 1 carpark. The view is breathless..but it is quite pricy. Similiar apartments are renting out for
500-550p/w thereabout.

However, I did my research and 550k is about right.. What do you reckon in terms of long term investment ?
I plan to rent out one room while I'm still in aus..as mentioned previously. Do you think there is capital growth ?
How about rentability ? I do understand that its an entirely different target market as its expensive to live here.

Obviously, the body corporate fees + water rates would be about 5k at least. I would definitely have to take this into account. Would this be the reason
why this isnt a good investment. Y-Man states that it would be a good primary place of residence but interms of investment, its not good
because about 15% of the rentals will go to body corporate. What do you guys reckon ?

I really would appreciate your honest comments.
 
I think the others have said it already - In an area with many many blocks of apartments in close proximity, you don't tend to get much capital growth, because there is not much to make your apartment stand out from all the rest. Without capital growth, why are you investing?

But you seem really set on it, no matter what anyone says! You don't get to live there yourself, and it seems like you want to. Maybe you should rent an apartment in the building for 12 months and try it out.
 
there was a huge 2 page article in Domain in the Age on sunday or saturday about why inner city apartments are the best thing at the moment.... to invest in......

ive generally had a negative image of any apartment, in particular inner CBD for many reasons such as scarcity, lack of land, the fact that there are so many surrounding yours etc. etc.

but the article was very enthusiastic about inner city apartments....
 
Back
Top