Canberra rental market sooo bad?

[geoffw]

When I first lived in Canberra as a single guy I couldn't wait to get back to Sydney. There wasn't much of a singles scene back in those days.

However we've very much enjoyed the lifestyle with a family. The facilities for kids are great. There's bicycle paths all over the place and excellent sporting facilities; we would not have been able to afford the equivalent private schools in Sydney. The traffic is mostly light except for the 10 minute peak hour. I work 30km away and it takes 30 minutes by car- I park for free just outside the office (although that is rare).

Having lived in Canberra for over 20 years now I find Sydney or Melbourne quite stress inducing.

 

[Harro]

Harro: imho, it is easily the most liveable city (apart from maybe Perth); great place to raise children; easy to get around (doesn't take more than 20 mins to get anywhere); lots of green space; lots of great cafes, restaurants etc; lots of things to do, eg National Gallery; great schools. I'm originally from Melbourne. I really like Melbourne and Sydney, but I love Canberra.

Fair call. But from what I have read here it does not seem like an investment hotspot. My wants in a place to reside obviously differ to yours, but each to their own. No amount of money could entice me to live in a city. Still though, foreshore of what?

 

[geoffw]

It's not an investment hotspot now. But it's had quite a few years of low vacancies, increasing rents and good capital growth. It's time for things to get back to an equilibrium.

It's the foreshores of Lake Burley Griffin. But other town centres in Canberra have lakes with a pleasant outlook.

 

[Harro]

It's not an investment hotspot now. But it's had quite a few years of low vacancies, increasing rents and good capital growth. It's time for things to get back to an equilibrium.

It's the foreshores of Lake Burley Griffin. But other town centres in Canberra have lakes with a pleasant outlook.

Correct me if I am wrong but isn't Lake Burley Griffin artificial? Hence, unnatural, fake. Like I said foreshore of what?
Granted it has excellent sporting facilities, and progressive cycle paths, but so do a lot of places, and not all are cities.
I certainly would not want to own an IP where the rental return was a chance of decreasing. Not too financially savvy to me.

 

[Francesco]

...I certainly would not want to own an IP where the rental return was a chance of decreasing. Not too financially savvy to me.

Many places would have a chance of reducing rent - much like reducing property price. As far as I can recall there were two or three times of reducing rent in about 25 years. I think that is a great run. And the price increase over than time exceeded 4X.

 

[Harro]

Many places would have a chance of reducing rent - much like reducing property price. As far as I can recall there were two or three times of reducing rent in about 25 years. I think that is a great run. And the price increase over than time exceeded 4X.

I'm interested to know in which cities currently where rents are decreasing.

 

[geoffw]

I'm not sure why you have such a bee in your bonnet.

I happen to like Canberra but you don't have to. That's fine. I probably like flavours of ice cream that you don't.

It's an artificial lake but it's a well established one- and as I said, pleasant. Not outstanding, just pleasant. A view over water is better than a view over other houses.

At the moment it's not a good short term investment. Nobody in this thread has said otherwise. For the first time in about 15 years vacancies are increasing and rents dropping. That's a part of the normal cycle.

I suspect that other places are not good investments either. Perhaps prices have gone up too much, yields are too low, or longer term prospects for growth are small. I've recently sold one property in Canberra and I may be looking to buy elsewhere. I need diversification.

But then if I had a crystal ball I would have retired long ago.

 

[redwing]

Got notice of moving out from my current tenant, as they are buying a house themselves after living at the ip about 2 years.

I was shocked while checking the rental price online this morning - the similar houses on the market is almost $150/w less than the current tenant paying :-o

Is it so bad in ACT anywhere?

$150 per week is huge

 

[sanj]

$150 per week is huge

My current landlord copped a $480/wk drop when I moved in, this is in Perth. Painful to even think about

 

[Redom]

This.

Canberra is the most liveable capital city on the eastern part of Australia. I don't know much about Perth/Adelaide - so I wont say the entire of Australia.

I walk around Sydney and you can see, feel, and sometimes even hear problems around you.

The standard of living in Canberra is amazing.

Although, the cold can be a pain sometimes...

Harro: imho, it is easily the most liveable city (apart from maybe Perth); great place to raise children; easy to get around (doesn't take more than 20 mins to get anywhere); lots of green space; lots of great cafes, restaurants etc; lots of things to do, eg National Gallery; great schools. I'm originally from Melbourne. I really like Melbourne and Sydney, but I love Canberra.

 

[Redom]

Haha this feels like my experience. I moved down to Canberra 3 years ago, and found it all a little to slow, but has grown on me big time.

Although I am still in Sydney almost every week, Canberra has very much become 'home'.

Harro: I can see your point about investing. But in every 'slow market' there is a whole lot of opportunity.

IMO - the Foreshore is pretty amazing...lake views and mountain views? Restaurants, hip, fun, friendly, energy. It has a lot going for it.

When I first lived in Canberra as a single guy I couldn't wait to get back to Sydney. There wasn't much of a singles scene back in those days.

However we've very much enjoyed the lifestyle with a family. The facilities for kids are great. There's bicycle paths all over the place and excellent sporting facilities; we would not have been able to afford the equivalent private schools in Sydney. The traffic is mostly light except for the 10 minute peak hour. I work 30km away and it takes 30 minutes by car- I park for free just outside the office (although that is rare).

Having lived in Canberra for over 20 years now I find Sydney or Melbourne quite stress inducing.

 

[Redom]

Yep, I think its more around fiscal/budget challenges for Australia, rather than Government of the day.

In good times (surplus/smaller deficits), public servants generally have more to do.

In tightening fiscal times, public servants are often the low hanging fruit for semi popular cost savings.

Evidence: pretty sure PS numbers blew out under Costello...he had pots of gold to play with.

It's a bit more than that I think.

1. Labor was already starting to cut back on the public service.

2. Vacancy rate was still very low in the Howard years.

3. It's supply as well as demand. In this cycle there's a huge supply of high rise units on the market.

 

[cimbom]

They seem to be selling.

Although the project on the site of the Jamison Inn went broke, there's units in Belconnen which have been resumed. I guess people are buying- the convenience of being so close to the mall and transport hub must be strong.

It seems to be mainly investors (probably from overseas?) that are buying as the two new buildings in Belconnen seem quite empty whenever I've gone past. The building where we bought and then were able to get out of seems to have lost many purchasers according the REA managing the sales.

I don't think the prices are justified either. ~400k for a 1 bedroom apartment or pay 50k more and get a 3 bedroom house on land 1-2km away. In most places where apartment living is common, the price difference between houses and apartments is at least 2:1, if not much more.

 

[Jamie M]

It seems to be mainly investors (probably from overseas?) that are buying as the two new buildings in Belconnen seem quite empty whenever I've gone past.

A bit of a mix. Young people buying first homes and taking advantage of concessions. Investors thinking off the plan still works well in Canberra and overseas money.

Cheers

Jamie

 

[marcfranc]

Correct me if I am wrong but isn't Lake Burley Griffin artificial? Hence, unnatural, fake. Like I said foreshore of what?
Granted it has excellent sporting facilities, and progressive cycle paths, but so do a lot of places, and not all are cities.
I certainly would not want to own an IP where the rental return was a chance of decreasing. Not too financially savvy to me.

artificial, unnatural -- well in other words, man-made. But isn't that what a city is?

Have you actually ever been to Canberra or more specifically the Kingston area? I've never been to Scotts Head either, but I'm sure it's a great spot and I don't think you have to justify buying or living there.

I've lived in Melbourne and now Sydney, but spend a lot of time in Canberra. For a small city it boasts exceptional cultural and educational facilities, increasingly good food, and an educated and progressive population that I feel comfortable with -- and it's a delight to walk and cycle around.

The Kingston Foreshore has stunning views. A couple of weeks ago, my partner (visiting from Sydney) and I took a walk around there one foggy morning. We enjoyed the striking almost Nordic quality of the light for the first hour or so, after which the fog lifted to reveal a stunningly beautiful landscape bathed in crisp sunshine. Artificial perhaps, but so is any well-designed garden. After a superb coffee on the boardwalk we visited the display centre for the latest apartment development, which got me thinking.

It lacks the big city ambience of say the Docklands in Melbourne, but it's a lot prettier and more accessible.

As an investment prospect -- well, we all want to buy in the trough and sell at the peak. Prices seem to have plateaued for the moment, and it could be that I would do better to wait for a few months or a year, but then I wished I had bought into Canberra in the early Howard years. And right now the right product is available in a spot that can't be replicated.

I need to make a firm decision in the next couple of days. If anyone has any tips about what or who to avoid I'd welcome them. But I don't need to be told by some commentator in the local paper that it's a 'wasteland of empty streets and architecturally stunted structures' without nature strips. Apart from a couple of the earliest developments closer to Wentworth Avenue that don't appear to have aged well, I'm happy with the layout and streetscapes.

 

[Redom]

Completely agree Marcfranc. I just spent the day there, it is pretty perfect and quite spectacular on a nice day.

Are you looking at the Pier development?

artificial, unnatural -- well in other words, man-made. But isn't that what a city is?

Have you actually ever been to Canberra or more specifically the Kingston area? I've never been to Scotts Head either, but I'm sure it's a great spot and I don't think you have to justify buying or living there.

I've lived in Melbourne and now Sydney, but spend a lot of time in Canberra. For a small city it boasts exceptional cultural and educational facilities, increasingly good food, and an educated and progressive population that I feel comfortable with -- and it's a delight to walk and cycle around.

The Kingston Foreshore has stunning views. A couple of weeks ago, my partner (visiting from Sydney) and I took a walk around there one foggy morning. We enjoyed the striking almost Nordic quality of the light for the first hour or so, after which the fog lifted to reveal a stunningly beautiful landscape bathed in crisp sunshine. Artificial perhaps, but so is any well-designed garden. After a superb coffee on the boardwalk we visited the display centre for the latest apartment development, which got me thinking.

It lacks the big city ambience of say the Docklands in Melbourne, but it's a lot prettier and more accessible.

As an investment prospect -- well, we all want to buy in the trough and sell at the peak. Prices seem to have plateaued for the moment, and it could be that I would do better to wait for a few months or a year, but then I wished I had bought into Canberra in the early Howard years. And right now the right product is available in a spot that can't be replicated.

I need to make a firm decision in the next couple of days. If anyone has any tips about what or who to avoid I'd welcome them. But I don't need to be told by some commentator in the local paper that it's a 'wasteland of empty streets and architecturally stunted structures' without nature strips. Apart from a couple of the earliest developments closer to Wentworth Avenue that don't appear to have aged well, I'm happy with the layout and streetscapes.

 

[Jamie M]

we visited the display centre for the latest apartment development, which got me thinking.

Hiya marcfranc

Just do heaps of DD if you're keen on buying. It might be just me being incredibly bearish on OTP in Canberra - but I just can't see value when there's so much supply at present in the ACT and defects as mentioned above.

Cheers

Jamie

 

[marcfranc]

Completely agree Marcfranc. I just spent the day there, it is pretty perfect and quite spectacular on a nice day.

Are you looking at the Pier development?

Yes. I could wait and some what else comes up on but it's the last block on the northern side and seems to be selling quickly.

 

[property_girl]

Yes. ... it's the last block on the northern side ... .

Which one is that? Bridgepoint?

 

[marcfranc]

Hiya marcfranc

Just do heaps of DD if you're keen on buying. It might be just me being incredibly bearish on OTP in Canberra - but I just can't see value when there's so much supply at present in the ACT and defects as mentioned above.

Cheers

Jamie

Thanks for your thoughts. I've never bought off the plan before and I'll admit the risks are an issue for me. On the other hand, the fact that it won't be available for a couple of years I see as an upside, because in my experience conservative governments lose their enthusiasm for cuts by the end of their first term.