FHB in Newcastle

Hi All,

I'm a single FHB in Newcastle, thinking of buying a Villa/townhouse/unit in Hamilton, New Lambton, Cooks Hill, Newcastle (inner city etc). Preferably 2br, but would consider 1br if a very good one. My intention would be to owner occupy for 1-3 years the rent out.

I'm new to real estate, and stumbled apon this very useful forum (and hence this is my first post!).

I have been watching the market for the past month, and attended a few open houses. Does anyone have a good idea what I should be paying for such properties? Or alternatively, any suggestions on how I could work out a rough value for a property that I have looked at?

Also does anybody have any insight to where the Newcastle market is heading at the moment (I am in no rush)?

And finally, any tips on what is better, older unit in a large block in a better area with better return, or villa with lower return? Or newer 1bd unit?

Preferably a maximum price of $330k, could possible stretch it a bit further.

Many thanks :)
 
Hi NewMatt,
I guess your nick is because you are a Matt that is new or a Matt from Newy - either way welcome to the forum here.
I'm a single FHB in Newcastle, thinking of buying a Villa/townhouse/unit in Hamilton, New Lambton, Cooks Hill, Newcastle (inner city etc). Preferably 2br, but would consider 1br if a very good one. My intention would be to owner occupy for 1-3 years then rent out.

You can get 2brm decent units in New Lambton starting from $250K. I don't think it is necessary to spend $330K on one that only has 1brm. You can certainly find them at that price but they are often in "managed apartment blocks" in and around the CBD and have high management fees and low cap. growth at least for the first few years. Please avoid those with rental guarantees - and there are a number of these around.

For $280K-$300K+ you can get a decent 2brm older style unit in Cooks Hill.
Hey, if you want to pay around $320K you can get a 2brm right on Darby Street (eat street). Same kind of money for something in Hamilton near Beaumont Street (coffee & cafes)

I have been watching the market for the past month, and attended a few open houses.
:eek: Good start. I've been looking and buying for clients for some years :p

Does anyone have a good idea what I should be paying for such properties?
Yes, yes I do. ;)

Or alternatively, any suggestions on how I could work out a rough value for a property that I have looked at?
Yes:
1. The listing price is often not a guide. Don't fall into the trap of offering some figure like say 10% off the asking price. If the asking price is $50K too much then you'll still be paying too much.
2. The primary way to price property is on a "comparable sales" basis. That is a similar property with similar features etc that has sold recently (within the last 3 - 6 months max).
3. You can buy property reports from Residex, Home Price Guide (APM), RP Data and these will give you a guide but nothing replaces local knowledge of actual sales and knowing the market.
4. Hire a Buyers Agent to run these kind of reports for you. Or lean on a Real Estate Agent mate for the same thing.

Also does anybody have any insight to where the Newcastle market is heading at the moment (I am in no rush)?
Yes, the market is heading up :).
Out of your preferred suburbs, over the last 15 years, Hamilton has been the best cap growth performer, followed by Newcastle, Cooks Hill & New Lambton, in that order.

And finally, any tips on what is better, older unit in a large block in a better area with better return,
Best choice

or villa with lower return?
Not as good choice but OK

Or newer 1bd unit?
Worst choice.
 
Thanks :)

I've been looking around and came across property reports from onthehouse.com.au

Are they of the same standard as paid reports?
 
Thanks :)
I've been looking around and came across property reports from onthehouse.com.au
Are they of the same standard as paid reports?

They are OK but only have very shallow sales history (i.e don't go back far in time) on a prroperty.

To find or assist you with market worth you really need a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) report which is still unavailable in onthehouse so far.
 
Also does anybody have any insight to where the Newcastle market is heading at the moment (I am in no rush)?

:)

Hi Matt,

I have 5 properties in the Newcastle area, (2 townhouses in Charlestown, 1 house in Wallsend , PPOR in Medowie and 3/4 acre block in Medowie) and I can tell you from my own experience that the local market has gone up in the last year.

The two Charlestown properties have had a 15% gain, Wallsend ? , PPOR bought for 350K 2 years ago I think I could probably get around 380K for it (about 8% gain bearing in mind that I think the value probably went down 12 months after I bought it so could be more on last years value), and block of land bought for 260K 4 years ago, I would probably only get back what I paid (18 months after buying it I tried to sell and couldn't even get an offer at 230.
It was originally on the market for 290K !

So the local market has definately gone up and how much for the immediate future? Dunno but if I could get more IPs I would.:D
 
I have been looking at properties in Newcastle for last two months, many people are urging people to buy in the central suburbs and I think this has now pushed properties way up past their real value as I'm sure there are many more lurkers on these forums that don't even post here. I had a bunch of properties shortlisted but most of these are now sold and anything else like these have risen in price by about 25%. So now I'm starting to reconsider Newcastle as the prices have gone up way too much in the last few months.
 
... I had a bunch of properties shortlisted but most of these are now sold and anything else like these have risen in price by about 25%. So now I'm starting to reconsider Newcastle as the prices have gone up way too much in the last few months.

Monsoon, this is the kind of thinking that keeps people broke. :confused:

I'll tell you why using an example of a purchase I made in the share market. Rewind a couple of years. I bought BHP at $26. It fell to $23.:( It went back to $26, then to $28, then to $36. I wanted to buy more. Do you think I could make myself buy more? No way! (how could I pay $36 for something I had only paid $23 for a few months earlier?).

Then it went to $40 - ......I sold my original shareholdings and took my profits. Then it went to $47. Now I ask you, should I have purchased more at $28 and then $36? Damn right I should have.

So prices on the Newcastle RE you've been watching went up 25%....ah huh :p
 
Monsoon, this is the kind of thinking that keeps people broke. :confused:

I'll tell you why using an example of a purchase I made in the share market. Rewind a couple of years. I bought BHP at $26. It fell to $23.:( It went back to $26, then to $28, then to $36. I wanted to buy more. Do you think I could make myself buy more? No way! (how could I pay $36 for something I had only paid $23 for a few months earlier?).

Then it went to $40 - ......I sold my original shareholdings and took my profits. Then it went to $47. Now I ask you, should I have purchased more at $28 and then $36? Damn right I should have.

So prices on the Newcastle RE you've been watching went up 25%....ah huh :p
The point I'm making is that I personally think the prices are over inflated which to me doesn't mean it is a good place to buy. That is completely different to what your suggesting that I'm not going to buy as the prices have gone higher to normal market rises. I still might buy something if I can manage to find a bargain but it's looking very bleak currently.
 
Apologies in advance for the dissection of your post ;)

The point I'm making is that I personally think the prices are over inflated which to me doesn't mean it is a good place to buy.
I can't comment unless you mention specific suburbs. Which one/s do you think are overinflated?

That is completely different to what your suggesting that I'm not going to buy as the prices have gone higher to normal market rises.
What is a "normal" market rise? :confused:

I still might buy something if I can manage to find a bargain
It is clearly a sellers market in Newcastle at the moment. There are still bargains to be had (as there are in any market) but it takes a lot more work to find them :)
We purchased one the other day for $10K under what I believe was market value. (oh and it had a rental yield over 10% even at full asking price). In this case we paid full asking price. It was priced by an out of area agent that IMO did not know his values properly. It was a baaaaaargain maaaaaaaaate!
So look for "for sale" signs with out of area agents. And of course the old 3 D's: death, divorce & d'bank for motivated sellers.

but it's looking very bleak currently.
That's not how I look at things. Be careful of your mental state as you tend to get what you think about & say. :eek:
 
Newcastle is on Terry Ryders new list of Top Ten areas in Australia tipped for a property boom.

Food for thought maybe..........?

Personally if I had any spare cash I would be buying in Newcastle again.
 
i wish i had some more $$$ as i'd be out there buying. i think newcastle is still very good value considering employment, location, climate and services.

personally i'd be looking at older 2 bedroom units that require a cosmetic makeover - no structural problems allowed. my stepdaughter is looking at moving out of home so i've been helping her research and drooling - unfortunately she's thinking of renting instead (damn her mother's influence!).

a 2 bed reno unit in adamstown/hamilton/lambton would go for around $210-240k. merewether is around high $200's, however, there are a couple in a large block at 1-5 dent st, merewether that i wouldn't mind getting my hands on ... assuming they are still for sale.

i remember 12 years ago they were for sale around $100k, renting for $150/wk, but i didn't buy (silly me). now they are around $250k and renting for around $280/wk.

this is what i'd buy - a 2 bedder that needs a cosmetic reno. do the reno and get revalued, live in it and then buy another with the rest of your money to repeat and rent out.
 
a 2 bed reno unit in adamstown/hamilton/lambton would go for around $210-240k. merewether is around high $200's, however, there are a couple in a large block at 1-5 dent st, merewether that i wouldn't mind getting my hands on ... assuming they are still for sale..

I think if it is this then it looks to be sold: http://www.realestate.com.au/cgi-bi...t=&header=&cc=&c=80696807&s=nsw&tm=1257412685

I'm trying to find something under 230k so I might have to look for a unit in Newcastle but I don't like the idea of Strata etc. Only houses for this amount seem to be old 2 bdr in very outer suburbs. :(
 
yes - that was one of them. not surprised they were snapped up.

having a domain.com look at the area for under $250k - not much about atm. there is a unit on brunker road adamstown that i also looked at a few months ago, needs a reno ... might be worth putting in a low offer look.
 
thanks lizzie for the tips. I hope to find a house but a unit might be the best idea for my budget. Maybe a 2br for better rent prospects.
 
buying in newcastle

Hello.

I am new to posting this site, have been reading posts for a while though. Lot of interesting stories and helpful advice. Glad i stumbled on this site!!

I moved to Newcastle from Sydney earlier this year. Have a unit in sydney which is now rented out and I have been renting here.

I am now thinking I might buy somewhere here. I was hoping to get a house. Have been looking into what are best value suburbs. Was thinking Hamilton Nth, Broadmeadow, Adamstown or maybe even around the uni? What do people think. I was thinking If I bought around the uni i could rent out a couple of rooms to uni students, that way I could likely afford to keep the unit in sydney. However a real estate agent I was talking to said capital growth not so good in that area. My plan is to buy and hold as a rental longer term as I may go back to sydney in the future.

Welcome thoughts from anyone who lives or invests in Newcastle.
 
Have you considered Mayfield? It seems so central to everything to me, pretty close to Beaumont St which has the best coffee in Newcastle (not saying much, haha) and some decent cafes..

I'd personally be trying to buy a second place in Sydney and rent in Newcastle since I only like to buy in the major capital cities, but that's just me.
 
I am busy looking for a new PPOR here in Newcastle.

The market certainly is hot atm with anything decent under $500K not staying on the market long.

I am looking in similar suburbs myself.

If I was just looking for an IP I would have found it by now - and prob be sitting on a bit of CG already too :rolleyes:

As for buying an IP - Just do it. Remember a rising tide lifts all boats and if you buy anything decent you will rent it out very easily here as Newcastle always has a <1% vacancy rate and with Jan approaching the market will just get hotter.

I have probably walked past all of you guys at open houses over the last few months of Saturdays - stop being rude and say hello :)
 
Mayfield is so big, I'm not sure what parts are better than others. Any parts to be avoided?

I quite like North Hamilton but not much for sale there.

Originally was looking Lambton and new Lambton as working at John Hunter and renting in that area, but seems overpriced to me.

Budget is around $380 as want to keep unit in sydney.
 
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