Have to buy PPOR in Darwin...HELP!

Hi Guys,
My wife and I need a place of our own in Darwin. This is less a financial decision, more an emotional one.

We love Darwin and will be staying.

Still....I don't want to go financially under just to get a roof either.

The Darwin market is slowing down. The mining boom is ending and all that. Right now I can put the screws in and get a 2 br villa for 350K. Which is a good price (they were recently 400K).

However, there's a HUGE gas processing plant being built that currently employs about 8000 people (Darwin's population is 130 000 ). That is due to finish in mid 2016 and prices should drop further then.

So logically I should be waiting until then, however , in the meantime we are paying 26k pa in rent.

The fundamentals for Darwin are still OK, even after you take the mining and this gas project out of it. There will always be defence, government and tourist jobs here.

Any thoughts guys? Pay the 26k and wait until mid 2016?

Or negotiate hard and buy a place now?

Could really do with some advice here.
 
Buy something which has potential to ease the impact of a dropping market? Something you can add value to?

Buy something elsewhere that you think you'll get capital gain so you can still buy your PPOR in Darwin when (if??) the market softens further?

You're talking about $35K in rent between now & then, if the markets's already dropped $50K / 12% is it really going to drop sufficiently to offset the rent?

Do you have a deposit ready to go?

What are your plans by mid '16, will your borrowing capacity change, up or down?

No answers sorry, I don't know your situation or the Darwin market well enough but these are some of the questions I would be asking myself
 
You can cut half of the 8000 workers on the Ichithys gas project out as they're in camp so have no impact on housing there (just the social impact).

How about buying something with dual living potential where you can rent a portion of the property while you live in the rest of the house? Or something with subdivision potential, I believe Darwin's minimum lot size has recently changed or is about to.

Which area of Darwin would you like to live in?
 
Ha. Prices dropping. In Darwin you say? In my friendly opinion: this is as low as it gets. Buy now. Unemployment is shocking at the mo too.

I made my financial independence money here and still live in Virginia so would like to think I have some street cred

Good luck! Plentya' bargains now. Specially with these rates
 
Back
Top