How close to Train Tracks & Train Station would you Buy a Property?

[windsor]

Just curious as petrol prices are on the way up.

There are a few Properties on the market in Moonee Ponds that are valued higher then those further away from the Train Station and Shops and even some properties just across the road from the train tracks tend to sell well.

Question: is what would be the Minimum Distance you would Purchase a Property next to Train Tracks??

Distance I've only given a approx as some houses in the street have 7mt frontage and some 20mt frontage. The houses are located 350 mt's walking distance to the Train Station and Shops of Moonee Ponds.

a) Train Track Across the Road (House across the Rd from Tracks)
b) Train Tracks 20 mt away (House approx 1 House away from Tracks)
c) Train Tracks 40 mt away (House's approx 2 Houses away from Tracks)
d) Train Tracks 60 mt away (House's approx 4 Houses away from Tracks)
e) Train Tracks 80 mt away (House's approx 5 Houses away from Tracks)
e) Train Tracks 100 mt away (House's approx 6-7 Houses away from Tracks)
f) Train Tracks 120 mt away (House's approx 8-9 Houses away from Tracks)
g) Train Tracks 140 mt away (House's approx 10-11 Houses away from Tracks)

What would be your absolute minimum distance you would purchase a house away from the Train Tracks. Its a very Tree Lined street so not much noise unless your more then 3 houses away or 60mt's away I've noticed.

Looking forward to your replies

 

[Rixter]

At least 1 street back from the line/station for a IP - not adjacent to the tracks.

 

[windsor]

At least 1 street back from the line/station for a IP - not adjacent to the tracks.

So you wouldnt consider any of these properties??

I've attached a picture showing the street, there are no side streets.

 

[windsor]

Would you consider 100mt's away from the Train tracks to be Ok for a IP purchase?

 

[aaarghhh]

So you wouldnt consider any of these properties??

I've attached a picture showing the street, there are no side streets.

Buy the 20 metre frontage lots. May you could subdivide into 2 or 3 lots?

I've seen 10 metres frontage houses, but 7 metre lots? That's gotta be close to lot size for caravan sites.

Aaron

 

[buzzlightyear]

Is the train track in a cut away or is it at street level? Here's another thread about train stations that came up recently

 

[Rixter]

So you wouldnt consider any of these properties??

They dont fit my purchasing criteria.

 

[windsor]

The road slopes down from the top were the train tracks are, and you could just see the top half of the train as it paases the house to give you a idea.

I've attached a few pictures showing the area, and your feedback would be greatly appreciated. The house is between 100 to 120mt from the centre line of the train tracks.

The 20mt frontage houses they are asking close to $1.5mill to $2mill in the street. The house Im looking at has almost a 14mt frontage.

On the picture you will I circled the area to show you Number 37 Eglinton St sold for $880,000 just 4 weeks ago and the land was just over 400m2. Another house or townhouse in the street 50 Eglinton St sold for $820,000 just a few weeks back and the land size was just over 250m2.

The house Im purchasing is 500m2 with a frontage of almost 14mt for $700k and its located 115mt's from the centre line of the tracks.

And approx only 350mt to Moonee Ponds Train Station and close to all the shops.

If you look at this house in moonee ponds set on 480m2 and just next to the train tracks they are asking $750k to $820k and the house is Heritage Listed.

http://www.domain.com.au/Public/PropertyDetails.aspx?adid=2007232915

Would you buy after seeing that latest sales, and these homes were not that fantastic, the townhouse that sold for $820,000 was nice but the house that sold for $880,000 WB House was just renovated with a 11mt frontage and land size of just 404m2.

Please tell me your thoughts.

 

[windsor]

Another better image of street showing Railway Line or Train Tracks and the street is very wide with very ample parking on the road.

 

[handyandy]

I think the price if effected by the distance to the station rather than the distance to the actual train line.

The distance to the train line could be a negative as per your implied concern re noise but these days the new trains are very quite. Also we use to live in a house on a busy road and after a while you really don't hear the traffic noise so train noise would recede into the background in the same way.

I would imagine that the noise level is fairly low as you indicate that you can only see the top of the train, this is not where the noise originates.

The main source of a train is the boggy and the line points as they are traversed, as you do not have a direct visual this means that houses are in the way, which will absorb a substantial level of the noise.

Cheers

 

[windsor]

Would you say its safe purchase being that close to the Train Tracks and for that money? as I know that alot of buyers including myself are concerned about the Capital Growth in years to come becauce the house is located close to the train tracks.

 

[DCI]

I think as an investor it is important to stay one foot ahead of market demand.
Train stations.....within walking distance is a great location for Ip.
Petrol predicted to hit $2 by end of year no suprises here.
Demand for close proximity to these transport hubs will certainly increase.
Just watch as prices of fuel soar, so will demand for transport friendly properties.
One/two streets away is good, but transport ripple will see CG no matter how close to train line.
Who would have thought polished floor boards would be so popular now,when Lino and carpet were once the best????? :

 

[Peter Parker]

Would you say its safe purchase being that close to the Train Tracks and for that money? as I know that alot of buyers including myself are concerned about the Capital Growth in years to come becauce the house is located close to the train tracks.

If it's near noisy train tracks, it should already be cheaper, and you should be able to buy it for less.

And when you go to sell it, then you'd also sell it cheaper.

So the capital gain, at worst, should be the same. It might be a reason for future buyers not to buy yours, but at least there are countervailing advantages, compared to if it was just a freight line or a slaughterhouse opposite so you'll eventually get a buyer if the price is right (and as you bought cheaper your capital gain will still be OK).

But if proximity is more highly valued then the capital gain could be higher.

Now if you were to knock down the house and build units, then only the front unit would have most of the noise, and you'd hardly hear a thing at the rear units. So only a portion of the property then becomes rail noise affected.

So in the worst case scenario capital gain as a percentage should be equal, but there are other circumstances where it could be better.

Also note that proximity to rail has real scarcity value even in cities that have large networks by world standards (all Australian capitals with 1m+ population). In major capital cities only 15-20% of houses are within walking distance of a station. And even in suburbs with rail only a minority of houses could be considered within 10 min walking distance unless the suburb is very small.

 

[Jodie701]

This is a good topic.

We just our first IP. It's OTP and right across the street from the train line. At first I thought it would be off putting and not much of a view from the balcony, but we bought the apartment on the 5th floor so I'm sure noise should be limited and there will still be a view of other things from that hight.

Our PPOR is very close to a small airport and we constantly have small planes flying over us. It's a big topic of conversation from visitors, but it's something that we ourselves barely notice anymore (noise) and if we do we enjoy the sounds of the planes. I think that those who live near train lines may have a similar opinion, in that you get used to it that you enjoy it.

I also stayed in a hotel room on the 5th floor once over looking a trainline. I found traffic more noisey then the trains since it was on a busy road but I didn't mind watching the trains and traffic, so I don't think it's as bad as it first seems. In other words, I don't think the trainlines really effect the property that much. The apartment we bought is the most expensive one in that area even given the location.

 

[arms]

i bought an ip right across the road from a train station and the interesting thing was when i was intervewing tenents they either thought the house was to close and therefore noisy or the house was perfect as it was so close to public transport ,bit of mick or mike really

 

[Alex P Keaton]

I think as an investor it is important to stay one foot ahead of market demand.
Train stations.....within walking distance is a great location for Ip.
Petrol predicted to hit $2 by end of year no suprises here.
Demand for close proximity to these transport hubs will certainly increase.
Just watch as prices of fuel soar, so will demand for transport friendly properties.
One/two streets away is good, but transport ripple will see CG no matter how close to train line.
Who would have thought polished floor boards would be so popular now,when Lino and carpet were once the best????? :

you wouldn't want to be closer than a 5 minute walk though i think. .....Undersirables.... and crime ?

 

[Alex P Keaton]

oh hehe this is a post from 2008. i saw someone reading it in the whos online and thought i'd reply then noticed how old it was. guess it doesnt matter.

 

[Jk200sx]

I know this is an old topic, but an interesting one. Anyone have any thoughts 7 years later considering there have been developments close to train lines/stations.

What spurred me to investigate this topic was that I have come across this particular development:
http://www.realestate.com.au/property-unit-vic-reservoir-119492879
It pretty much abutts the train line in Reservoir, and is a minute or so walk to the train station. I know the area well, and the small shopping strip has just started its gentrification journey. I've also heard that its planned to run the train line underground to then allow for shops/retail/housing through to the other side to High St?

 

[Peter Parker]

What spurred me to investigate this topic was that I have come across this particular development:
http://www.realestate.com.au/property-unit-vic-reservoir-119492879
It pretty much abutts the train line in Reservoir, and is a minute or so walk to the train station. I know the area well, and the small shopping strip has just started its gentrification journey. I've also heard that its planned to run the train line underground to then allow for shops/retail/housing through to the other side to High St?

There's Reservoir and Reservoir. It's Melbourne's biggest suburb and areas vary from very handy to 'don't touch'.

Despite being near rail the above property is still in an inferior B-grade location at Keon Park. The shopping strip is way too small to be useful for many needs. Unless it is moved the area will always be identified by the massive electricity terminal station.

Talk about undergrounding the rail line is highly speculative, very expensive and very rarely done. Basing any purchasing decision on it being done is stupid. Mahoneys Rd is not even on the government's list of level crossings to remove. http://www.dtpli.vic.gov.au/transpo...oval-project/level-crossing-removal-locations

Just down the road at Reservoir proper is a different kettle of fish, although admittedly its high traffic remains a weakness. A good range of local shops and planned government investment will help the area. Eg the High St crossing is on their list. Also there will be new bus connection to Latrobe Uni following funding in this week's budget. http://www.latrobe.edu.au/news/articles/2015/release/la-trobe-welcomes-shuttle-bus-funding

While there are many older unexciting units in the Reservoir area I'd still expect these to benefit from improvements to the area's amenity from projects like the above.

 

[DavidMc]

Close enough to walk. Far enough away to not hear it.

As a light sleeper, none of those options would suit.

Ideally between 500m (7 min walk) - 1km (15 min walk) for me.

Trains may be 24h at some stage (I believe there was talk of this for weekends).