Is Bendigo past it's prime?
- Thread starter AHwee
- Start date
Why is that?
But Bendigo has a new hospital coming up, to be completed end 2016. This is one of the biggest single building project undertaken in a regional town in Australia. Its coming should have a positive impact on the economy and housing market of Bendigo. On the other hand, Ballarat don't seems to have any upcoming infrastructure to boost its economy in the near future... In this respect, Bendigo logically, should have a better prospect than Ballarat. Or at least, not inferior to it?
Those that think nothing is happening in Ballarat should probably have a look at the major projects sections of the Ballarat City Council website. Population projections also show Ballarat having a higher population than Bendigo every five years for the next 15 and increasing at a higher rate every 5 years.
So if it is generally agreed that Bendigo is suffering from high vacancy rate, higher property prices and excessive supply of new houses, which other regional towns in Victoria fare better in terms of property investment, other than possibly Ballarat? How about Wodonga or Shepparton? Or even Warrnambool or Warangul?
With Melbourne property prices increasingly "bubble like", it might be a safer bet to invest in a sizable regional town?
With Melbourne property prices increasingly "bubble like", it might be a safer bet to invest in a sizable regional town?
Why look elsewhere than Ballarat? I don't think it's at the top of the cycle, houses are affordable, yields are good and there's quite a bit of investment heading in that area. In saying that, one thing I did overlook during doing my research was the price of stamp duty in Victoria which is a killer. On a $300k purchase there is about a $5k difference between Victoria and NSW.
I just purchased my first IP in East Ballarat.
My reasons:
The government is likely to move the Vic Roads headquarters there, bringing 400 professional jobs to the region; the market is diversified with a strong tourism and manufacturing base, as well the town being described as a 'thriving IT hub'. You also have the proximity to Melbourne, and the regional rail link is likely to facilitate the Melbourne commuter market. Furthermore, many of the suburbs have very decent yields; I just bought a tenanted house with a 6% yield.
Another little interesting thing to consider is the restriction on the oversupply of land to the East. The government has just declared the Canadian Forest area as parkland; so Ballarat East, despite the fact that there are still some decent parcels of land floating around, is more or less land locked from any major future housing development. This is also the side of Ballarat closest to Melbourne.
Cheers, Beelzebub
My reasons:
The government is likely to move the Vic Roads headquarters there, bringing 400 professional jobs to the region; the market is diversified with a strong tourism and manufacturing base, as well the town being described as a 'thriving IT hub'. You also have the proximity to Melbourne, and the regional rail link is likely to facilitate the Melbourne commuter market. Furthermore, many of the suburbs have very decent yields; I just bought a tenanted house with a 6% yield.
Another little interesting thing to consider is the restriction on the oversupply of land to the East. The government has just declared the Canadian Forest area as parkland; so Ballarat East, despite the fact that there are still some decent parcels of land floating around, is more or less land locked from any major future housing development. This is also the side of Ballarat closest to Melbourne.
Cheers, Beelzebub
Yes. I think Ballarat is big enough to provide opportunities for one to invest. There's no need to look at other towns.
Care to share the good areas in Ballarat to invest and which areas to avoid? Generally areas near the CBD are good but this might not always be true. E.g. Strathdale or Strathfieldsaye in Bendigo are 6 and 12km away from the CBD but are highly sought after places. What's the equivalent of these places in Ballarat? At the same time, Long Gully and California Gully, which are around 4 and 5km away from the CBD of Bendigo are not seen as good areas generally and house prices there are low. What's their equivalent in Ballarat?
Any opinions will be good.
Care to share the good areas in Ballarat to invest and which areas to avoid? Generally areas near the CBD are good but this might not always be true. E.g. Strathdale or Strathfieldsaye in Bendigo are 6 and 12km away from the CBD but are highly sought after places. What's the equivalent of these places in Ballarat? At the same time, Long Gully and California Gully, which are around 4 and 5km away from the CBD of Bendigo are not seen as good areas generally and house prices there are low. What's their equivalent in Ballarat?
Any opinions will be good.
Hi I've got a few places in Bendigo. Vacancy rate is definitely up and I've had a bit of trouble renting out a couple of my properties and recently dropped the rent on one to get it rented. That's ok though with the recent rate drops I'm still making money. I still believe that Bendigo has a lot going for it whether it's overpriced or not I can't say.
We've just purchased an IP in Ballarat Central- we chose Ballarat due to proximity to Melbourne, decent yields, and although probably not the smartest reason for an IP, just really liked the "vibe".
Ballarat also seems to be more reasonably priced than either Bendigo or Geelong.
Best areas for Ballarat are Ballarat Central and Alfredton- Ballarat East is also good- definitely on the rise. Sebastapol and Redan have better yields but are typically not as "desirable" but of the two, Redan is definitely better and also closer to the CBD.
Canadian and Mount Pleasant also seem to be nice but we decided against those due to potential oversupply- it's surrounded by lots of vacant land. We originally liked Alfredton as from what I can tell, it's the premier family location with some great schools. However in the end decided against this, as once again lots of vacant land and many many H&L packages for sale around there.
I'm far from a Ballarat expert as don't live there and have only just purchased our first IP there but have done a fair bit of experience over the last few months so happy to offer any (limited!) insight if you want to PM me
Ballarat also seems to be more reasonably priced than either Bendigo or Geelong.
Best areas for Ballarat are Ballarat Central and Alfredton- Ballarat East is also good- definitely on the rise. Sebastapol and Redan have better yields but are typically not as "desirable" but of the two, Redan is definitely better and also closer to the CBD.
Canadian and Mount Pleasant also seem to be nice but we decided against those due to potential oversupply- it's surrounded by lots of vacant land. We originally liked Alfredton as from what I can tell, it's the premier family location with some great schools. However in the end decided against this, as once again lots of vacant land and many many H&L packages for sale around there.
I'm far from a Ballarat expert as don't live there and have only just purchased our first IP there but have done a fair bit of experience over the last few months so happy to offer any (limited!) insight if you want to PM me
Hi
Hello,
Bendigo has peaked!!!
If you thought to buy in the area three to fours years ago you would of made some decent coin but for the time being not much growth.
I am not a big fan of regional properties at the moment with the economy not in the most healthy states and with lending changes being applied I would be focusing more in areas that are in Melbourne.
Hello,
Bendigo has peaked!!!
If you thought to buy in the area three to fours years ago you would of made some decent coin but for the time being not much growth.
I am not a big fan of regional properties at the moment with the economy not in the most healthy states and with lending changes being applied I would be focusing more in areas that are in Melbourne.
To say Bendigo has peaked is a big call. I take it with a grain of salt those people who are suddenly experts in the Bendigo region. I'm currently not buying in Bendigo at present but to say it has peaked, never to rise again is full of xxxx. Bendigo was stagnant for a long time, it then experienced great growth and is now quiet again till the next correction. Bendigo has good fundamentals it has multiple industries here and has a good future outlook I believe. In my opinion it's a good long term hold and that's exactly what I'm doing.
Why does the recent tightening up of the banks influence regional and metro in a different way?