Is Bendigo past it's prime?

[sash]

OK..guys...I will jump on this mine is bigger party....

I feel the regional town for the most potential is Geelong....

Here is why....

1. The Epworth Hospital is being built there....

2. The train services to Melbourne increased from 152 services to 200 services

3. Deakin University seems to be growing...

4. VIC govt moved the Transport Accident Authority there...now there is talk the Workers Compensation Dept will also move there...

5. The economy is transitioning from manufacturing to services....

6. Have a coffee in Pakington street...and see the vibe.

I just bought 2 places there.....

 

[doozer]

Hi Doozer

Out of curiosity, why should we avoid Mount Pleasant?

Cheers, Beelzebub

In my research on Ballarat I contacted the local Constabulary and they indicated that Mount Pleasant was not so pleasant.

 

[AHwee]

Regarding Geelong, the feeling I have is prices of houses there has gone by a fair bit a few years ago. Houses in or near the CBD areas are already pretty high. Is there room for further growth there?

 

[S.T]

OK..guys...I will jump on this mine is bigger party....

I feel the regional town for the most potential is Geelong....

Here is why....

1. The Epworth Hospital is being built there....

2. The train services to Melbourne increased from 152 services to 200 services

3. Deakin University seems to be growing...

4. VIC govt moved the Transport Accident Authority there...now there is talk the Workers Compensation Dept will also move there...

5. The economy is transitioning from manufacturing to services....

6. Have a coffee in Pakington street...and see the vibe.

I just bought 2 places there.....

You missed another good reason

7. Rixter has moved there

I'm cautious about Geelong at this stage, interested to see what happens once Ford closes. Their mayor is very heavily promotional though and I see some good things happening. Recently went to Powerhouse to check out all the street art, then a coffee down by the waterfront - has changed a lot.

 

[Beelzebub]

OK..guys...I will jump on this mine is bigger party....

I feel the regional town for the most potential is Geelong....

Here is why....

1. The Epworth Hospital is being built there....

2. The train services to Melbourne increased from 152 services to 200 services

3. Deakin University seems to be growing...

4. VIC govt moved the Transport Accident Authority there...now there is talk the Workers Compensation Dept will also move there...

5. The economy is transitioning from manufacturing to services....

6. Have a coffee in Pakington street...and see the vibe.

I just bought 2 places there.....

Totally agree, don't forget:
That thee NDIS is also moving in. This has also led to law firms such as Wisewould & Mahoney's setting up an office in the town (They aren't your Slater & Gordon variety firm, they represent defendants and live on Collins Street).

You also have the potential for Geelong to win the defence contract to build a whole bunch of tanks.

You have all the carbon future stuff going on at Deakin also.

You have the recent expansion of St John of God and Barwon Health (Health care sector has been doing very well in Geelong)

And don't forget the advantages for infrastructure that comes from the town being placed in one of the most marginal seats in the country

My PPOR is in the Geelong area and I was about to buy another IP in the town; however I went for Ballarat in the interests of diversification.

 

[jodes92]

Wow, looking at Geelong makes me feel much more confident about Ballarat!

I know Geelong has a lot going for it that Ballarat doesn't (closer to Melbourne, on the coast larger population etc) but it's nice to see that a "regional city" (albeit larger) can get those kind of prices- might be a fair bit of room for Ballarat's prices to move !

 

[jpcashflow]

Why does the recent tightening up of the banks influence regional and metro in a different way?

Hi Beelzebub,

Really good question...
This is my opinion and I could be wrong, when lending gets tight you would usually see investors become more selective in terms of buying property.
Also when lending tightens this usually would have a effect on borrowing capacity for small business owners.

I have two friends who working in small business lending, one works for a major and the other works for a regional based lender. Both have advised that small business lending is tightening up as well and the friend who works for the smaller lender in a regional town has advised me he is seeing two major things happen.

1) Revenue for all of the small business in a couple of regional towns has shrunk.
2) More and more empty shops....which means less work.

 

[AHwee]

Yes, I have certainly seen that. There's more empty shops in the CBD of Bendigo. Retail has not been performing well and I really do not see anything that'll improve the situation anytime soon. So beware if you're buying commercial properties here!

And though interest rates has dropped, banks have became more selective in giving loans to people. So in the end, it will become harder for anyone to buy a property, thus less buyers. This could contribute to the current situation in Bendigo where property prices have stagnated..