Interesting comments. Seems quite a few are downbeat on Caroline Springs (CS).
Elsewhere in this forum, lots are getting excited about Melton. CS is in the Shire of Melton (council). Melton itself is much farther away from the CBD vs CS. With the newly-opened Deer Park bypass, it takes about half an hour drive to get to the city. There is also a railway station planned (yes vaporware at this stage, but so was the bypass a few years ago) to be built by 2011.
Put me down as one who is more bullish about the long term prospects of CS
Disclaimer: I own property in CS
Ernie, a couple of things:
* Our record of delivering road projects is better than delivering public transport projects. For evidence examine Melbourne's 1969 transport plan and compare (i) the proportion of road projects completed versus (ii) the proportion of public transport projects completed.
Basing a buying decision on a future public transport project is highly speculative. If transport is an important criteria then you go with a suburb with it - either country trains (eg Melton) or, even better, suburban trains (eg Frankston, Narre Warren, Craigieburn). And even if Caroline Springs does get a station, it will be well outside the suburb so people will need to either get an (infrequent) bus or compete for parking spots.
* I agree there's possibly better investing places than Melton. But comparing CS with Melton is unfair as the two suburbs have different average prices and demographics.
Melton avg: $210k
http://www.domain.com.au/public/suburbprofile.aspx?mode=buy&suburb=MELTON&postcode=3337
Caroline Springs avg: $330k
http://www.domain.com.au/Public/suburbprofile.aspx?mode=research&searchTerm=Caroline Springs
So you could just about get two Melton cheapies ($180k for the price of a fairly average one in Caroline Springs ($360k).
* Caroline Springs has an average house price of $330k. But does it have $330k worth of value? This is assessed by a comparison of the area's services and facilities with those of every other suburb with a $330k average or close.
To me places like outer eastern suburbs past Ringwood, low socio-economic but close-in areas like Sunshine, and near coastal areas like Altona Meadows or Chelsea Heights would all be strong contenders.
Caroline Springs, like most newer suburbs, also has some disadvantages due to its housing stock. Because of the greater housing diversity in older suburbs, there's a greater variability in house prices in these areas. This means a better chance of finding something for (say) $330k but buying in a suburb with an average price of $400k+ and getting $400k worth of services, facilities and demographics into the bargain. The scope for value-adding is also increased as there's a likely better return for each dollar spent.
