Katoomba rental demand

[orcades]

Hi—we were thinking of buying a house on a good bit of land in Katoomba. There does however seem to be a lot of places to rent (after having searched realestate.com). This goes for other parts of the Blue Mountains as well. Does anybody know if there is any problem with getting tenants? The growth potential seems to be good but are not sure how long it would take for us to rent it out once we bought it!

Cheers.

 

[keithj]

Hi—we were thinking of buying a house on a good bit of land in Katoomba. There does however seem to be a lot of places to rent (after having searched realestate.com). This goes for other parts of the Blue Mountains as well. Does anybody know if there is any problem with getting tenants? The growth potential seems to be good but are not sure how long it would take for us to rent it out once we bought it!

Hi orcades,

You're right - there are lots of places to rent, both in Katoomba & the rest of the Blue Mtns. Check The Gazette - it's down to an average of 3 columns of rentals each week - a couple of years ago it was always 5 columns. However, there are usually lots of poorer quality rentals, so maybe get up here & drive by a few of them to compare.

Cheers,

KJ

 

[orcades]

Katoomba

Thanks KJ. We do plan to head up in about a months time and will be keeping an eye on what dissapears from the list of rentals and what is left by the time we get up there. It is good to know that the rental column is getting smaller and not larger!

Cheers

OC

 

[Roger]

Hi orcades,

I have property in Katoomba. It is 3 bedroom and in a very good condition. I have had this property for just over 3 years. Renting can be a problem. Twice the property has been empty for over 4 weeks. Also, the rent has only been increase once during these few years by only $5 p/w.

The property was valued last year at $340,000. The purchase price was $270,000.

I think in the long run it probably would be a good investment.

Cheers,
Roger.

 

[orcades]

Thanks for the insiders info Roger! That is good to know.

We will have to have a think and weigh it all up.

OC

 

[Roger]

Last week I asked the estate agent for valuation, he called me 30 mintues ago. The new valuation was less than last years, it is now valued at $329,000.

Cheers,
Roegr.

 

[orcades]

Katoomba

Hi Roger,

The reason we were interested was that Residex (and other articles we have read) were anticipating more than 7%+ a year increase over the next 5 years—so hang in there.

(We would hate to think of the value of our Sydney property after having bought it in 2002!)

orcades.

 

[keithj]

The reason we were interested was that Residex (and other articles we have read) were anticipating more than 7%+ a year increase over the next 5 years—so hang in there.

The Great Western Highway will be 4 lanes to Katoomba within 12-18 months, maybe that's why they predict growth??

 

[Oscar]

tread carefully

I own a home in Leura, near Katoomba, and in 2004 was vacant for 4 months! Tenancy can be very tricky. If you're interested in +ve cash flow or anything near forget it. I am holding for long term appreciation potential. Waiting for the retiring boomers to move up in droves for their tree change fix...