Well, despite the fact that I have been expecting that the worst of the GFC is yet to come to this country, and thinking that unemployment will probably impact negatively on property prices, AND that this is probably a time to pay down debt rather than take it on….. I have done the previously unthinkable and bought not just a house but a PPOR. 
With quite a big mortgage to boot. I am now an example of how irrational human beings can be, and you know what? I don’t care! We are so excited that, 8 years after selling our last (and first) PPOR we have bought our own home again and can’t stop talking about all the plans we have for it. DH is over the moon that he will finally get a pool. I am just happy to have a second bathroom and a BIG backyard (2/3 acre).
Interestingly, there is a lot of interest in this neck of the woods (Mt Eliza) in the 2nd homebuyer price range and the good stock has been selling within a few days. 2 houses we looked at previously sold the day of the first open & the day BEFORE the 1st open (we all turned up to the OFI & there was an “Under Offer” sticker across it already!).
We were lucky to secure this one and the only way we could take it off the market without paying top dollar was to give them a very good – completely unconditional – offer. As Kristine recently posted in another thread – Don’t try this at home, folks!
Heard today from my long-suffering broker (Thanks, Rolf S!) that finance is approved so at some level I’m sure I’ll sleep a little better tonight.
From an investment POV I will say that I’d much rather we’d found something in Frankston South than Mt Eliza (Which is historically a roller coaster with house prices), but perhaps the latter will end up with some flow-on effect from the former. Anecdotally, people have started to move from Melbourne’s bayside suburbs in particular and in the 600k+ category they are looking more at Mt Eliza because it’s apparently more prestigious than Frankston South. We initially rented in Mt Eliza when we moved into the area for the same reason. I guess with Eastlink more people will be tempted to see what they can get for their money a little further afield, and it looks like good value in comparison. Of course, we only bought because we love the house and the location and don’t plan to move for a v. long time. A little growth will be helpful in future though, as we’ll be looking to access some equity one day!
With quite a big mortgage to boot. I am now an example of how irrational human beings can be, and you know what? I don’t care! We are so excited that, 8 years after selling our last (and first) PPOR we have bought our own home again and can’t stop talking about all the plans we have for it. DH is over the moon that he will finally get a pool. I am just happy to have a second bathroom and a BIG backyard (2/3 acre). Interestingly, there is a lot of interest in this neck of the woods (Mt Eliza) in the 2nd homebuyer price range and the good stock has been selling within a few days. 2 houses we looked at previously sold the day of the first open & the day BEFORE the 1st open (we all turned up to the OFI & there was an “Under Offer” sticker across it already!).
We were lucky to secure this one and the only way we could take it off the market without paying top dollar was to give them a very good – completely unconditional – offer. As Kristine recently posted in another thread – Don’t try this at home, folks!
Heard today from my long-suffering broker (Thanks, Rolf S!) that finance is approved so at some level I’m sure I’ll sleep a little better tonight.
From an investment POV I will say that I’d much rather we’d found something in Frankston South than Mt Eliza (Which is historically a roller coaster with house prices), but perhaps the latter will end up with some flow-on effect from the former. Anecdotally, people have started to move from Melbourne’s bayside suburbs in particular and in the 600k+ category they are looking more at Mt Eliza because it’s apparently more prestigious than Frankston South. We initially rented in Mt Eliza when we moved into the area for the same reason. I guess with Eastlink more people will be tempted to see what they can get for their money a little further afield, and it looks like good value in comparison. Of course, we only bought because we love the house and the location and don’t plan to move for a v. long time. A little growth will be helpful in future though, as we’ll be looking to access some equity one day!
