Ormond, VIC - good area to live and invest?

[mattcalla]

I'm thinking of investing in property in Ormond, Vic near Caulfield? Is this a good area? About 10-12 km's out of the city, good transport. I can't afford houses, so I'm thinking of a 2 bed unit in the 350-400k range. I'm hoping some more experienced investors can give me some advice as to whether this is a good area to invest?

My thinking is that its reasonably close to the beach and other good suburbs (Brighton, Malvern, Caulfield), close to universities, and good transport? Is this a good sign, or am I overlooking something?

 

[Peter Parker]

I'm thinking of investing in property in Ormond, Vic near Caulfield? Is this a good area? About 10-12 km's out of the city, good transport. I can't afford houses, so I'm thinking of a 2 bed unit in the 350-400k range. I'm hoping some more experienced investors can give me some advice as to whether this is a good area to invest?

My thinking is that its reasonably close to the beach and other good suburbs (Brighton, Malvern, Caulfield), close to universities, and good transport? Is this a good sign, or am I overlooking something?

Nothing wrong with it, but the local shopping strip isn't anything to write home about and your tenant will be driving to Bentleigh, Glenhuntly or Carnegie all the time.

Ormond has Kilvington College and a direct bus to Monash Uni Clayton both of which are good. But it's got heavy traffic on North Rd.

McKinnon/Bentleigh though further out are slightly handier as they're near sought-after McKinnon Secondary and have good shopping on Centre Rd.

Also worth considering is Carnegie. This has a better train service than Ormond/McKinnon/Bentleigh, and like Bentleigh and Elsternwick are regarded as local hubs by the council.

On paper Glenhuntly looks better than Ormond and its shopping strip, though run-down, has everything you need for daily needs including a Safeway. It also has a tram down Glenhuntly Rd which is more frequent than the train. But any train delay there leaves people behind on the platform (and it can be up to 16 min until the next one), so for that reason Ormond is a safer bet than Glenhuntly and Bentleigh is better still.

All areas mentioned, but particularly Glenhuntly and Carnegie, are full of renters, commonly overseas students attending Monash. Bentleigh feels a bit more 'middle class' and in my view the best suburb in the area - between Caulfield and Mentone (beachside) at any rate.

 

[mattcalla]

Thanks for your reply Spiderman. Just one thing I want to clarify. When you sad Bentleigh feels a bit more 'middle class' are you saying that Ormond is considered lower or upper class in comparison? I'm curious to gauge people's perception of the area.

 

[Peter Parker]

Thanks for your reply Spiderman. Just one thing I want to clarify. When you sad Bentleigh feels a bit more 'middle class' are you saying that Ormond is considered lower or upper class in comparison? I'm curious to gauge people's perception of the area.

Bentleigh and Ormond are roughly comparable as regards detached housing.

But Glenhuntly/Carnegie and to some extend Ormond have more areas dominated by units than Bentleigh.

Bentleigh seems to be more settled - families (and older people) in houses, whereas parts of Glenhuntly/Carnegie has high concentrations of transient students in units.

As an example, try to find a 1br apartment in Bentleigh - there's not many. But there's heaps in Glenhuntly/Carnegie and to some extent Ormond. This affects these suburbs appeal and affordability for those who live there.

 

[DavidHooper]

My understanding is that part of Ormond (on the south of North Rd) is in the McKinnon Zone.

http://www.mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au/school/map/map.htm

 

[rprodrive]

Nothing wrong with it, but the local shopping strip isn't anything to write home about and your tenant will be driving to Bentleigh, Glenhuntly or Carnegie all the time.

Ormond has Kilvington College and a direct bus to Monash Uni Clayton both of which are good. But it's got heavy traffic on North Rd.

McKinnon/Bentleigh though further out are slightly handier as they're near sought-after McKinnon Secondary and have good shopping on Centre Rd.

Also worth considering is Carnegie. This has a better train service than Ormond/McKinnon/Bentleigh, and like Bentleigh and Elsternwick are regarded as local hubs by the council.

On paper Glenhuntly looks better than Ormond and its shopping strip, though run-down, has everything you need for daily needs including a Safeway. It also has a tram down Glenhuntly Rd which is more frequent than the train. But any train delay there leaves people behind on the platform (and it can be up to 16 min until the next one), so for that reason Ormond is a safer bet than Glenhuntly and Bentleigh is better still.

All areas mentioned, but particularly Glenhuntly and Carnegie, are full of renters, commonly overseas students attending Monash. Bentleigh feels a bit more 'middle class' and in my view the best suburb in the area - between Caulfield and Mentone (beachside) at any rate.

your arguments are not that persuasive re bentleigh being better

ormond is closer to to the city than bentleigh as well as the universities (this is the small unit/apartment market we are talking about)

ormond can be just as close to mckinnon secondary as bentleigh - if that is what tenants of small units are looking for (how many families wanting to send their kids to mckinnon secondary live in a 2 bed unit???). Not all parts of bentleigh are in the mckinnon zone (same for ormond) but i digress.

bentleigh has more traffic on nepean highway than north road so unless you actually live on north road - don't see how traffic is a problem

there is a supermarket in ormond if tenants want to walk to the supermarket (most people prefer to drive anyway)

the quality of 'shopping' is not everything - otherwise why not suggest he buy right next door to the Chadstone shopping centre?

as for this lower, middle class rubbish - look at the median house prices. ormond is higher.

 

[normailson]

The problem when discussing some of these areas is that the demarcation of these suburbs is a bit hazy. Glenhuntly merges into Carnegie and Ormond which merges into McKinnon etc.

Spiderman is highlighting a known issue with the area that is the North Road Ormond shopping Centre. It has been reported as dirty in the local Leader, has limited shops and parking and you need to cross the lights to span the shops. E.g. Romezzo café is on the wrong side (with BTW great Spanish donuts). I personally like high quality fruit and vegies and would travel to Bentleigh or Carnegie to buy them without looking at the place on North Road.

Bentleigh proper is centred (pardon the pun) on Centre Rd rather than Nepean Highway. There’s not even a shadow of a chance of competing with the Centre Rd shopping centre.

I have family in Ormond between Koornang and Grange Roads on a street where 1960s to present day development has not been kind. Their house, in my estimation, hovers around the million mark but MOST of the surrounding buildings in that street are duplexes and flats. At night, there appear to be Indian (or Sri Lankan) students everywhere as they seem to keep late hours. But they are peaceful (i.e. noisy but not problematic in any way) – the concentration of which is probably because Grange Rd is a virtual straight road to Monash Univesity Caulfield (not Clayton)

I don’t think Bentleigh has pockets of such dense living – but for tenants I’m sure no one really cares including the renters themselves. But, yes, it does have the train station as do Carnegie and Bentleigh.

I’ve never really understood why Mckinnon High has recorded such good results but the quality of education on offer means that houses will often go for the price of secondary education factored-in. People seem to hold that school in awe such was the shock that one of the strippers involved in the King Street shooting was a former student.

My personal opinion is that you should avoid the overly dense pockets of which there are many in Carnegie, Glenhuntly and Ormond so that you are not competing with every other landlord out there. I used to own IPs in Carnegie and a family member has one in Glenhuntly.

The unit I use to own in Carnegie was close to the intersection with Murrumbeena and Dandenong Roads. There were about zillion blocks of 1960s units and flats there. Now I own a unit more bayside than Carnegie and it's special because it's away from other competitors.

 

[mattcalla]

How much does a courtyard count in areas like this? I've seen a few blocks of apartments, and always thought that if you can get a place with a courtyard (as opposed to just another indoors unit with no outdoor living area) it was always a good thing. Do the renters in this area care about things like this? Will having a courtyard so that you can have a BBQ on a nice summers night be beneficial in the long run? I ask because I actually come from the country, and like having a living space outdoors, but since moving to Melbourne also like being close to the city - so something like this seems like a compromise.

 

[The Y-man]

How much does a courtyard count in areas like this?

It can count for quite a bit - make sure it is on title (you technically get a bigger share of property than other owners).

The only down side is that because they are on the ground floor, security may be compromised (counter argument: no need to climb them stairs!)

Cheers,

The Y-man

 

[lisport]

I know a bit about bentleigh, mckinnon, but not alot abour ormond, but I hopes.

If you are tryin to attract a student:
Not the closest place to uni's. Most students would rather be closer to their uni. The shopping is ok, and there are cheap shops, but these cater mostly to older people and familes.

If you ae trying to attract a family/newly weds/couple:
Close to schools, nice community. Dont see many rough people about. People keep their homes clean (usually), so it looks like a nice suburb. The shops are nothing great, but families and bike riders stop at the cafes alot. There is alot of people that walk/job/ride bikes/ walk the dog for exercise. Centre rd is pretty bad near the station. And its near the beach and brighton. Also, bentligh is closer to the neapon hwy.

Mckinnon is much the same, but you have to travel further to get to the shops (not much though).

Also, single bedroom unit in bentleigh went for $270k in july, if that helps.