Neutral/positive gearing shouldn't be the only consideration, I'm sure those who invested in mining areas learned that the hard way.
As for most of those investing up north being in it for the long term... I know one investor who bought a couple there a few years ago (probably near the peak), had numerous tenant issues (vacancies, damage, other repairs) and has been trying to get out for break even for some time. Let's not use our anecdotal stories to generalise
Could be right (mostly priced in), but I prefer to wait a little longer and see.
Definitely. Property is about capital growth but income restricts where you can invest and what strategies you can use. Personally I'm on a below median salary income so investing in the eastern suburbs/close to the CBD is out of the question for me. I would be getting a poor yield and my serviceability for future purchases would be effected.
As for the neutral/positive gearing it all depends on your strategy but when I was talking about it I was thinking of metropolitan investment. Personally I'm investing around the Salisbury region. Yields are higher in Elizabeth but they are still good in Salisbury as well so holding costs are generally minimal.
Yeah Elizabeth has been pretty flat for the last few years so if you're getting bad tenants and maintenance issues all the time I could see it becoming frustrating. That's all part of the game though. Nothing worth having comes easy.