Dear Mick,
The property is 1.21KM from the mall and approx 1KM from a primary school and nearly 3KM from a railway station.
Reasonable location to the shopping mall. (12-14 minutes walk depending on how hilly and the energy levels of the person walking.). School okay. Railway station. 30 minutes. No positive impact at all.
From my research the capital growth for Rochedale has been below the QLD average. I do not know the area, and I am wondering wether there is much construction activity in the area and how much vacant land there is for development.
Below average growth can be good if you know the reasons for this. It may mean that it is a sleeper suburb and undervalued. On the other hand it may be a swamp having substantial limitations on development and future subdivision potential.
Went for a drive around the area on the weekend. Okay family area but nothing special. Not my type of fish but that is not to say it is bad.
Based on your knowledge of Brisbane, how important is the railway to the residents, and does the bus service provide a good alternative to rail.
Good question.
I believe that the rail plays a SIGNIFICANT part in the capital growth of properties. All of my IP's are less than 12 minutes walk to the station.
Why are railways important?
Have a look at where Brisbane's population increase comes from. Sure natural increase plays a part. However the more significant increase comes from interstate migration and international immigration. When someone first locates in a new area what factors are important to them? Do they immediately have the finances to buy two cars?
The reality is that finances are tight whilst they set themselves up. For this reason it makes sense to find accomodation that is convenient to transportation to get to employment centres and also to a local shopping centre.
If the suburb is not very close to the city then how do they select where to live? What makes one suburb a better selection than another? That is where railways come in. It immediately makes the selection process easier. The potential tenant knows that the railway will ALWAYS be there and will ALWAYS be easy to use. If they don't have the finances to purchase one or two cars then maybe this will help them get away without it for a while. At least they can easily get to an employment centre. Their kids as well can easily get to schools and entertainment in the city.
They start looking along the train line and simply keep going out until they find the area that they can afford to rent in. Typically after a family moves into an area and establishes themselves then it is likely that they will also stay in the area.
If the IP is easy walking distance. By easy I mean less than 14 minutes walk to the station you will find that this is significant in ensuring capital growth. There is only so much land in easy walking distance to the station. When population growth keeps driving up demand for accomodation then at some point in time this land if it is not already zoned will have better potential to become medium density housing. When someone builds a unit block beside your house what impact will that have on the value of the land your house if on?
Councils also have an obligation to increase the utilisation rates of public transport. One council report I read showed the increase in using cars and the impact that this will have on the amount of road upkeep and new roads that will have to be built. As this is not cost-effective for council budgets important measures are being taken to ensure that there is major and ongoing increase in the utilisation of public transport and funds are being allocated to ensure this.
Look at the major cities in the world. See how they cope with major populations and corresponding increases. Whilst I could not imagine a two hour commute to a place of employment each day, people are doing this everyday in the US. In Sydney a 45 minute train trip from Hornsby to the city is certainly acceptable. Look at Brisbane through these same eyes. See what you see.
What do the biggest cities in the world use to solve traffic jams that result? Subways. These are just underground trains.
Bus's are comparatively unreliable and more expensive to use. They are also more of a pain in the ass to work out where the bus routes run because next election the route could change............. Train lines don't easily get moved.
I will always extol the virtues of trainlines. They are practical for non-volatile rentals for getting the working population to a place of employment. Choosen right you can get good yields and the proximity to the rail and shops will ensure it's stable capital growth.
Crystal balling how you rate Rochedale South as a capital growth play in the short to medium term.
Crystals balling is not science. I would say look along the train line. Otherwise ensure that you have made the time to physically see the area yourself and work out in your own mind the factors why it is going to have good capital growth, at least okay gross yields and make an investment that fits in with your long-term strategy.
Cheers,
Sunstone.
