Rocky , The next Big Thing ??

It all depends on your personal plan and preferences

There are people who specifically target places like Depot Hill , and if they are aware of the profile of those areas, they can do well.

HOWEVER IF ANY AREAS were to be considered as Stay away areas , then Depot hill , Lakes Creek and Central Rocky would be prime candidates for inclusion in such a List :)

See Change
 
see_change said:
It all depends on your personal plan and preferences

There are people who specifically target places like Depot Hill , and if they are aware of the profile of those areas, they can do well.

HOWEVER IF ANY AREAS were to be considered as Stay away areas , then Depot hill , Lakes Creek and Central Rocky would be prime candidates for inclusion in such a List :)

See Change
Click to expand...

Depot Hill, I'd agree with as most of it is in flood zone and it is a highly industrial area.

Central Rocky........there are good and bad parts. When I was there for a month renovating, there was a lot of renovation happening in Central Rocky. Some nice streets with potentially nice houses.I would certainly consider the area.

Lakes Creek.........well it is more of a "working class" suburb on the face of it. But solid houses on big blocks and a strong rental demand.
Incidentally, the new lifestyle blocks near my place sell like hot cakes and at a premium price. Would the locals buy there if the area had such a bad reputation?

I bought properties that would be solid renters with good CG. And as I said earlier, the Lakes Creek property has had the best CG.

I know you prefer the "better" suburbs and we have different views on these suburbs. You are happy to take a lower yeild and less CG, than I am, which is fine.

Let us know which suburb has given you the best CG, see change?
 
Ani

The one property you saw out of our purchases ( Mary St , in "The Range " ) was the exception to our buys there. As we were buying several properties, we though it would be a good trial to buy something slightly more expensive compared with our other buys.

To date this one would have had the least capital gain % wise though similar in dollar terms , however something I've noticed over the last three years is that when an area moves it's ofter the lower market that takes off first and then the more expensive areas catch up later. Whether this happens in Rocky is still unknown.

Our best gains have been in the properties we got the best deals on. Allenstown is probably our best performer, though we havn't worried about getting formal valuations done yet. North Rocky is going well , though we have been told that Park Ave ( one there ) hasn't moved as much as some other areas. ( Maybe this is an area for people still looking at buying to check out )

There are nice areas in Lakes Creek, though I must admitt that I havn't heard about the " Lifestyle Blocks " . Would be curious to look if you have any links.

I was more tempted to buy in Depot hill in the Flood areas than Lakes creek simply because you could get high ( 12 % plus ) returns at that stage, and if you stuck to places that only get " wet feet", there didn't seem to be that much renter resistence.

See Change
 
ani said:
Central Rocky........there are good and bad parts. When I was there for a month renovating, there was a lot of renovation happening in Central Rocky. Some nice streets with potentially nice houses.I would certainly consider the area.
Click to expand...

I can't remember any nice streets in Central Rocky. When I first arrived I stayed in a motel there, and the area made an overwhelmingly depressing impression on me. Busy streets, no trees, lots of industry, shabby houses. If the street is nice, it's probably Wandal or The Range - close to Central Rocky, but different suburbs. The Range is the most upmarket suburb on the South Side, some streets are very nice, especially near the Botanic Gardens. Depot Hill is a local ghetto for the unemployed. Lakes Creek also has some housing commission, but has some nice streets too, so you would need to be selective if you buy there.

Cheers
Nic
 
Was wondering if anyone had any first hand info about what is happening in Rocky at the moment.

At the moment I'm getting mixed messages from agents. Some are saying that it's steady without any significant movement, however some are much more bullish over the last month or so , quoting examples of houses being taken off the market before Christmas , and now coming back on , asking 20 k more and getting most of it.

Any opinions ?

See Change
 
Sea Change,
i was just looking at the Qld Public Trustee site for houses for auction
there was a couple of properties on thier list for Rocky maybe worth a look to
understand what happening up that way.
good luck
willair..
 
Not that recent, however, I did the ring around (agents) a few months back all of them reported that it was going strong guns. But I have to admit I didnt overly believe them. I knew it was performing ok but I felt that they were overstating it a little. My opinion is that it has cooled down a little.

Pretty vague response I know, just my opinion. Hope that helps a little anyway.

Cheers,
Panda
 
Panda

My interest is more in the immediate last month.

The market was IMHO at it's strongest in 2003 when it jumped up a fair amount. Last year was good without going through the roof , but I just get the feeling that things have started moving strongly at the moment.

See Change
 
What do you think would be the lowest yield you could sell a duplex for in Rocky. Looking at the prices, most are now selling for $195000, which would be approx 6.5% yield.

Do you think there'd be people who'd buy at 5.5% yield? (obviously not most forum-ites!!). We are considering selling, but we would want to get the price up a bit higher.

there are only 2 duplexes for sale currently on realestate.com.au in that $195 000 price range, then they jump to $298 000. we'd be wanting around
$220-230 000.

What do you think our chances are?

Pen
 
Last edited:
pennyk said:
What do you think would be the lowest yield you could sell a duplex for in Rocky. Looking at the prices, most are now selling for $195000, which would be approx 6.5% yield.

Do you think there'd be people who'd buy at 5.5% yield? (obviously not most forum-ites!!). We are considering selling, but we would want to get the price up a bit higher.

there are only 2 duplexes for sale currently on realestate.com.au in that $195 000 price range, then they jump to $298 000. we'd be wanting around
$220-230 000.

What do you think our chances are?

Pen
Click to expand...

Penny,
If the leases are due for renewal soon, why not do some value adding and hike the rent up to improve the yield this way? Even doing something simple like changing a crappy oven over or painting can make a difference. Putting nice blinds in, buying fresh furniture (if they're furnished) or an a/c, or asking the tenants what they would like can prove useful.
I sold late last yr in Rocky on a 7% gross yield to another very happy investor. Mind you, I only owned it for just over 12 mths and bought with a 9.6% yield. The only changes made were minor repairs, installation of safety switches and the replacement of an old fridge. If I had planned to keep it, I would have eventually renovated as the place was in a great position but a bit tired looking.
Good luck with selling- who have you listed it with?
 
thanks for that advice, Jacque. We haven't listed it yet. Only really just started thinking about it.
One tenant has only just moved in - no increase in rent. The other is a long term tenant, who hasn't had a rent rise since we bought (Jan 2003).

we haven't done any improvements, except for the safety switch and some repairs. We haven't even seen inside it to know what would need to be repaired/improved!

Pen
 
pennyk said:
What do you think would be the lowest yield you could sell a duplex for in Rocky. Looking at the prices, most are now selling for $195000, which would be approx 6.5% yield.

Do you think there'd be people who'd buy at 5.5% yield? (obviously not most forum-ites!!). We are considering selling, but we would want to get the price up a bit higher.

there are only 2 duplexes for sale currently on realestate.com.au in that $195 000 price range, then they jump to $298 000. we'd be wanting around
$220-230 000.

What do you think our chances are?

Pen
Click to expand...


It's a balancing act Penny.

If you look at places like Bundaberg, Historically they peak at about the same price. Although I haven't checked it out myself , I've been told that an average house in Bundy is selling for 200k , while in Rocky that's closer to 140-150. If Rocky is going to get to it's historical level then it's got a way to go. On the other hand Duplexes are selling exclusively to investors, and mainly to out of rocky investors, and they have been subject to a lot of interest ( inparticular from the Steve Mcknight style buyers) so , according to some agents have gone up more than normal houses.

When I first looked at Rocky , no one was interested in Duplexes, then they became the flavour of the month.

Agents are talking about investors buying at yields of 6-7 %. IN logan prices seemed to stall when yields got to 6 % , but in Mt druitt they got lower than that before the market stopped. So far I havn't seen any significant rise in rents, however the Rocky economy is meant to be healthier at the moment than it was following the demise of the planned magnesium plant. We've been told we can raise the rent of one coming up vacant from 160 to 165 , whereas in logan we've seen rents go up by noticably more . The meat works has reopened and now there are plans to open a coking plant at Stanwell, supposedly with proven technology and money in the bank.

Where's that Crystal Ball factory I heard about ....:)

Bottom line is it depends how much money you need and when you need it by and with what degree of certainty.

See Change
 
sold my IP in Rocky

:p i had a thread on here awhile ago whem i bought about 18 mths ago. 4x3bed 10 yr old group titled brick units in nth rocky for 415K rent $770/wk, sold after 14 mths for 530k to rocky local investors. only sold due to other cassflow problem - will regret for rest of life. if these units were in brisbane say carindale they would be worth $1.2 Mill at least and in 5 yrs they will be worth that where they are in rocky!
:eek:
 
Penny,

We've sold three and are still holding four.

First one in november took about 5 weeks BUT we had a big fight between the tenant and agent and had major problems accessing the property. Sold on the first week there was decent access for prospective buyers. The tenant was irate that we were selling her house.

Had another one go up for sale at the same time and this one has only just sold , however it was next to a commercial site and this was given as a reason why most people wern't interested in it , oh, that and the termites we found six weeks ago ....

Put another one up for sale two weeks ago and had two contracts on it the first weekend .

The two that sold quickly were "nice " houses in good areas with no significant negatives. Both sold to owner occupiers.

See Change
 
Hi guys and girls. This is my first post, but am so excited that I just wanted to share our good news with you all. Thanks to Seachange and his opinion on Rockhampton, we've just spent the last week up there chasing up good deals. Have scored a 4br big, brick home in Norman Gardens which needs a bit of cosmetic work (interior painting, new kitchen cupboards, lay some floor boards, window furnishings). The rental appraisal, as is, comes in at $210pw. So am expecting at least $20pw more after completion of work and dropping in a couple of air-cons. This gives us a return of about 7.6%.

Am in the throes of buying a block of 3x2 flats in the same area which are renting at under market value at present. So with the increase in rent these little beauties should return about 7.5%-7.8%. Not bad for a week's work.

I found Rocky to be a lovely country town, and so close to the beach (Yeppoon). I think I could name about 3 major stores that Brisbane has that Rocky doesn't, not bad for a country town. Things are starting to heat up up there, and we noticed that houses are being listed at one price and then in the next couple of days those same house prices were being increased. Couldn't complain about the agents, very countrified - polite and willing to help you out. Did hear a few negative things about one of the largest agencies up there and apparently their commission was a little bit dearer than the rest too. There's also a waiting list with all agencies for duplexes priced at around $190K-$200K - very hot at the moment!

Thanks Seachange, you've made this little investor very happy indeed!!!
 
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