Sydney inner west suggestions

Hi,


just started looking for my second investment property. Current saving is around 80K and no equity in first investment(which sucks:)).

I am looking into buying 2bdrm unit somewhere in sydney inner west, mainly dulwich hill, hurlstone park, burwood, strathfield, concord west. I am bit confused which suburb will be better for investment in long term. any suggestions apart from suburb listed above is welcome.

Also noticed that now a days most of the properties are on Auction, dont understand why. Being new to property investment I am personally not very comfortable buying through Auctions. Can anyone please explain me why there are more auction sell than direct? If I like property but its on auction, what will be the best way to go for it? Should I get some professional help to attend auction for me?

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
 
I suggest you have a talk to Alan Fox (Somersoft Member: Propertunity) about this. He will probably reply to the thread but if he doesn't, definitely follow him up. He knows the area like the back of his hand and can assist you through the auction process. He's a local buyers agent but has an option that allows you to do your own due dilligence but then he does all the negotiating for you.

Worth the thought.

Best of luck,
Steve
 
Dulwich Hill, Marrickville, & Hurlstone Park still offer value....

Over the longer term Arncliffe, Carlton, Rockdale, Allawah also offer value...

Hi,


just started looking for my second investment property. Current saving is around 80K and no equity in first investment(which sucks:)).

I am looking into buying 2bdrm unit somewhere in sydney inner west, mainly dulwich hill, hurlstone park, burwood, strathfield, concord west. I am bit confused which suburb will be better for investment in long term. any suggestions apart from suburb listed above is welcome.

Also noticed that now a days most of the properties are on Auction, dont understand why. Being new to property investment I am personally not very comfortable buying through Auctions. Can anyone please explain me why there are more auction sell than direct? If I like property but its on auction, what will be the best way to go for it? Should I get some professional help to attend auction for me?

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
 
I would suggest trying to get as close to the city as your budget will allow. Suburbs such as Glebe, Newtown, Anndandale, Balmain offer plenty of lifestyle options, close access to the city and a wide variety of unit blocks.
 
.... I am looking into buying 2bdrm unit somewhere in sydney inner west, ...
Good for you :) The Inner West has been a standout performer.

Also noticed that now a days most of the properties are on Auction, dont understand why.
The reason is 2 fold:
1. The market moved so quickly that REA's price appraisals were simply blown away. This left the REAs red-faced and also in danger of receiving fines for underquoting.
2. There are many more buyers than sellers. Auctions in this environment are the best way to achieve the highest prices for the vendors.

Auctions used to be a 6 week campaign. Now we see 4 week campaigns as the 'norm' and I've even seen a couple of 2 week campaigns for hot property. Most keen buyers do not have the luxury of waiting 4 weeks to see if they are successful at auction as they will have missed out on many other properties by then.

Being new to property investment I am personally not very comfortable buying through Auctions.
If you are going to buy in the Inner West then you'd better get used to it :p

...If I like property but its on auction, what will be the best way to go for it?
Try to buy before auction if the vendor is open to that and not committed to the auction process.
Better still, try to buy 'off market' at a fair price without all the hassle of competing with other intending purchasers.

Should I get some professional help to attend auction for me?
Based on your Q's (and not my personal bias - which I declare upfront), I'd say without professional help you are going to get "eaten alive" in the Inner West market. You can do it on your own, but you will pay for strata reports on properties you have no hope of getting, it will be an expensive learning curve :cool: You will be told price ranges that in reality have no bearing on truth.

Ideally you need REAs to want to deal with you, so you are seen as a 'player'. You need to buy a few here and there. If you just buy one, then you don't get much preference or attention.

So you can pay for the experience or you can pay for professional help - it's your call.

Oh, by the way, you've left out some of the best performers: Summer Hill & Croydon for their village atmosphere.
If you want real "value" go one suburb out from the main action to Hurlstone Park, Canterbury etc.

Then you have to pick specific streets and avoid others. Then you have to pick specific blocks and numbers of units in them and avoid others. Then you have to pick specific styles. After that strata fees, special levies etc all all relevant, as is company title or strata title. (The last 2 will determine what LVR loan you can get from a lender).

Lots to consider. Happy hunting.
 
I am also looking to buy but a little bit further out maybe in the fleminton/homebush west area.

They seem to be a lot cheaper than the likes of Strathfield (which is probably a few blocks down the road), if there a reason for that? I also see a lot of new apartments being built there.
 
I am also looking to buy but a little bit further out maybe in the fleminton/homebush west area.

They seem to be a lot cheaper than the likes of Strathfield (which is probably a few blocks down the road), if there a reason for that? I also see a lot of new apartments being built there.

Take a drive around. Although neighbouring, they are worlds apart. Strathfield has good access to prestigious private schools, grand homes with tennis courts on 2000sqm and streetscapes dominated by freestanding Federation homes. Whereas with Homebush West / Flemington, you've got more eyesores - Sydney Markets, Rookwood Cemetery, Homebush Bay Drive and considerably more apartment blocks.
 
I havent found there to be a big a difference in price between the new units in homebush and the 10 year old units in Strathfield (talking about the ones on Beresford Rd)

A 2 bedder in strathfield will sell between $470-$510k whereas a 2 bedder in Homebush (around Arthur St and Homebush Bay Rd) will sell for $430-$480k.

Rent wise the Strathfield one yields better and has lower vacancy rates (Strathfield is a better station for trains - every 5 mins express trains to CBD vs every 15mins for all stations to CBD).

Strata wise the ones in Strathfield do have rather high strata, but Homebush ones are too far off, they'll start off low (because they want to look attractive to sell, then go up relatively quickly once the remaining units are sold off).
 
there are some construction going new apts near parramatta road close Strathfield...some are OTP.. not sure how much they are....
 
there are some construction going new apts near parramatta road close Strathfield...some are OTP.. not sure how much they are....

They are at 167-173 Parramatta Rd Strathfield - called The Manhattan.
Ranging in price from $485-515K

If you want my opinion (not that you asked):
1. Awful location - really awful. Bounded by Parramatta Road on one side and the M4 western motorway onramp on the other. It will be noisy with heaps of car & diesel fumes. Double glazed windows will fix internal noise but you won't be able to go out and enjoy a balcony.
2. OTP is always a risk......I have no idea what the market will be like in
2 years time.
3. Strathfield is "getting out there". It is OK but not as desirable as closer in to the city like Summer Hill, Croydon and Ashfield. It falls into the same category as Homebush to my way of thinking. Plenty of supply.
4. Not very unique. There are lots of high-rise towers around Strathfield like this.
5. For $500K you can buy closer in, in the Inner West in a better location, although not brand new obviously.

OK, why don't I tell you what I really think? :) Cheers, Alan
 
Thanks for replies guys, Its great to read different opinion on inner west.

Totally agree with Propertunity about strathfield and homebush and definitely wouldn't buy on parramatta road. Love the areas like summer hill, lewisham, petersham but the problem is you get old, small art deco types 2bdrs or 1bdr for budget of 500k . Also specifically for summer hills the prices are so high ATM I dont know if it will have room to grow in future. good 2bdr appartments are selling for 530k to 550k but would it be possible to get it increased to 1M in 7 or 10 years?

Currently looking at croydon, dulwich hill, burwood, hurlstone park and keeping an eye on summer hill, lewisham if in case there are bargains to grab.

Auctions sounds scary so sticking with buy directly if possible or get professional help. Well thats the plan ATM lets see how I go:)

Thanks again and keep posting :)
 
If you're looking in the Inner West, you would have seen this one:

http://www.realestate.com.au/property-apartment-nsw-marrickville-106892315

These are the inner west gems.

Very good location.

Surround by houses i.e. not a unit ghetto.

Block of four.

No common walls.

Garage.

Rental might get close to $400 per week, so it would be negatively geared, though.

And it wasn't an auction, surprisingly.

They had an 'open' last weekend.

I'm 99% sure it would have gone by now.

Scott
 
Hi All,

Some great comments on the Inner West...i love Summer Hill and Ashfield (the north side of the station, anyway :) )

I was in a relationship that broke down, we purchased a 2 bedroom unit opposite Ashfield Park on the Haberfield side for $380,000 back in 2005. At the time, that was fully priced, but we were renting a 2 br unit in North Strathfield.

Had to sell the property in 2008 because of the break-up, would it be worth $500k by now? It was in Ormond Street, Ashfield :confused:
 
red brick or clinker brick in those areas is often a good sign of larger land content.

many of the newer places are quite exxy, good depreciation but.............that coms with a price

ta
rolf
 
yeah, I thought so....relationship breakdown, what can you do???

I managed to get 25% of the value of the property ($95,000) in cash from her, so I put it to good use :)
 
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