Unit in Dee Why (Sydney)

[vbplease]

Hi all,
A friend is asking me advice on buying a new unit in Dee Why Sydney - problem is I know nothing about the Sydney market..

The numbers don't look too bad.. Brand new 2bed, 2bath, 1car for $480k. He is also eligible for the FHOG = 24k. There is no lift in the building so the strata is pretty good 370/qr and council rates about the same.

The re agent suggested 520/wk is the going rental rate.. Not sure how to confirm this other than looking for available rentals on re.com??

Also the vacancy rate for apartments in Dee Why - not sure how to check this?

I'm calculating a rough net yield of (520x52x.92) - (370x4)x2 / (480-20) = 4.8% with very good depreciation.

I'm also telling him to stay away from the new rendered buildings as I think they have been done to death and will look out of style in 5yrs and likely needing patch up work...

Interested to hear your thoughts.

 

[Propertunity]

Hi all,
A friend is asking me advice on buying a new unit in Dee Why Sydney - problem is I know nothing about the Sydney market..

The numbers don't look too bad.. Brand new 2bed, 2bath, 1car for $480k. He is also eligible for the FHOG = 24k. There is no lift in the building so the strata is pretty good 370/qr and council rates about the same.

Median price for units in Dee Why is around $400K - so not too bad @ $480K I suppose. Long term trend for CG is 5.32% so nothing to write home about See attached CG chart from APM - units are the green line)

The re agent suggested 520/wk is the going rental rate.. Not sure how to confirm this other than looking for available rentals on re.com??

Sure look on re.com. Yields are averaging 5.1% so the REA might? be telling the truth - but do your own DD

Also the vacancy rate for apartments in Dee Why - not sure how to check this?

Vacany rates are 3.4% and rising..... a bit of a concern
http://www.sqmresearch.com.au/graphs/graph_vacancy.php?postcode=dee+why&t=1

 

[bradje]

Dee Why is a very nice beach suburb, always in high demand around the water.
Buses supply the area for public transport, so being within walking distance to a bus route may be a consideration.
Perhaps also call a couple of REA's to find out current rental assessments for that kind of dwelling.
Cheers,
John Bradshaw

 

[Big Tone]

personally............I would make sure the unit is within 200m to the beach as dy is overcrowded with units and there are a few more large development already started and that will only incrase the unit mayhem.........

Just my opinion!

Big Tone

 

[vbplease]

Thanks for the links Prop!

Brad - out of interest do you know how long it takes on the bus to get to the cbd?

I agree Tone, after visiting for a weekend I was surpised to see how many 70's, 80's brick apartment blocks there really were.. I'm trying to convince him to buy an older one within stones throw of the beach, so he can renovate it. Rather than a new one on the wrong side of Pittwater Rd.

 

[Big Tone]

do you know how long it takes on the bus to get to the cbd?

50mins approx

 

[troyhunt]

Very large number of apartments in Dee Why. Might be worth considering the impact of this.

 

[see_change]

Personally I'd be looking at an older one where you know what any obvious problems are.

Deewhy under 600 is hot at the moment since the FHOG was boosted with prices moving up slightly ( probably by more than the FHOG amount )

Dee Why has had a " reputation " in the past , though now is changing. Good restaurants on the beach and commercial area is being rejuvinated .

It's central on the northern beaches and is somewhere we're thinking about.

I don't see the short / medium term down side risk there as I do in outer west areas . It's next to the beach . Western Sydney isn't . The market was soft prior to the FHOG but there are people in the area who are starting to get into financial trouble as the recession is starting to bite .

Could be increasing vacancy due to people moving from renting to buy but someone where I work has just finished a lease and gone back to live at home .

Cliff

 

[Big Tone]

I dont think that you could go wrong in dee why but,...............I also think you could do better!

Big Tone

 

[Alabex]

My opinions on Dee Why:

Make sure the unit is a descent size 2 bedrooms should be 80sqm or more in dee why. This is one of the main factors that i see people moving to the dee why area.. more for their money then neighbouring suburbs

Get as close to the beach as possible and preferably on the curl curl end on the beach.

Parking is essential and preferably a lock up garage.
Rent quoted sounds high for the Dee Why area to me.

If you want to send me the exact address happy to give you a print out of sales in the block from RPdata.

 

[vbplease]

If you want to send me the exact address happy to give you a print out of sales in the block from RPdata.

Thanks Alabex, but I think my friend went through with the new unit... other side of Pittwater Rd
I was thinking along the same lines... 2bed, 80sq.m+, right next to the beach. From memory there was one with ocean views advertised for $540k.

I wonder if a unit in a 70's building, renovated to a high standard would fetch similar rent to a new build? I'm guessing so if it had ocean views...

 

[Alabex]

rents would be fairly similar, if the internals of the unit in the 70s block was renovated to a decent standard. even people renting want to be closer to the beach side of Pittwater, and this is where the better rents are achieved. Areas on the "wrong" side of pittwater road have a bad rep, particularly along fisher road and the adjacent streets.

 

[sports fan]

dee why is and always will be the heart of the northern beaches

http://www.metrostrategy.nsw.gov.au/dev/digitalAssets/2121_1184431831856_Centres chapter.pdf

http://www.warringah.nsw.gov.au/plan_dev/dee_why_masterplan.aspx

 

[Agenda]

I have lived in Dee Why for five years after buying an unrenovated walk up on the beach side of Pittwater Road in 2004. Have to say I really enjoy living in the area, close to the beach, close to the RSL, close to transport to the city and easy walk to the shops.

I agree you would be better off buying an older block (70’s) closer to the beach. From what I have seen they nearly always sell faster than they newer blocks. Also some blocks appear to sell much faster than others and at good prices no matter what the market is; they are not too hard to pick.

Lastly, I have been purchasing the HPG and tracking prices of units in Dee Why for a number of years and have a median of about 407K at the moment – been around that price for about 3 years now. (Would you agree with that median Alabex?)

A