Where to buy in Melbourne Thread.

[JDP111]

Hey All,

I am reading A LOT of where to buy in Sydney and Brisbane threads but none for Melbourne. A couple of recent reports I have read has Melbourne tipped to outperform all other capitals this year.

Are people considering Melbourne this year and if so where?
Me personally I think the west and north are becoming good propsects due to affordability, block sizes and infrastructure.
Suburbs like oak park, broadmeadows, thomastown, fawkner up north.
To the west, sunshine, Albion, St.Albans

A few mentioned do have some stigma attached but these are slowly starting to go away.

Where in mel?
My vote would be stock-standard inner city units in the cbd/southbank/docklands...locals don't want to touch them and unless they are otp or new, foreigners cant buy them. Guaranteed CG coming your way even in the short term.
[im kidding by the way...]

 

[tone1]

Auctions I attended over the weekend were frankly scary, multiple bidders and sales well over reserve/price guide. Hopefully (for buyers) the activity dies down after a few big auction weeks. There's definitely a build up of buyers from the Christmas/New Year hiatus.

 

[Hodge]

Tone1 what area where the auctions held?

 

[jodes92]

How are Melbourne auction guides at the moment? I know in Sydney they should be taken with a grain of salt but wondering if you can rely on the guides given for Melbourne? Specifically flats In prahan, st kilda, South yarra

 

[willister]

Sorry, I didn't have time to answer the question fully previously.

Basically, large hospitals such as the Monash carry a huge contigent of trainees and interns who rotate around various institutions. They also have a big contingent of visiting specialists etc on stints too.

All this means that areas around big hospitals have a huge demand for rental properties - especially within walking distance. For children's hospitals, there is also very sadly the need for housing where there are oncology and long term trauma units (so parents can be close to their children).

Investors know this and, in addition to the aforementioned use of land, drive up the prices.

Hope this answers the question. (My sister in law and hub are doctors - they lived near the Monash for this reason back in the rotation days before becoming GP's - nowadays as investors, they still look for properties near big hospital developments)

The Y-man

Thanks for the explanation, learnt a bit about real estate and Clayton now.

When I was there late last year to make a bid I was genuinely surprised there were two bidders....and they weren't exactly bidding high either.

Some suburb auctions where there is Mainland Chinese interest, zomg....bids are outrageous.

 

[Deltaberry]

Agree with you completely but why would you sell while interests rates are at the lowest level ever?
I'd say if you're thinking of selling try and hold until the first rate increase.

Few reasons. It could be because it's difficult to sell B and C grade properties in a flat or down market, but I could easily offload B and C in this market, and pick up A grade (tier 1 location, position, orientation, fit-out etc) on the turnaround. Also by the time the first rate increase comes, the boat may have sailed. I suspect there's a 6-12 month window to sell.

You may also want to sell A grade properties because you can pick up a bigger cashflow from other investments. To give an example, I bought something for $Xm on 75% LVR not long ago. It generates around 5.5-6% net yield. This asset has grown by around 100% in value if not more, so my equity has gone up 4-5x. But my cashflow hasn't grown 4-5x. Theoratically speaking, I could liquidate this asset and get 4-5x the cashflow from another investment?

 

[Deltaberry]

How are Melbourne auction guides at the moment? I know in Sydney they should be taken with a grain of salt but wondering if you can rely on the guides given for Melbourne? Specifically flats In prahan, st kilda, South yarra

If you're luck you'll pay 5% above the range for C grade properties. A grades and even B grades sell 20-50% above advertised range currently.

 

[BayView]

If you're luck you'll pay 5% above the range for C grade properties. A grades and even B grades sell 20-50% above advertised range currently.

So, we can look forward to some hefty fines for various R/E's in the coming months for dodgy price quoting; outside the 10% range?

The reality is they were never worth the 20-50% less than the sold price in the first place.

 

[MRCCON]

So, we can look forward to some hefty fines for various R/E's in the coming months for dodgy price quoting; outside the 10% range?

The reality is they were never worth the 20-50% less than the sold price in the first place.

Exactly.

I've been pre-warning every single real estate agent I've been involved with recently.

At the start I was wary to **** them off, but I'm only looking for IP's atm, something I don't desperately need, just in for a decent deal, I don't care if I **** them off.

I've basically forwarded them a pre-done email warning them of my intent to complain to the REIV if their prices violate the 10% rule.

I was talking on this exact topic to an agent at an open and she freely admitted that her properties have sold consistently for 18-35% above the asking price for her properties over the last 4 months, I then said she wasn't doing her job properly then, she was a little bit stunned.

The only way to change the mentality down here is people power and reporting all underquoting.


I'm of the opinion they should have a demerit point system similar to that of a drivers license. For every5-10% over the asking price there is a specific demerit point penalty, those exceeding their allotment will face a small suspension of their RE license, repeat offenders get worse and worse..........

 

[S.T]

Good luck complaining to the REIV, they will do nothing.

Best to lodge complaint here.

https://online.justice.vic.gov.au/cav-forms/estateagentcomplaint.doj

 

[GreyGhost]

Exactly.

I've been pre-warning every single real estate agent I've been involved with recently.

At the start I was wary to **** them off, but I'm only looking for IP's atm, something I don't desperately need, just in for a decent deal, I don't care if I **** them off.

I've basically forwarded them a pre-done email warning them of my intent to complain to the REIV if their prices violate the 10% rule.

I was talking on this exact topic to an agent at an open and she freely admitted that her properties have sold consistently for 18-35% above the asking price for her properties over the last 4 months, I then said she wasn't doing her job properly then, she was a little bit stunned.

The only way to change the mentality down here is people power and reporting all underquoting.


I'm of the opinion they should have a demerit point system similar to that of a drivers license. For every5-10% over the asking price there is a specific demerit point penalty, those exceeding their allotment will face a small suspension of their RE license, repeat offenders get worse and worse..........

I'm not sure how you are going to get a good deal on a property when you are threatening agents... Its about building rapport with them and if they know you are a genuine buyer and cashed up then they will take you seriously. Having solid relationships with agents has helped me buy all of my properties and sell ones I have been associated with.

By all means, go ahead and start some sort of campaign against underquoting, but as an investor it does not benefit you in any way.....

Any serious investor doesn't require a price guide from an agent, they know:
Previous sales history of the property
Sale prices in the area, comparable sales
How hot that suburb is, clearance rate of the suburb, growth etc

If you are not getting close to the price being quoted I would look inward at your analysis techniques rather than outward towards blaming agents.

Same old tricks have been going on forever, not that I condone them by any means, however I find reassurance in my knowledge and facts rather than the wishy washy motives and statements of any agent...

 

[BayView]

Good luck complaining to the REIV, they will do nothing.

Best to lodge complaint here.

https://online.justice.vic.gov.au/cav-forms/estateagentcomplaint.doj

We shouldn't have to be lodging complaints - the whole industry thrives on exposure and profile, so they are out there on display all the time.

So; given that; where are these toothless tiger watchdog bodies?

Surely they are keeping an eye out for this stuff?

I don't reckon the previous posted shoule even be warning these fools about a possible complaint - just go ahead and do it and sit back and watch the fun.

 

[S.T]

We shouldn't have to be lodging complaints - the whole industry thrives on exposure and profile, so they are out there on display all the time.

So; given that; where are these toothless tiger watchdog bodies?

Surely they are keeping an eye out for this stuff?

I don't reckon the previous posted shoule even be warning these fools about a possible complaint - just go ahead and do it and sit back and watch the fun.

I'd say the toothless tigers are sitting back waiting for people who deal with real estate agents, such as ourselves, to lodge really easy online complaint forms when they have clear evidence of dodgey real estate practices so they have documented information to act on.

 

[BayView]

I'd say the toothless tigers are sitting back waiting for people who deal with real estate agents, such as ourselves, to lodge really easy online complaint forms when they have clear evidence of dodgey real estate practices so they have documented information to act on.

So; these folks won't act unless there is a formal complaint - even though the evidence is right there in black and white every weekend?

 

[S.T]

So; these folks won't act unless there is a formal complaint - even though the evidence is right there in black and white every weekend?

Obviously not so black and white, I'd suggest if you have the evidence you should lodge a complaint too. You'd get more achieved than posting on an internet forum.

 

[Deltaberry]

There are two problems to complaining.

Firstly, the reserve price may actually be set within the 10% range and it probably is. The fact that people decide to bid it 40% higher is a free market issue.

Secondly, there is some truth that setting lower ranges attracts more people to bid and the industry thrives on this. Shouldn't the question be, why are people bidding houses beyond the range?

 

[cadence]

T
Some suburb auctions where there is Mainland Chinese interest, zomg....bids are outrageous.

which ones?

 

[BayView]

Obviously not so black and white, I'd suggest if you have the evidence you should lodge a complaint too. You'd get more achieved than posting on an internet forum.

I have no evidence of a recent nature - just many years in the game.

I have no doubt nothing has changed.

Someone else was mentioning recent evidence they had, and hadn't made a complaint.

 

[Triton]

What are people's thoughts on the nth East along the hurst bridge line? Seems better value when compared to East and South east. However, it seems that the suburbs are not as desirable.

 

[MC1]

Attended an auction tonight in Essendon purely for research purposes. Barry Plant quoted $1.2 - 1.3m Sold for $1.615m.
Essendon Agents at there finest!!