Where to buy in the Hills?

[Silver101]

Hi,

My partner and I are thinking of buying a townhouse to live in somewhere in the Hills, as it seems more affordable than other places, and has some quite nice areas I think. We are looking at spending around $550 K and want a 3 bed townhouse.

I'm wondering what people think are the best areas to buy in the Hills to ensure that the property will increase in value and also just to make sure we don't buy in a bad part of the Hills.

I know public transport is a problem so am wondering if it makes more sense to buy nearer stations (eg Seven Hills or Epping)?

As I work in the city I think Castle Hill would be a bit too far out as I don't want to be spending $10 on tolls a day and driving for an hour and a half to work. I know Baulkham Hills reasonably well but don't know much about places like Winston Hills, Northmead, North Rocks, Telopea, Dundas or Oatlands.

If anyone has any thoughts I'd love to hear.

Thanks

 

[Jacque]

Hi,

My partner and I are thinking of buying a townhouse to live in somewhere in the Hills, as it seems more affordable than other places, and has some quite nice areas I think. We are looking at spending around $550 K and want a 3 bed townhouse.

I'm wondering what people think are the best areas to buy in the Hills to ensure that the property will increase in value and also just to make sure we don't buy in a bad part of the Hills.

I know public transport is a problem so am wondering if it makes more sense to buy nearer stations (eg Seven Hills or Epping)?

As I work in the city I think Castle Hill would be a bit too far out as I don't want to be spending $10 on tolls a day and driving for an hour and a half to work. I know Baulkham Hills reasonably well but don't know much about places like Winston Hills, Northmead, North Rocks, Telopea, Dundas or Oatlands.

If anyone has any thoughts I'd love to hear.

Thanks

Do a search on recent posts on this very topic- $550K will buy you a townhouse in many suburbs of the Hills but certainly not Epping. CBD buses in Hills are good though I'd advise sticking to streets within walking distance of the major routes. Castle Hill is actually the heart here, so don't discount it. Travel times from here vary from 50-65mins depending on travel times.
Best of luck with your search.

 

[virgo]

Hills

Hiya

If i had your choice, i will forget about Castle Hill and Baulkham Hills simply with the lack of public transport...if i were to work in the city, nothing beats the train...if you want to be in the north west Hills of Sydney, i will follow the train line up from Epping towards Hornsby....between these two lines there maybe townhouses/duplexes in some of the suburbs you can afford....in time to come if/when petrol prices rise, these areas will hold their values as train travel becomes vital in Sydney....have a look at Hornsby, the major interchange up north...there's a buzz around the Westfield area and you are not far from Wahroonga and the north shore line.

hope this helps

 

[cadence]

Baulkham Hills pros

- good price, you can still get a 3BR house in good condition in $500k range, which means you should have no problem with a townhouse for that price and you get all the benefits of a FHB (the grant and stamp duty waiver)

- good schools, esp Baulkham Hills high school is the second best performing public high school in NSW. It used to be in top 10 consistently but has improved significantly over the last few years. The top performing public school remains James Ruse Agricultural High School in Carlingford. I have no doubt that at least part of the reason why Carlingford had become popular was due to the school. Good public schools (like private schools) attract good families to the area who like to invest in the education of their children.

- transport wise, you can easily access M2 into city (35minutes) or even M4 and Victoria Road/Windsor Road.

- public transport wise, most of Baulkham HIlls is within 5-10 minute drive to Seven Hills train station. Trains at Seven Hills take 45-50min max to Town Hall and there's plenty of FREE parking at Seven HIlls station. If you dont want to catch the train, there are M2 buses to the city, takes around 50min to 1 hour.

- shopping centre in Baulkham Hills is not huge but more than sufficient for your everyday needs plus some more. If you want fancy, a short drive to Castle Towers in Castle Hills (one of the biggest shopping centres in NSW). There's also a shopping centre in WInston Hills for options if you are on that side of Baulkham Hills.

- the impending development in Riverstone which is more west around 15mins further out than Baulkham Hills will increase the general population in the area and therefore drive up demand. Surrounding established areas like Baulkham Hills will increase in popularity.

- as an investment property, you will have no problems renting it out if you set the rent at the market rate

- I own a 3BR house in Baulkham Hills purchased about 3 years ago, there was hardly any rise in the first 2 years but in the last 12 months, it jumped 20%. You might be concerned that there is no further room to jump. I disagree. It is quite an established suburb with lots of parks and reserves and very leafy. It's part of the northern suburbs as per SMH's classification and is probably one of the few remaining northern suburbs within 1 hour drive to city where you can buy a 3BR standard brick veneer home in good condition for less than $600k. I fail to see how this area will drop in price (stagnation would be the absolute worst) as the demand has to be there, given those looking to enter hte market are getting priced out of houses so if they want to live in a house in a good area for a reasonable price, they don't have much choices and it would hard to look past the hills. Even if prices stagnate for a while, when prices do jump, it will more than make up for it. It's also worthwhile to bear in mind that there is a big gap between the best houses and the more normal houses in the area. The top of the range are mansion-like similar to those you find in West Pennant Hills etc. That's why there will always be demand for something below the median price in the $400k-$500k, something standard and reasonble. If I had the funds, I would buy another place there.

If it was a choice between Baulkham Hills and Castle HIlls, personally I would go for Baulkham Hills just because it is a tad closer to Seven Hills which gives you train access into town with free parking. WHen I purchased my property in Baulkham Hills, I found I could have paid about $80k more for something similar in Castle Hill, but the extra rent I could get from Castle Hill property did not justify it.

Both are good areas so whatever you end up with should be a good decision =)

Winston HIlls is a nice area too. There used to be quite a noticeable price difference between Winston HIlls and Baulkham Hills but WInston Hills has caught up a lot over the last few years. Winston Hills is part of the Parramatta Council. Baulkham Hills is part of the Baulkham Hills Council which is one of the largest in NSW ... covers Castle Hills, West Pennant Hills and all the way up to Dural and beyond. So you might want to check the rates, though unlikely to be significantly different. Personally, if it was a choice between WInston Hills and Baulkham Hills, I would pick Baulkham HIlls.

Good luck!

 

[twobobsworth]

Jiggles I think you drive a very fast car!

 

[cadence]

Seven Hills is classified as part of the Hills District. It is west not northwest like the rest of the HIlls District. It is part of the Blacktown Council.

It's more affordable than the rest of the Hills area. YOu can buy a 3BR house for $350-$450k. It has its own shopping centre.

The price in Seven Hills was flat for a long time ... say last 8 years ... it increased a bit in the last 12 months. Eg: a property which was around $325k purchased in 2002 was probably around $380 in 2009 but around $430k now.

Trains into the city take 45-50mins max.

It's quite residential. Hardly any units. MOstly houses and some townhouses/duplexes.

 

[cadence]

Jiggles I think you drive a very fast car!

ohhhhh i havent driven into city from the hills in a while ...... people in the area please feel free to update my estimates =D

 

[dajackal]

How does baulkham hills differ to Winston hills and northmead? are the schools much worse?

Is there really plenty of free parking at seven hills or do you need to get there really early?

 

[cadence]

Winston Hills and Northmead are part of the Parramatta Council, not the Baulkham Hills Council. They are nice areas too. There are schools in NOrthmead but not sure about Winston Hills. Winston Hills is a very small suburb.

I have caught the 7:15am train from Seven Hills to city. There were plenty of parking at that time in the parking lots at both sides of the station so you can take your pick. I expect the parking lots to fill up progressively over the next hour or so. You might need to pay it a visit to be sure.

Seven Hills shopping centre is about 5 minutes walk from station and has unlimited parking.

 

[w0nnie]

I have caught the 7:15am train from Seven Hills to city. There were plenty of parking at that time in the parking lots at both sides of the station so you can take your pick. I expect the parking lots to fill up progressively over the next hour or so. You might need to pay it a visit to be sure.

you will be standing for the majority of the journey into the city though as the train tends to fill by blacktown (you can sometimes get a seat when people get off at parramatta).

coming home isn't a problem if you get on at or before wynyard

 

[cadence]

You will get seats if you get on at Seven Hills at least in the last 3 carriages. They become scarce at the next stop which is Westmead.

You are more likely to get a seat on the 7:15am train in winter than in summer. In summer, there are only about a handful of spare seats in each carriage as you get on so you have to get to the station a little earlier and make sure you are at the front of the line. In winter like now, you will have no problems as I think people tend to get up a little bit later.

You should also have no problems getting a seat on 7.30 train in the back carriages.

 

[Silver101]

Thanks for your help everyone.

 

[Jacque]

Wow talk about a wealth of local information!- that's what I love about this forum and others like it- so many members willing to freely share info and it can make such a difference when it comes time to buy.
So did you manage to narrow down your choices Silver?

 

[mja]

Back on topic - you can get a townhouse in Kellyville - on Wrights road for less than that price. Grange on York is the development. It's on a major bus route into the city (612 from memory). Expect to pay about $60 for a weekly Hills Express ticket into the city.

Also, it's not $10/day in tolls. It's more like $20 a day (M2, Lane Cove, Bridge/Tunnel, Lane Cove, M2). Plus parking in the city - $16 early bird @ Domain Car Park for example + petrol. Hint - take the bus.

Some other points:

* Seven Hills is Blacktown, not Hills District, even if it has "Hills" in its name.

* Seven Hills train station parking was rife for break-and-enters for a while.

* You cannot compare Seven Hills to Baulkham Hills. There's a price difference for a reason!

* It takes 35 minutes to drive into the city from the Hills District, at, oh... 1pm in the afternoon? Expect it to take up to 2 hours during the morning peak. The M2 gets busy from about 6:30am. Crazy. Allow about an hour both ways if you take the bus.

 

[virgo]

Hills

Hiya

The transport problem is why i avoid Kellyville, Castle Hill, Baulkham Hill etc. With my budget years ago, i could have afforded a magnificent new house in these areas but with a husband working in the city whom i would like to see now and then and kids growing up needing the train, i stuck with looking at houses along the northern train line from Epping up to Hornsby. I ended up with an older house on a bigger block in Pennant Hills. Never a day goes by when i do not regret this especially when i see people queing up from 7am trying to get out from Cherrybrook to park their cars at Pennant Hills station...not to mention my teenage son is now taking the train to school on his own..

On a side note, my best friend is trying to sell a beautiful house in Castle Hill and planning to buy an old house in Thornleigh, fed up after 6 years of commute "torture"...so unless you do not work the regular hours or you work near to home and do not need the train, think twice, that's my humble opinion..in Sydney, the trains rule!




cheers

 

[Silver101]

Jacque I haven't really narrowed anything down yet... I like the family feel of the area and the fact that I can get a townhouse or house rather than a unit... the main thing I worry about is the transport... perhaps being closer to Seven Hills Station may work. Or trying somewhere more around Carlingford/North Rocks which is quicker to drive into the city I think.

 

[farmilor]

I don't believe the transport is a bad as some people are making it out to be. I live on the Castle Hill / Baulkham Hills border and love it there. Admittedly I don't drive into the city everyday, but have had to from time to time.

Driving into the city for an 8 o'clock appointment has taken 45 mins - 1 hour.
Express Bus for a 9 o'clock appointment takes just on an hour.
My wife used to drive to manly for work, 90 mins to drive right the way across Sydney.

Anywhere in Sydney is 45mins - 1 hour away really.

 

[cadence]

Hiya

The transport problem is why i avoid Kellyville, Castle Hill, Baulkham Hill etc. With my budget years ago, i could have afforded a magnificent new house in these areas but with a husband working in the city whom i would like to see now and then and kids growing up needing the train, i stuck with looking at houses along the northern train line from Epping up to Hornsby. I ended up with an older house on a bigger block in Pennant Hills. Never a day goes by when i do not regret this especially when i see people queing up from 7am trying to get out from Cherrybrook to park their cars at Pennant Hills station...not to mention my teenage son is now taking the train to school on his own..

On a side note, my best friend is trying to sell a beautiful house in Castle Hill and planning to buy an old house in Thornleigh, fed up after 6 years of commute "torture"...so unless you do not work the regular hours or you work near to home and do not need the train, think twice, that's my humble opinion..in Sydney, the trains rule!




cheers

virgo, I share your concern re transport issue in the Hills area. I have been commuting into city since uni finished and find the return trips quite tiring.

Having said that, I was just curious, when you mentioned you bought in Pennant Hills, how long does it take for you to get into the city via train? I know it has a train line but I was told by my colleague it takes up on average 1hour and 15minutes for trains from Pennant Hills to Town Hall ... is that true (she's usually quite dramatic lol)? If so, Baulkham Hills is probably not too bad as even though it does not have its own station, it is a max 10minute drive to Seven Hills train station and the trains into Town Hall take no longer than 50minutes.

Cherrybrook is a very different story compared to Baulkham Hills from a public transport perspective as it is a lot further in distance into town and a lot further to train station.

Silver, if you dont want to spend 1 hour one-way travelling into city, dont buy in the Hills. It's something you have to put up with, whether by public transport or car.

 

[virgo]

Transport

Hiya

It's been a while since hubby commuted from Pennant Hils to the city; fortunately for him, his whole office moved premises to Macquarie Park (ahhh! bliss as now it is only 5 stations away!)

If i'm not wrong it would be less than an hour point to point but hey at least he can get to leave the car at home and not have to find station parking. (unlike Baulkham Hills).

As a side note, i noticed prices increasing quite a bit in Pennant Hills now that the new train line thru Epping to Macqarie Business Park is up...and most of the buyers are Asian, maybe they know something i don't???

 

[pennyk]

my hubby is doing training in the city at the moment, commuting from Baulkham Hills. He can walk to the bus stop (10 minutes), so there is no issue with parking, and he needs to be in the city by 9am. He is leaving home at 7.30am and getting in with plenty of time. On the first day, the bus was in the city in just over 30 minutes, which was very surprising!
I think the trip home is taking longer, but still only around 1 hr.
He is able to leave much later to get the bus to the city than he does to drive to Chatswood.
In terms of the Hills, I would still buy in Baulkham Hills over Seven Hills for a PPOR any day, even though there is no train. I think its a much nicer area.
With Carlingford and North Rocks, you need to check the drive to get onto the M2. Pennant Hills Rd can be a nightmare, and it may take you longer to get onto the M2 than it does to drive the extra distance on the M2. and if you use Epping Rd instead, from Carlingford you have to cross the Epping railway bridge, which can take forever.
and of course, you can do what most of us do and shift workplaces to somewhere local. There are so many companies in Norwest Business Park that it should be possible to find something local!
cheers
Pen