Which suburb should DINK buy in Sydney?

[sphinx]

• double income no kid and don't plan to have any in foreseeable futre.
• 150k deposit, 700k borrowing capacity (850k -900k is the top price we can pay)
• don't want to pay a premium for good school zones.
• train (or ferry, bus) to city , maximum 40 mins, preferable < 30 mins
• 10-15 mins walking distance to major transport
• reasonably good capital gain potential

Questions:
1. should we buy house or unit? we don't mind but not sure if a 2-3 bed rooms (no reason to go for more) house or especially a unit will significantly affect capital gain...

2, where can I find a "good school zone" map so I can exclude them?

3. which suburbs?

4. should we actually try not to max out our borrowing power and spend much less to satisfy the above criteria (thus being better investment-wise as we are borrowing less... and opportunity to invest in other areas)?

thanks.

 

[ani]

Where do you live now and what do you want locally?

Without knowing your tastes, for 700k I'd buy a house in Erskineville, nice village atmosphere, good pubs, cafes and Newtown close by. Train station 2-3 stops to Central.........

 

[sphinx]

thanks for the reply.
now in Chatswood (quite back streets).. lived in Kensington/Kinsford for some time.
My wife wants very safe and relatively quite areas. don't want to pay too much premium for good cafe/pubs (very much a indoor person ).. walking or 10 mins drive to major shopping areas.
Is Erkinsville safe considering its distance to redfern?

 

[ani]

Erskineville is totally safe.......k's from Redfern in reality.

Well I'm no expert on the north side but back to Kensington/ Kingsford?

 

[alexlee]

If you're ok with a unit, I would have thought lower North Shore (Wollstonecraft, Waverton, etc) would be good choices.
Alex

 

[sphinx]

Well I'm no expert on the north side but back to Kensington/ Kingsford?

Then it has to be unit. medium house price in kensington/kingsford is 1.3-1.4 mil.
I still have no idea about the capital gain potential for unit/apartment comparing to house:
1. I know it is worse... .but Is it "a lot" worse than house?! and roughly how much worse, generally speaking
2. Is the post code 2000-2015 the worst?! As I was told the LVR for these post code is 80%..... while other areas can be 95%

I don't care too much about capital gain potentials but don't want to have negative in real term. And if the unit/apartment is too much worse than house.. I may have to reconsider.

thanks

 

[ani]

eeek I just looked at Kingsford house prices.

For 700k I'd personally go for a house if I could and I'd be happy with Erskineville area.

Or an apartment in Darling Point, Double Bay ahead of an apt in Kensington/Kingsford..........much better potential for capital growth.

 

[wylie]

Can I ask why you don't want a property in a "good school zone" - because whilst you may never use the school, it can be a good selling point and is one reason why some suburbs hold their values well.

 

[Joker]

Have you considered inner west? You could pick a house in Summer Hill, Croydon, Five Dock and Burwood for ~700K. All easy access to city via bus (Summer Hill & Burwood has trains). There is a westfield at Burwood.

 

[beachgurl]

Hubby and I have a 3bed unit in Maroubra which is worth around 600K. We are a 5 min walk to shops and the bus stop, is very convenient for us to live here, we regularly get a seat on the express buses to the city and don't need to take the car out much as everything is on our doorstep. Is close to the rat race and the beach, so we feel it is the best of both worlds for us. Pacific Square is almost finished now and the area is becoming busier and a more popular place to live. I have already seen units in neighbouring unit complexes increasing in value since the shops doubled in size and Aldi and Fitness First opened, and a new section of the unit block being completed has also increased interest in the area.

 

[stumunro]

North Ryde / Epping / Macquarie Park (townhouses) / Marsfield / W/Pymble / Denistone / Gladesville / for better, quiter areas which have great amenities and are close to everything...

 

[Oscar]

DINK in Sydney and looking for growth in a PPOR? I won't go into suburbs but I would look at quality/value in either of inner west/city, eastern suburbs, lower north shore, or if you're up for the commute, a house in the northern beaches.

darn it, Let me have a go at suburbs;

northern beaches - Collaroy to Newport
eastern suburbs - maroubra, coogee, clovelly, bronte
inner west/city - redfern, surry hills, darlinghurst, glebe, chippendale, camperdown, newtown, erskenville, enmore....
north shore - don't know enough suburb by suburb but as a whole will always be strong in my opinion.

 

[Jontxu]

Whate gets you going?

Hi there, I agree with the other posters, is it a PPOR or an investment?. Also, it depends on what do you like. Many years back when I had to make the decision (to buy my PPOR), I had a good look at the things I enjoyed the most (surf + mountain biking+hiking), so the Northern Beaches was the choice, we have national parks and the beaches, what a combo. Excellent capital grow too.
What is it that you like to do? What gets you going?
As a DINK, you want to be as far from a school as possible..LOL…
Happy Investing
Jon Salvador
www.headinghome.com.au
For investors … from investors

 

[sphinx]

Thanks for all the replies. We are now looking into many of the areas you guys suggested.

Capital growth is one thing we are least certain of, especially for apartment. We are NOT buying for investment but don't want to see the capital growth too miserable or even negative. As I asked early:

• Is there a rule of thumb for the difference in capital growth between apartment/unit and house (for the same suburb).
• is post code 2000-2015 an absolutely no no for capital growth potential !?

We don't have any particular outdoor hobby/interests that demand certain locations. We just want safe/quite, half hour to city and affordable (<850k).

 

[Ajax]

I agree with Oscar's comments (which include Redfern) though you would be unlikely to find a house under $1m in Bronte or Clovelly. If you did it would be a very basic semi probably needing a lot of work.

I like this one in Redfern

http://www.realestate.com.au/cgi-bi...r=&cc=&c=17835845&s=nsw&snf=ras&tm=1199873776


Am starting to realise the value at Maroubra (if you like large spaces, a good beach and are into an active lifestyle).

I also think that Malabar is a sleeper as beachside Eastern suburbs start to rise in price again though I'm not sure how good public transport is from here.

http://www.realestate.com.au/cgi-bi...r=&cc=&c=63818118&s=nsw&snf=ras&tm=1199874309

 

[beachgurl]

Public transport is OK from Malabar but not great. There are a few express buses that run to the city in the mornings but they don't run any from the city in the afternoons. Unless you are prepared to walk from Anzac Parade, the buses are night are only about every 30mins or so from the city. There are talks of a tram/train line starting at Malabar but at this stage it sounds a bit like a pipe dream.

 

[Peter 14.7]

Where do you live now and what do you want locally?

Without knowing your tastes, for 700k I'd buy a house in Erskineville, nice village atmosphere, good pubs, cafes and Newtown close by. Train station 2-3 stops to Central.........

Ani is right. Erkineville is hidden gem. The next Balmain IMO.

Peter

 

[Glebe]

Since it seems as though you've got $850k to spend, look at Balmain and Glebe.

 

[BlackSpider]

I'd personally go for Bondi Junction, Waverly, Centennial Park, Queens Park, Randwick, obviously only a unit with that budget.

 

[Jacque]

My picks on northside: Crows Nest/Naremburn, Artarmon, Greenwich/Lane Cove, Waverton, Wollstonecraft, North Sydney, Cremorne, Neutral Bay, Kirribilli. Units only in these suburbs, though you can pick up a semi or townhouse in some such as Crows Nest if you look hard enough.
Personally, in your situation I'd go for something like these:

http://www.realestate.com.au/cgi-bi...t=&header=&cc=&c=45305300&s=nsw&tm=1201443389
Will sell for lots more than $850K but you get the idea...

http://www.realestate.com.au/cgi-bi...t=&header=&cc=&c=45305300&s=nsw&tm=1201443389
One of the best streets in CN and capacity to add value here


Best of luck and happy hunting!!