Wollongong Region: Dapto vs Warilla

Hello,

I'm targeting my next IP down in the Wollongong region

Rationale:
-Yields are much better than Sydney
-Entry price is lower
-Absolute growth has a little way to catch up to Sydney

My search has been narrowed down to Warilla or Dapto. I grew up in Albion Park but now live in Western Sydney, so am very familiar with both locations as still have family there. I am aware that there are high levels of Dept. Housing estates in both areas.


I'm looking for some opinions on both areas

Dapto
Pros: Access to train, access to freeway
Cons: Large supply coming online in West Dapto/Calderwood, Distance to beach, large dept. housing estates

Warilla:
Pros: Close to beach, close to Shellharbour Marina and Town centre, more likely to see gentrification as this is already happening in areas next to the beach
Cons: Distance to train line, Distance to Freeway, large dept. housing estates

I tend to think that a locale closer to the beach and the Shellharbour Marina Town centres may be better in the long term but interested in peoples thoughts.....

Regards,
Q
 
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I have seen demand and growth in both areas but in general my money is on the beach long term to outperform. It really depends if you want to target Sydney commuters or not how closely you Hug the highway and train line.
 
I agree with knightm.
I live in Wollongong northern suburbs and have for over 10 years and know both dapto and warilla well. My money is on warillla due to the location, beachy vibe, and talks of new port in area in the pipeline. On the weekends Shellharbour (close to warillla) is full of people lunching, shopping I think people are drawn to the area, the vibe is def not the same in dapto.
 
Hello,

I'm targeting my next IP down in the Wollongong region

Rationale:
-Yields are much better than Sydney
-Entry price is lower
-Absolute growth has a little way to catch up to Sydney

My search has been narrowed down to Warilla or Dapto. I grew up in Albion Park but now live in Western Sydney, so am very familiar with both locations as still have family there. I am aware that there are high levels of Dept. Housing estates in both areas.


I'm looking for some opinions on both areas

Dapto
Pros: Access to train, access to freeway
Cons: Large supply coming online in West Dapto/Calderwood, Distance to beach, large dept. housing estates

Warilla:
Pros: Close to beach, close to Shellharbour Marina and Town centre, more likely to see gentrification as this is already happening in areas next to the beach
Cons: Distance to train line, Distance to Freeway, large dept. housing estates

I tend to think that a locale closer to the beach and the Shellharbour Marina Town centres may be better in the long term but interested in peoples thoughts.....

Regards,
Q

Why not investing in the suburb like Figtree, Fairy Meadow, North Wollongong or in Mt. Ousley ?
 
My money's on Warilla.

When we bought our Berkeley IP early last year I thought proximity to the highway for commuting to Sydney was a good trump card, particularly as the granny flat tenant at the time of purchase actually did the commute every morning to Randwick. But he moved out shortly afterwards to take on FIFO work in WA.

I stopped caring about the Sydney commute shortly before we bought the Warilla IP early this year as now 3 out of my 4 families of tenants down that way are on full-time Centrelink and the 4th is on part-time Centrelink - they're not commuting anywhere. And because they're not commuting, they will choose where to live based on other needs such as proximity to family and facilities for their kids. So then who's going to choose to live in Dapto over Warilla when you don't need to commute and rent costs are comparable?

I guess it would be different if you were looking to buy properties that attract top dollar for rent where you're targeting people with higher incomes but if you're renting out affordable housing where people are either on Centrelink or just don't bring home a lot of money they're unlikely to be Sydney commuters anyway.

Cheers,
Dave
 
My money's on Warilla.

When we bought our Berkeley IP early last year I thought proximity to the highway for commuting to Sydney was a good trump card, particularly as the granny flat tenant at the time of purchase actually did the commute every morning to Randwick. But he moved out shortly afterwards to take on FIFO work in WA.

I stopped caring about the Sydney commute shortly before we bought the Warilla IP early this year as now 3 out of my 4 families of tenants down that way are on full-time Centrelink and the 4th is on part-time Centrelink - they're not commuting anywhere. And because they're not commuting, they will choose where to live based on other needs such as proximity to family and facilities for their kids. So then who's going to choose to live in Dapto over Warilla when you don't need to commute and rent costs are comparable?

I guess it would be different if you were looking to buy properties that attract top dollar for rent where you're targeting people with higher incomes but if you're renting out affordable housing where people are either on Centrelink or just don't bring home a lot of money they're unlikely to be Sydney commuters anyway.

Cheers,
Dave

I would also agree with the sentiment on Warilla. Yields in areas closer to Wollongong (Figtree, Unanderra) aren't as attractive and i personally feel that the beach location will return a better CG over the longer term (drawing comparison between Malabar, Maroubra, Ramsgate - which have a bit of houso elements in there).

In addition the ocean / beach is a limited resource with limited supply. If you drive on the beach side of Shellharbour Road you will notice quite a few Knock Down Rebuilds that are very extravagant, especially next to the beach.

Drive a bit further down to Shellharbour / Shell Cove and there is a big change in price (& demographic)

I think i will opt for a property on the beach side of Shellharbour Road in Warilla or Barrack Point/Heights
 
I think i will opt for a property on the beach side of Shellharbour Road in Warilla or Barrack Point/Heights

Very good plan if you can afford and are patient and/or able to act fast when the good ones come. I was at the bass st auction today, and it went for a song. (not for my client they pulled out due to building report which was a bit dodgy but still the problems were fixable for a fee)
 
Very good plan if you can afford and are patient and/or able to act fast when the good ones come. I was at the bass st auction today, and it went for a song. (not for my client they pulled out due to building report which was a bit dodgy but still the problems were fixable for a fee)

Thanks for the message KnightM... would you be able to share what the auction went for today... perhaps PM if you don't want to share publicly. As i did see that property and was interested in what the sale price will be however not in a position to pull the trigger just yet.

Haven't been following the illawarra market too closely, but in Sydney you could probably add an additional 100k+ on an 'offers above' or 'auction price guide'
 
Thanks for the message KnightM... would you be able to share what the auction went for today... perhaps PM if you don't want to share publicly. As i did see that property and was interested in what the sale price will be however not in a position to pull the trigger just yet.

Haven't been following the illawarra market too closely, but in Sydney you could probably add an additional 100k+ on an 'offers above' or 'auction price guide'

pm sent :) offers over amounts vary a great deal atm some are nearly 100k over others are selling around asking just depends how fairly its been priced. Some vendors are adding in the expected increase to sale price, there is no formula just need to know your market when its time to buy
 
Coniston is close to town but somehow it still has slow, low prices. Why is this I wonder.

My opinion is that Coniston is too close to the steel works so suffers the same stigma as Warrawong, Cringilla

But then again Port Kembla suffers the same plight - but is close to the beach.....
 
My opinion is that Coniston is too close to the steel works so suffers the same stigma as Warrawong, Cringilla

But then again Port Kembla suffers the same plight - but is close to the beach.....

Within all those suburb options there are great variations from street to street and sometimes one end of a street is better than the other.
 
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