Woodridge QLD

Howdy

Does anyone have an IP in this suburb? Ive searched and found many threads on Woodridge but not one from anyone who has an IP there.(maybe this answers my question) Looking at the Suburb for long term growth over 10 - 15 years.

Is this suburb as bad as everyone says - is it a high crime area/high housing commision? drugs? etc

Ive seen town houses advertised around 150K and rent returns $175.00 Im not sure how realistic this is.

I know I could go look at the Stats but what Im really after is someone who is local and knows this area really well, what is your gut feel, is this suburb going to improve? it has good transport / shopping not too far from Brissie. Is there any redevelopment going on around Woodridge?

Appreciate any feedback
 
G'day Wazza,

Some stigma's last for DECADES !!! Yes, it is a cheap housing area - as such, those who can't afford today's prices in "normal" suburbs end up there.

The word was out even when my wife and I bought our FIRST Bne home (in Kingston - "don't buy in Woodridge" - this was 1984 !!!). Funny thing is, about 14 years ago, when people couldn't afford Woodridge, they ended up in Eagleby (near Beenleigh). TODAY, the values in Eagleby are beyond belief. I wonder where the "down-and-outs" have moved to now?

But, yes, Woodridge and Kingston are still considered "lower socio-economic" areas. Why? Because the guts of the homes there are housing commission, or low value construction. I've seen a few signs of impending "gentrification" - too few, so far - but the signs are there IMHO. And, as you pointed out, the transport is top-notch, and the local Council is spending squillions on the area.

Regarding the figures you quoted, the return sounds about right to me, but at $150k, that town house could be a little on the high side. You can still buy many 3Bdr homes for $170 - 180k. This area will stay a higher yield area for another decade or two, until Brisbane runs out of room to grow, and ends up running right into Woodridge (when, suddenly, the differential between Brisbane prices and Logan's will meet across the road from each other). What will happen then?

In the meantime, the yield is not too shabby, the area is becoming more an "owner-occupier" area than it had ever been before, and some (few) houses are being replaced with nice new brick homes. Down the track, it'll have it's day (or decade) in the sun.

Re drugs, guns, or WMD - I guess these stories take a long time to die. Could they be true today - yeah, possibly - but I've never encountered any of them in 20+ years. But no, this is still NOT a pretty house area - changing, but slowly. I DON'T believe it is nearly as bad as some tales make out.

Please note, I don't have an IP there now, but have owned an IP (trouble-free) in the next suburb for 20 years - and still do.

Regards,
 
Thanks Les

that was a great reply, by the sound of it the area is probably a bit of a punt for the long term. But hey I just saw some figures for CG in Elizabeth Park in Adelaide and from what has been said about Woodridge in other threads it sounds very similar to Elizabeth.

Ive been looking for my first IP and after starting with a very narrow focus of a couple of suburbs I know find myself looking all over Australia for the IP that meets my criteria.

Ive had pre approval for a couple of months thinking I had the IP I wanted but the more I read and speak to others (particulary a few on this forum I keep annoying :eek: ) the deals that I thought were good dont look as good anymore.

I dont know if there are any +ve IP left out there but Im comfortable if I can get one thats neutral with some CG over the long term. Maybe I'll find that in Woodridge?
 
Hi all,

Wazza007, We have an IP down the road in Tanah Merah, but did spend time looking in Woodridge, Logan Central and even Eagleby. The friends we were staying with at the time warned us off all those areas for the same reasons that Les stated.

The cap growth has been large since that time as investors chase cashflow. 2 1/2 years ago houses in woodridge were ~$60k and townhouses were ~$40k.

I would not expect the same result over the next few years.

bye
 
A friend's sister purchased a no of IPs in Woodridge 2-3 years ago at the lower prices mentioned. She was very familiar with the area as she had worked there for some time. The points mentioned in some of the earlier postings re proximity to Brisbane etc made my friend's sister consider that despite its reputation Woodridge was undervalued.

I can't comment on existing prices and whether they represent value.

However, from my experience a suburb or street with a bad reputation takes a long time to shake it off even after the facts behind the reputation no longer exist. I purchased an IP in a regional city. The street had a bad reputation and still does amongst the locals, but I'd been following prices and comments on that street for a couple of years prior and it's been a great investment.

The advantage with a 'bad' neighbourhood is you've got a bit of time to do some good due diligence
 
G'day jrc,
The advantage with a 'bad' neighbourhood is you've got a bit of time to do some good due diligence
Yeah, you'd certainly have that !!! In fairness, it should be remembered that Woodridge and surrounds HAVE jumped remarkably in the last 2 years, but they still give a better yield than most of Brisbane (5%+). This alone could mean that it will remain a "less desirable area" - but, it also makes it easier to retain for a decade or two.

Horses for courses !!! If you are buying with a long-term view, and are wanting something that will "pay for itself", Woodridge could still be a winner - if not a standout performer !!! As I stated earlier, once Brisbane has reached its boundaries in the SE (where it runs headlong into Woodridge and Rochdale) what happens next?

Food for thought..... How big does the next "RE ripple" in Brisbane need to be to swamp the more northern Logan suburbs? Hmmmm.....

Regards,

PS Perhaps I should've said Trinder Park rather than Woodridge - nah .... Close enough..... :D
 
For a first IP I think woodridge would be way down on my list, unless you know the area personally. Think of a bad area where you live and then make it twice as bad......... You should try something closer to home .....if your keen on birsbane select another area but not collingwood or Inala nor richlands.
I guess the worse areas have more of an upside in the future but how long do you want to wait.
 
We live a few suburbs over from Woodridge in an area that has median prices up to 3 times higher the ones you are quoting. Mind you there is Karawatha Forest in between but as everyone has indicated, the reputation has stuck with Woodridge. Having grown up in the area and still living around there, it has been unbeleivable to see the transformation of Kuraby and extension of Underwood over the hill. For those who know the area a little and haven't seen it for some years, Kuraby has extended over the hill where the water tower is, now all the way down to Compton Rd near our good friends, Bunnings. In saying this, a house and land package is around $300k yet you can see houses from there that are Underwood/Woodridge that sell for around $170k.

IMHO I would see that the area would experience good gains in the long term. I would see this increasing expansion in the area mean an overhaul for the suburbs in that area. I read recently in the local rag that councils are now trying to have the classification of the land in the area changed for conservation purposes. Although they won't touch Karawatha Forest, the fringes can be developed but they now want the zoning changed. A sign again that there is limited space along this corridor. The Kuraby/Underwood thing is a prime example. They have spent mega $$ on the shopping centre at the now called "Logan Central". I grew up (til around 9 or 10) very close to this shoping centre and in those days, you wouldn't go there during the day, let alone at night! Now the centre is one of the biggest around and looks great!

In terms of transport, they have just extended the Busway to now have a stop at Slacks Creek. These suburbs are right on top of the Freeway and would be 15-20 minutes to the CBD and 45 mins from the Gold Coast.

If you are after any more info, let me know, always looking at ways of contributing and putting something back in!!!

Dos
 
Wazza007 said:
Howdy

Does anyone have an IP in this suburb? Ive searched and found many threads on Woodridge but not one from anyone who has an IP there.(maybe this answers my question) Looking at the Suburb for long term growth over 10 - 15 years.

If you search under logan ( We bought in Kingston and Woodridge ), I think you will find many threads in the past.

There are many forumities who have bought in the area. The only dud we've had was one we bought with the intention of renovating , which after our first experinece of long distance renovation we decided not to renovate.

It was a fairly grotty house and as a result got fairly grotty tenants . Last one didn't turn up to his tribunal hearing as he was in jail... :)

If you buy nice houses in nicer streets you are unlikely to have any problems. Drive around the area and it's usually fairly obvious from the look of the houses which streets to avoid.

I think you will be hard pressed to find anywhere in a capital city ( esp east coast ) , with the transport ( upgraded in recent years ) and locality that logan has .

In my experience the people who continue to bag the place don't have IP's there and are basing it on past reputations.

Check out houses rather that units / townhouses as the strata fees tend to be high. You can get houses in reasonably good condition for under 180K. The strata fees will bring the returns down to comparable with houses.

See Change
 
see_change said:
Check out houses rather that units / townhouses as the strata fees tend to be high. You can get houses in reasonably good condition for under 180K. The strata fees will bring the returns down to comparable with houses.

See Change

I have been mainly looking at a couple of Townhouse complex's that have onsite management thinking they may help with the selection of tenant as they have to live with them but Ive never dealt with onsite management before so I wouldnt know how caring / dilligent they are?

The strata fees are $1600 p/a, which sound reasonable. The hardest thing is living in Sydney I have to look everywhere other than Sydney for an IP due to entry prices, I would like to stay under $200k.

Thanks for all information todate its great to get feedback from people who are active -living in the area.
 
Wazza007 said:
The hardest thing is living in Sydney I have to look everywhere other than Sydney for an IP due to entry prices, I would like to stay under $200k.

I know this is off topic, but I too live in Sydney & have just bought a 3 bed house for $180k (in Sydney). They are out there (it just takes time to find them).
 
Wazza007 said:
I have been mainly looking at a couple of Townhouse complex's that have onsite management thinking they may help with the selection of tenant as they have to live with them but Ive never dealt with onsite management before so I wouldnt know how caring / dilligent they are?

The strata fees are $1600 p/a, which sound reasonable. The hardest thing is living in Sydney I have to look everywhere other than Sydney for an IP due to entry prices, I would like to stay under $200k.

Thanks for all information todate its great to get feedback from people who are active -living in the area.


At $1600, that means about 10 weeks of rent go to pay Strata Fee's . Which is fair chunk.

If I don't like a property manager , I can change them ( which I have done on several occasions ) . Much easier to change a Property manager , than an onsite manager.

Tibor did a reasonable amount of checking on PM's a couple of years ago and uses ( I assume still does ) Ray White's at Waterford. On his recommendation we changed properties to them and have been more than happy with the service they provide.

http://www.realestate.com.au/cgi-bin/rsearch?a=rwt&ag=XRWWAT&cu=RAYWHITE&page=home

It's worthwhile talking to some of the pm's in the area to ask them about what properties make good rental properties.

See Change
 
G'day ggumpshots,

if your keen on birsbane select another area but not collingwood or Inala nor richlands.

Inala I know, and Richlands, (and Woodridge) - but where's this "Collingwood"? Never heard of it !!! ;)

And, for others reading, I'd take my chances over Woodridge far sooner than Inala or Richlands (or Eagleby) :D

Regards,
 
It never ceases to amaze me when someone asks the question " whats Woodridge like etc" how many knowledgeable people who have never lived there, never been there, don't have any IPS there have all these opinions of the area, mostly bad because they were told by someone else or read one bad report or saw an article on tv about the area. Sure, Woodridge has its share of problems and bad areas, like many other cities around Australia. It is not as bad as some would like to make it out to be.I have lived in and around the Woodridge area for over 20 years and have never had any great problems. Our PPOR is in Woodridge and we have 2 IPS here as well. Units and townhouses can still be found for as low as 100k if you look hard enough (although they are getting scarce at that price range) and houses can still be found from 165k upwards. We paid 95k for 2 bed townhouse,rents for $150 per week, paid 130k for 3 bed lowset brick house( exeptional deal, none around at this price any longer) just settled and will rent for around 195 per week.

Cheers
Foston
 
les
I meant collingwood Park near redbank plains.
Foston.
Perception not reality would seem problaby more important for an investor. Tha fact that you never ceased to be amazed by peoples comments would indicate perception of Woodridge is not so great by the majority.
As an analogy, Beta lost out to VHS because of what the majority thought, even though technically BETA was the better product

I am glad you feel so positve about your local area. It is a good oppurtunity to take advantage of others ignorance. However I still wouldnt recomend that area as as place for a first time investor who doesnt know the area and is searching Australia for a location as Wazza007 is.
He is based in sydney.
It would seem to me one is increasing ones chances of a bad call unless you know individual streets and loacations.
 
ggumpshots said:
les
I meant collingwood Park near redbank plains.
.
Hi ggumpshots.
I have an I/P in Collingwood Park which has excellent growth in the last couple of years (like everywhere else) and have not had one ounce of trouble with it ( 2 tenants since I've owned it). Like everywhere in the Ipswich area I'm sure Collingwood Pk will benefit from expected growth, and already new developments have/are going ahead.

Regards
Marty
 
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