VIC 600k - where to spend it? Lalor vs Werribee vs Corio

Hi guys

very new to this forum. Been getting heaps of valuable info.

Ive got 600-650k to spend. Looking for an IP with ok yield, but more so GC over next 10 years. Was under bidder twice at the below two properties in Lalor on the weekend:

sold for 641, i bid 640:
19 Festival Grove Lalor Vic 3075 - House for Sale #125684390 - realestate.com.au

and

sold for 660, i bid to 655
28 Victoria Drive, Thomastown, Vic 3074 - View Sold History & Research Property Values - realestate.com.au

Thoughts on whether i should move my focus to other suburbs such as werribee or Corio or Sunshine?

Keen on Lalor as just behind is Epping which is growing in infrastructure, costco, expanding hospital etc. Do you think Lalor is too high now, or 600-620 is still a decent price?

Thoughts?

 

Hi Nigel, I think they are 3 different demographics.

Lalor would be at a different part of the property cycle compared to Werribee and Corio.
Saying that, very unlucky with the two underbidding.
I believe 650,000 is a very healthy budget though.

Areas to look at would be houses with land and close to transport, amenities something that Lalor and to an extent Werribee offers.
Maybe look at other threads but what seems to be popular here are Lalor, St Albans, Frankston North, Frankston, Altona Meadows etc. You have to do your research but Lalor in that price range I believe can be good.

 

Epping should still be in your budget. I recently purchased in Werribe - your budget will go far there or in Hoppers next door.

St Albans might be another option depending on how central you want to be and how much land / dev potential you're after.

 

Thanks @couq and @rjw180 .. helpfull insights. Agree they are 3 different demographics. I have just been focusing on Lalor after seeing Thomastown grow in the 1st quarter of this year. However, reading some forums, had my mind drifting to Weribee, Corio etc.

I think i'll stay on Lalor for now if I can get something in the 620 range... saw this property yesterday:

68 Rosemary Drive Lalor Vic 3075 - House for Sale #125111150 - realestate.com.au

Thoughts on this? It's a corner block, solid brick home in good nick. Back of house opens on a road so potential to build a unit on its own street frontage out the back. However, there are no frontage houses on the back road, only backs of houses. Also, behind the house is an empty block of land in Epping (as this house falls on the border of Lalor and Epping). From my research, no plans to build in that block.

Thoughts on the above points? Should I stay away given location and points above? Advertised as 630, but can get it for 600 i'd say.

thanks

 

If you're yield focused, go for central Geelong. Excellent yields and capital growth potential. 2x Corio with land might not be too bad either, the triangle bordered by Bacchus Marsh Rd, Purnell Rd and Princes Hwy has dev potential. It'll save you a motza on stamp duty too.

St Albans would be excellent from a capital growth perspective and development potential, but yields are low.

 

I would be weary about reading forums and going off what is popular on the forums. They are great for advice but that's what they are: opinions. Not everyone will give the best advice as people have vested interests.

Saying this, keep reading and good luck! I think you are looking in the right direction and type of property

 

Yeah and you can diversify too with that amount - One North of Geelong and one East or South of Geelong. Or even one near the school zone in Belmont could be good if you can find something for around 400k. House settling soon in Corio and pending on an applicant with close to 6% gross yield! I received heaps of enquiries on my property and they had to bid higher than my advertised amount to secure it. The other suggestions people posted are good too - Just a matter of whether you prefer to be able to diversify with higher yields (i.e. 280-320/week x 2 for two properties) or rely on one area (350-490 for one property).

Corio is also the only surburb around Geelong with less than 1% vacancy rate.

 

It really depends on your objectives and strategy.

a lof the folks here will focus on yields which is not wrong however they are many ways to get there .If for e.g. you had 1-1.2 mil - would you buy 5 properties and live of the yields or buy turbo boots it by selectively 2 properties that would grow quicker

I have been looking at preston, reservoir, Thomastown and Lalor for a while now. When preston was in the 700Kish, reservoir was 500Kish, then preston boomed to nearly 900-1mil and then Reservoir moved up now to 600Kish 700Kish and closing in on 900Kish This kind of movement is not different to the east from box hill all the way down to Mitcham.

Just a quick look at 68 Rosemary drive

The pros are :-

• Looking at that Corner block - dual frontage and the second frontage 1-2 meters.
• u can chuck one townhouse at the back volume builder build with next to minimal work as there Is a crossover and outside of removing the garage and relocating parking spot to the first unit. Any volume builder could do this cheap build 220K double storey or possible just a single 160K build.
• This is a major plus - the land adjoining this site is known as PDZ1 - which stands for "Priority Development Zone" - and is land that is meant for the the west Melbourne markets to be moved there. This ultimately could be a million dollar site when that happens but when similar to some the ppl who hype some area for 2 years but nothing really happens yet.

Melbourne Market Relocation - Major Projects Victoria








Cons

• would have be better if it was a park. Commercial too which is too close if it was a full on market noise, smells from food etc once it gets developed. A bit far distance wise walking to Lalor train station. 5 minutes drive.
• 10-20 Years for the market is a long time to take and is not like stuff is on the way happening.
• You are restricted to the minimum garden req of 30% on 525sqm that would only enable you to have 367sqm to play however because it is a corner you could put 3 on there but the existing house would have to be demolished.
• Price of 630K is a bit steep if you ask me but it has a lot of potential

 

@Nige12 further to this I requested the s32 - and they didn't even include the yarra valley water statement which shows the easement, sewer discharge points. Either they are hiding something or the conveyancer is not that good or really they did not bother. Would have be easier for prospective purchasers rather to call YVW to work it out. I put it in the "can't be bothered basket"

Also 630K is a bit steep being the next suburb up - and also being 13 Kemp AVe Thomastown sold 610K 544sqm corner block with multiple bidders (and a drawn out auction) Group of Indians vs the next door neighbour and some low ball bidders were in it. in the end the next door neighbour bought it. Double block $$ I think Lalor is still not as "hot" as Thomastown or reservoir yet - sorry @google boy though it is going to be at some stage.

 

@melbournian, i bought lalor property in 580 k 700m2 block last year, this year 700m2 block going over 720-760 k , if u see the recent sold history bigger blocks . i have already made 200k equity within 6 months. mine is near by 1.3 km to train station.

u keep on talking about zoning all the time.Who cares at present? think about future. melb population is growing, down the track council must change zoning. Everyone wants to live near to cbd

 

There has been a relatively recent wholesale change to zoning with Plan Melbourne - that's meant to last us until 2050.

And as for your comment about everybody wanting to live close to the city - lol, just lol, I couldn't think of anything worse. Traffic, crowds, permit zones, hipsters...yuk!

 

@gtown, only retire people will buy in country side, young people needs to live close to cbd for job oppurtunity. Thats what migrant like me think. We have to work. i am not sure about local australian. can u please tell me what local australian they think? i want to read their minds an invest according to them. Cheers mate.

 

Well - zoning affects everything, why a site in camberwell is selling more than 1 mil that what is was bought for in a year is the example of that. Simple year10 maths - if you have 1200sqm site which can build 15 townhouses that can sell for 650K each which gives you total value of 9.75 mil. Same size site 1200sqm which can only do 8 townhouses which gives you only 5.2 mil. So which site is worth more and what is the probability of selling either 1200sqm site (say both bought 1.2 mil each) for 2.2 mil ?. would it be the one that is zoned to build 15 townhouses or the 8 townhouses. Reason why that alfrieda st in st albans sold for 1.81 mil and 1.68 mil and so forth.

Now back to your lalor claim of 760K. i once did work in business intelligence and data analytics for ASX200 companies so i will analyse it as best of my abilities.

You said your place is worth 720-760K (yeah recent sales of 939sqm and 952sqm blocks sold for 710K and 706K. Maybe your site may have a hidden oil mine since nearly 200sqm MORE is only 710 and 706K?



Let's use this example i found a similar site in lalor sold for 580K with a rather irregular shape and that back which really is approximately 105sqm wasted on the triangular (which i am sure you know that). so really a 650sqm site. no wonder it was 580K. all estimations from various sources show it is at best 600Kish. it is also illogical that 13 Kemp St thomastown would sell only 610K last week and this lalor site is 760K?




Rpdata also put the site maximum value at 647K. so really a 70K growth. at best 100K growth due to suburb growth. Don't forget 30 burton avenue sold in feb 2017 much better condition, a more rectangular block and also a bungalow/granny flat which itself is worth 30K. where did that estimation 200K come from?




Distance wise - i think it really is 1.6km instead of 1.3km (it is 1.3km to lalor town)



This site is also in the neighbourhood residential zone where else if you were general residential you at least can ask for 3 storeys now. with that odd shape at best it is really 670sqm usable space not even 700sqm unfortunately. Sometimes ppl overclaim their property is X amount without much logic or rationale but it's ok it is good to learn and educate yourself. i enjoy researching properties and looking at every single angle.

AS for council changing zones - good luck with that. you gotto submit something to council and also get the minister to sign off on it. Unles you are crown casino who can show that they will build a observatory deck to increase the number of stories you can build, that's like one in a million chance. Port melbourne fisherman bend when it got rezoned for commercial building basically made everyone a millionaire overnight. no different to farm land being rezoned for residential blocks. Read article below

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/vi...n/news-story/4a899bf055888ba906a5574ab114a91a


ESSENDON legend Mark “Bomber” Thompson has hit a $7 million property development jackpot.

Thompson and Bombers list manager Adrian Dodoro struck it rich on Friday after years of stalled negotiations over the sale of a sheep farm near Geelong.

The duo each paid $394,000 for a quarter share of the 16ha property at Armstrong Creek, between Geelong and Torquay, in 2005.

 

43 Burton Street, Lalor, Vic 3075 - Property Details

Can u please check the sold history of 43 burton street, lalor. It was sold for 750k this year in same street. 4 burton street, lalor is on market, one of bidder is try to negotiate with vendor for 780 k but vendor is asking 800k. If u really want to do research , u can ring love realestate agent and find out. No one is going to sell the house in 660 k, if in same street property is going for 750 k.

 

@melbournian, that property does not belong to me. I am just giving u example. I am not here to argue with u. I am here to share views and gain knowledge to invest in property market.

 

Thanks @melbournian .. Wow can't believe you went through all that trouble to pull that info for me, much appreciated

In relation to the Rosemary Drive property, in that first picture of the back with the vacant land you posted, there is now a street there which I'm assuming will go to the markets. I believe the transfer from Footscray market to Epping market has already taken place early 2015, but still growing. Agree noise etc from the market was a concern. Probably can pick this place up for 600k flat. Re the easement and lack of info via the yarra valley statement, do you think these will hamper any development opportunities?

Also considering this corner block in Thomastown with plans and permits for a two story townhouse. Confident I can get this for 600k also, previously passed in. Thoughts on this:

8 Glenburn Street Thomastown Vic 3074 - House for Sale #125617746 - realestate.com.au

Thanks again @melbournian! FYI I was also at the Kemp Avenue auction. Buyer was actually not the neighbour, but the friend of the neighbour hence why his car was parked there.

 

i was intrest in buying in 4 burton street , lalor. I had given offer of 650k but vendor declined. It got passed in 726k at auction. Later on they were negotiating but did not finalized .

 

LOL you know alfrieda St St Albans the sale sold 1.81mil. after that did everyone sell for 1.81 mil nope - it went 1.688 mil 1.65 mil. There will always be a record sale which is an anomaly. then Same as reservoir same street 1.1m and 900k and 880K. Sales in may 17 show 2 sales in lalor 900sqm above for 706 and 710K - why would anyone buy a site also with wasted space as well.

nah not arguing with you - it is all good debate.

 

Good point. damn who was that low bidder of $500 and $250?

 

if it got passed in 726K how could it all be 760K. if it is that "hot" like in reservoir - it should go above 760K easily without passing in. Similar to lane crescent, 800 then bang 880K. i think 700K is fair value for burton but anything more everyone is overpaying (as really there is nothing special about the place - it does not have a balwyn high school and the zone is just odinary.. Reservoir and thomastown needs to be worth far more before lalor otherwise ppl could buy in reservoir or thomastown.

Same like the east. if ppl can buy in cheaper in doncaster why go to donvale or mitcham?