Hi all, am new to the property market and to this forum. My wife and I are both in our 30s, work in the CBD and planning on starting a family end of this year. We’re looking for our first residential prop to purchase and are interested in areas with close commute to city with many shops and some good parks. Our budget is 700-800k and looking for 2bd unit in a vibrant area (not suburban). We’ve come across Wolli Creek and done some inspections, surprised to see large 2 bedroom Units in that price range considering the access to the train station, shops, parks and rivers (some with views) within footsteps. Being a Newbie, I’m trying to understanding why this area is not only more affordable but also prices dropping down while across the cooks river prices are shooting up. I know supply has something to do with it since there are many projects but am I missing something else? Is Wolli Creek not a good future investment? Any advice would be appreciated.
Know Wolli Creek well, but don't know much about the apartments as I only do houses. Great access to the city with both the airport line and south coast line passing through. In peak times, you get a train every 4-5 minutes. Traffic is pretty busy. They tried to fix it a couple years ago by making many of the two way streets into a one way loop, but it's all pretty jammed up during peak times. There's plenty of apartment supply coming in neighbouring Arncliffe as lots of the light industrial gets converted to high rise residential. Woolworths Wolli Creek is also going to be converted into apartments at some point. Be wary as there are at least two apartments that flood quite badly during heavy rain. Arncliffe St also floods badly during rains.
Thanks for the heads up. That makes really good sense as one of the ground floor units on Arncliffe street we looked at was damp and had really warped flooring.
A very good friend of mine bought an off the plan there (and settled in 2015/2016) in a large complex around the station - and sold his property right before COVID-19 in late 2019. Have heard that the build quality of that complex was very poor and defects everywhere, including water proofing issues that the developer refused to rectify. Quite a lot of the investors (mostly based overseas) sold their places due to high holding costs and maybe that’s why the market in that suburb isn’t performing. My advice is that you must do your due diligence by ordering a strata report and if the strata looks exceptionally high be wary of the potential issues. For your budget, have you considered Dulwich Hill, Leichhardt, and Kogarah (and probably get an older 3 bedder at your upper limit?). They are reasonably convenient and would be better than buying in Wolli Creek.
You're talking about apartment market 10km away from the CBD. Wolli Creek's median unit price is $753k according to RP Data and I reckon that's fair considering it's distance. - Is Wolli Creek not a good future investment? Definitely not something I would personally touch. Oversupply, which you have already mentioned is an issue. It's not only in Wolli Creek. With Sydney Metro City & Southwest being developed, and various Sydney Urban Renewal Projects, there are only going to be more supply and they are closer to the CBD than Wolli Creek. We're talking about Waterloo-Alexandria area. - I’m trying to understanding why this area is not only more affordable but also prices dropping down while across the cooks river prices are shooting up. I don't think this is backed by any data. Wolli Creek's median unit price has increased from 721k in July 2020 to 753k in May 2021. Not sure what you meant by "across the cooks river" as Tempe and Sydenham are not dominated by apartments so I'll just take St Peters and Erskineville. St Peters has increased from 775k to 832k and Erskineville has actually decreased from 931k to 923k. They all seem relatively flat to me compared to the house market. Unless you're comparing a unit market with a house market... - Any advice would be appreciated. Have you considered rentvesting? For the same budget, I would personally buy an investment property in Queensland and continue to rent wherever I like in Sydney. It's just my 2cents though as rentvesting is not everyone's cup of tea and some people just don't like it. The reason I mentioned rentvesting is because your budget is not going to get you a good PPOR close to the city that is also a good future investment at your current budget. Sydney is also at the peak of its current cycle which means your risk is slightly higher.
I lived there for 10 years, only sold as we needed more space. Loved it, great area Some buildings are a lot better than others. Check strata reports, walk around the complex and look at the condition and cleanliness of everything. I think prices haven't moved much recently as a heap of units came onto the market, there was crazy build time but I think it eased up. I sold for a decent profit but I purchased in 2011
Lived in the area for a similar amount of time too. Location is pretty amazing, you are close to Hurstville, CBD, eastern suburbs and M5. Would prefer to be slightly out of Wolli due to the congestion, look at the Arncliffe end of Bonar St. There were some great childcare facilities around, public schools in the area are a bit meh.
I used to live there, have recently moved out to upgrade. I love the area, it's very convenient, and has a good vibe (depending on which side you're in). My only advice when you're planning to buy is only get the Discovery point by Frasers ( or previously Australand). During COVID i feel like every other apartments seems to lose its charms ( in terms of rent market, or price) but the ones in Discovery Point have a good retention. Can't comment on traffice as I rarely have to drive cause trains are reliable, 17 mins to Town hall every 4-5 mins, can't complaint really.
I lived at Wolli as well. I sold up a couple of years ago for a couple of reasons. Strata initially was 1200 pq but after a few years it was around 1800pq. I could not image paying $2000 pq in the near future. I was also worried about the Woolies being re developed and losing my view. The area I agree is very convenient for people with cars or relying on train service to city or Hurstville. It's the most central place I know apart from Burwood and Stratfield where you’re at the centre of everything. Great if you move around a lot on weekends and during weeknights. It's def not an area if you sit at home and go nowhere. In regard to price not moving and price entry of 700-800K. This price range gets you average quality 2 bed in below average building. Prices vary based on which building you choose. I have many friends there and been to almost all the buildings. The recently introduced a one-way circuit on the road. Great for pedestrians but seems to be more congestion for cars. Agree many new developments on neighbouring suburb Arncliffe which fetch for about 10-15% less. I think the new Waterloo precinct took a lot of the market away from Wolli Creek. The Waterloo Precinct not far from Green Square looks nice and expensive. Makes Wolli Creek look run down. Wolli Creek has a high rental market and I never felt any community atmosphere. People moving in and out of my complex all the time, dumping rubbish in carpark and just not much respect. Go into the Woolworths and it’s like every man for himself. All the neighbouring suburbs come to this supermarket due to its size and product range No one is friendly. Over past 2 years, I noticed the demographics have slightly shifted. Lots of back packers and short-term stayers living in Wolli now while the middle class Chinese are moving on to maybe Waterloo or upgrading to a house. The apartments surrounding the train station are all built by Frasers using diff Developers for each one. Build quality varies by building but these ones go higher than 800k for 2 bed 2 bath 1 car. There has been no flooding in any apartments from rain. Arncliffe street use to flood a bit but not up to your knees. One or 2 carparks could get water in it but water will never go into level 1. All building are evaluated. They also addressed the flood storm water drain issue when they re-done the road with one way circuit. PM if you want more insight. Finally, price hasn’t moved just like Hurstville. Lots of new stock came on market at the same time in surrounding areas. Strata is also high but that’s the norm for Wolli when considering buying. I think price has not moved due to the quality of buyers changing. Again, Waterloo new Precinct is classier for deep pocket folks. Thanks.
