NSW Around 1.3m where to buy for good pri and sec school

We own a house in Winston Hills. Hubby and I both work fulltime and kids are around 3yrs now. Work location is North Ryde and Beecroft for us. Looking to buy a 3 or 4 bedroom house PPOR within budget of 1.3m in Sydney. Please recommend suburbs with good pri and sec schools. Thought of Cherrybrook and Carlingford but looks.like too tough. Any recommendations appreciated.

Stella

 

Easy with that budget. I wanted to buy one there for around 1.1m. Tough. But, 1.3 should give you a decent 3 bedder. 4 bedder could be hard to find, but not impossible. Start calling agents. I get one call a day even after I have paused looking.

 

Thanks. Which suburb you recommend?

 

Carling, Cherry , west pennant, Eastwood ..

 

I just sold my house in North Epping a little bit beyond your stated budget. I can just say, keep looking in the whole Northern Districts area from North Ryde to Epping, Carlingford, and up to Thornleigh, Cherrybrook, Hornsby.
Be patient and something that fits the bill will show up!
Note I favour the east side of Epping station due to traffic (I lived in Carlingford for about 8 years - end of Carlingford Rd and North Rocks Roads are some very bad frustrating bottlenecks at times!) but if the person who works in North Ryde can get a train to work then that's ideal.

 

With $1.3 million, I would say Cherrybrook with CTHS zoning. Cherrybrook Technology High School (CTHS) is the one of the best non-selective government secondary school in NSW. The local public schools (John Purchase, Cherrybrook Public, Oakhill Drive) are fantastic also. It is very close to Beecroft, and also not far from North Ryde. I drive from Cherrybrook to North Ryde in about 35 minutes at peak hour.

Another thing, when the new train line opens in 2019, Cherrybrook is the first stop after Epping, and another 2 and 3 stops to Macquarie Park and North Ryde train station!

You can easily get 3 bedder and older single level 4 bedder house there. I would suggest buying as close to Cherrybrook Train station as possible (within say 1km walk) and definitely within CTHS zoning (as not all part of Cherrybrook is zoned to CTHS. Check the school website for zoning maps.

One thing to stay away though, is the high voltage power line and towers! You will see them around!

Here are some of the examples of recent sales:

Sold Price for 46 County Drive Cherrybrook NSW 2126

Sold Price for 17 Woodgrove Avenue Cherrybrook NSW 2126

Sold Price for 54 Macquarie Drive Cherrybrook NSW 2126

Sold Price for 2/11 Toorak Court Cherrybrook NSW 2126

Sold Price for 3 Timothy Close Cherrybrook NSW 2126

Sold Price for 1 Merriwa Place Cherrybrook NSW 2126

 

Thanks, pretty sure WPH and Eastwood are out with my budget

 

Just wondering what sort of family salary band you are on. Spending 1.3m just for good school zone is a lot of non deductible debt to hold.

I am in the same position in Adelaide but the max I would spend is $800k (4/2/2) but getting priced out of the market as well. Not keen to spend any more as it will leave us with no servicing capacity for future investments. Maybe it is worth paying 20k+ for private school fees.

 

That's the difference between Adelaide and Sydney ( unfortunately for Sydney buyers)
1.3 Million just isnt considered a really expensive home in Sydney, in the way it would be in Adelaide.
Im also going to assume they wont be carrying that level of debt, if they are selling Winston Hills.

 

Yep. Where I am, 1.3mill is below the median. Its entry level. And i'm considered to be in the middle ring. I've seen new units advertised from 680k for a 1br, no study. 2br unit for 880k or so.
Nothings cheap. I feel the houses will never get any cheaper here though. Too high a demand.
But in 2008 700k could have bought you a decent house in that same area. Just the way things go....

 

I dont think they will get cheaper waiting a bit longer either..

 

I'm with @kamchatsky on this one and can't understand why you haven't found anything in Cherrybrook- average time on market is longer than this time last year and if you're on top of listings and in touch with agents regularly you'll find something. We've bought for stacks of buyers here and in nearby suburbs and know them well. Sure, competition is still robust for good places (especially off main roads, away from power lines and in CTHS and JP primary zones) but they're out there. Take a look at the attached sales report from March 1 sales of 3bed+ houses in sub $1.3m price brackets- might help give some perspective. Also consider South Dural as still in catchment but buyers see Dural and think acreage
Good luck and happy hunting!

 

@rooster123 - Don't look past the end of your nose, there's plenty of good buying in Beecroft around that mark. Beecroft Primary has a good reputation, catchment for Cheltenham Girls and Epping Boys. Arden & Marist Bros Eastwood are both around the corner as well.

Eastwood and Carlingford shopping centres are both easily accessible.

Prices are still subdued due to construction of Northwest Railway.

Won't be impacted by the new rail line (prices will bounce back once it starts to operate and its effects are known).

Linky

 

Actually for 800K in Adelaide you should get an older house within GIHS zoning without problems. If not GIHS then you can always look at Adelaide/Brighton/Norwood/Marryatville High school zones. They are all pretty good. 800K can buy you a lot of houses in Adelaide.

However, $1.3m in Sydney can only get you average house these days. People who are not on high incomes would struggle to buy a house in Sydney.

Alternatively, people can just rent in houses in those school zones.

 

The only bad thing about South Dural is that the New Line Road between South Dural and Cherrybrook/Purchase Road intersection is always very busy. OP can definitely buy a house in Cherrybrook without going to South Dural.

 

I wouldn't be buying that one in Saracen so close to the M2 but each to their own

The compromises you'll need to make in Beecroft (and to some extend Carlo and North Rocks) will be the usuals- main road noise, dampness/valley locations (think many trees!) steep yards/access, battleaxe blocks, proximity to freeway/rail. Sure, there are some homes that sell sub $1.3m that don't have these issues but they aren't in the same condition as nearby Cherrybrook in most cases. TLC required in most cases for freestanding homes. WPH old side good value in parts, but newer (Highs Rd) side also throws up some gems from time to time. Still, if it's school catchments that matter it will come down to personal preference.

Prices will definitely bounce back (they're hardly tanking right now with longer days on market but good props still selling healthily due to lack of quality stock) in the Northwest region as rail draws closer though- we don't disagree there @Scott No Mates

 

True but I was just pointing out some alternatives
At least they put lights in Sebastian Dr so I can get my brekky wraps through drive through and not risk my life anymore by turning right LOL

 

Alternatively, North Ryde or Ryde still holds a few nice properties in that range as well. Similar access to transport & schools (North Ryde is probably slightly better for transport).

 

Another alternative then for CTHS zoning is the Oakhill part of Castle Hill as well.

I guess your like your HJ's?

 

Only when I'm heading out early and haven't had anything to eat....