VIC Ballarat picking up ??

Let me say from a person with multiple Ballarat props.
It's been a slow and at times worrying path.
I predicted due to cycles etc that the market would recover and bounce up about 4 yrs ago.
Due to Melbourne getting near its peak but with the apra stepping in I thought the regionals wouldn't move

It's welcome news

 

Hopefully this is a sign of an upward trend

213 Eyre Street, Ballarat Central, Vic 3350 - Property Details
Approx Land size is 380sqm, busy main rd but very central. This one has shared drive too - minor cosmetic update to some parts of the house.

 

Even if Ballarat is moving now, it's still pretty disappointing considering that it has been very flat for many many years before the rise, which happens around a year ago? Imagine the potential gains an investor would have made even if he put his money years ago into buying in the lousiest Melbourne surburb?

Geelong seems to be the only Major Victorian regional city that is really moving.

Despite promises and commitment by successive govts, the rest of the regional towns and cities still lack the impetus and the attraction to move ahead like Melbourne. It is Melbourne that contain the key jobs, the richest people, the Asians, the excitement in lifestyle etc. And i do not think anything is going to change anytime soon. It's still Melbourne that controls Victoria. It's sad but a reality that I have to admit to too.

 

Yes that is true but I think it's bad for the mental state to compare opportunity cost.
You could also compare the growth of Ballarat vs a mining town that's collapsed 40% and be content.
You'd never be happy.

I use three experiences as a learning experience and will modify my behaviour next time round

 

Thanks for that. My earlier post was to lift the spirits of those who have invested in Ballarat. I am sure those investors are aware of the disappointing growth and with a crystal ball or hindsight may have invested elsewhere instead. They would be happy to know that things are moving in the right direction.

 

We bought our 5x1 (much nicer) property about 3 minutes walk from there 2 years ago for the same price- this is good news indeed !

 

The same could be said for NSW and Sydney yet the regionals within a 3 hour drive have moved in leaps and bounds in NSW. Melbourne is a little bit behind Sydney from a boom perspective so I am confident as it continues to get more and more unaffordable that the regional areas including Ballarat will experience decent growth.

 

Property demand reaches new heights, rise in out-of-town buyers

"Mark Nunn from Buxton Ballarat said about 40 per cent of the real estate company’s sales were going to buyers from out of town, with most of those properties investments.

He said properties in the most in demand areas of Ballarat were selling within three to seven days. ​

 

Thanks, @Toon. This is definitely a good news to me on Cup day afternoon, because 2 out of our 3 Ballarat IPs are located inside this 2km circle from the main central station and another one just very close to the border of the circle in Redan. As always, it's land scarcity that makes property prices higher and higher.

 

The biggest concern I have for Ballarat right now is actually rental yield constraint thanks to annoyingly/excessively high volumes of cookie cutter house and land being built in the western and southern suburbs. Were this not there, rental growth in the existing housing stock would have grown much quicker than it currently has.

 

I agree yes you someone can bash themselves up for not buying at 100% of the best time but there will always be opportunity cost.

It is spectacular if the person bought in x (lets say Sydney) right before the boom then sold and bought (or just bought) in y (Lets say Melbourne) right before that boom and then did the same with z (Lets say Brisbane. That is all great but no one can really predict the future and know exactly when something is about to boom.

However with the above example of Syd, Melb, Bris would all have opportunity cost as the gains (and yield) are nothing compared with mining towns where they grow 3-5x their price in quick succession. If you were able to do this in mining towns the returns would be much higher but at the same time there is an opportunity cost because I am sure you could do better with shares if you were able to get them correct... For instance I know a share that has doubled in a couple of weeks and established shares have known to double in a day.

So I agree people need to stop talking about opportunity costs unless as you cannot change the past and everything is so much easier in hindsight.

 

Totally agree. It's a very negative Nancy attitude. And I don't really enjoy or actively engage in people like this in conversation about investing

 

Jobs boon: Ballarat tops nation’s employment growth

 

Hmmm, but the salaries they earn are comparatively low according to the article. Good formula for rental yields to increase??

 

V Line trains also go to Deer Park 16km west of the Melb CBD.

I would consider Geelong for all intents and purposes to be a part of Metro Melbourne, with the added advantage of its very own CBD and excellent proximity to beaches.

As for Ballarat, I live there myself in Ballarat East. IMO the true value areas are east of the Ballarat CBD, and in Wendouree east of Gillies St.

 

Regional Vic offers so much from a lifestyle perspective. You’re right in that Melbourne offers so much, but regional Vic also offers those very same advantages without the pitfalls of metro life.

With the V Line trains, Ballarat’s only just over an hour away from the Melb CBD, Geelong just under an hour. The traffic is much less, and you have your very own CBD on your doorstep. You don’t have to break your back to afford a lovely weatherboard period home. Regional Victoria is a bloody great place to live, but then again I may be biased

 

I know you are biased and I think there is good parts of regional but to classify the cities mentioned as part of metro Melbourne is not true.

Yes they might be an hour drive from Melbourne however if you were to drive with peak hour it would g be doable unless you lose work/life balance.

I live 20 mins from the city however with peak hour it can take 40-60 mins (usually 50 mins). Both my wife and I drive and have a daughter so if we were living in Geelong we would need to leave at 7:00am or even earlier if meetings were on otherside if town (eg dandenong) and wouldn’t get home until after 7:00pm again depending on where last meetings were.

Yes we could pick different careers and locations however we are comfortable and our positions wouldn’t be to different from other people in our boat.

To me Metro Melbourne is far greater than regional and well millions of more people agree that Melbourne beats the regional towns overall for jobs, income, activities, infrastructure etc otherwise why are there so many more people here .

Again I am biased so we will never agree.

 

Feel free to call me a snob and yes I agree my personal opinion is irrelevant to investors.

But I've spent a lot of time in Ballarat. Investment wise it's a good investment.

However lifestyle wise i Dont like it.
Ignoring distance to Melbourne I find it simply bogan central.

When you go to any of the super markets it's rough. (not dangerous)
Most of the shops same thing
Restuaabrts same thing except the expensive ones

Pubs no Thnaks
I personally would never live there

 

Snob! Haha only kidding of course.

I probably don’t notice the bogan-ness because I’m a bogan myself. I’m no expert on the supermarkets but the Victoria St Coles (the one near where I live) doesn’t seem too out of the ordinary to me. Same goes with the pubs.

That said, I don’t mind a bit of bogan-ness here in Boganrat, it’s the hipsters that **** me.

 

I know that one. Been to it a lot.

But when I'm at the service desk. When 2 out of 3 customers are missing front teeth.
2 out of 3 are in bare feet
2 out of 3 are drinking a jack and coke at 11am

I think bogan!