VIC Ballarat picking up ??

They were pretty annoying and high maintenance back in the day. Forever painting them. That’s why so many were covered in the faux aluminium weatherboard stuff. Paint has improved much since then.

Anyway, I’m sure what’s best would be a four bedroom brick veneer free standing inner home, but cost

 

Huge result in Ballarat East recently.

134 Eureka Street, Ballarat East, Vic 3350 - View Sold History & Research Property Values - realestate.com.au

$370k for a property in need of renovation inside and out. Things are picking up!

 

Not a bad location that one. I keep swapping between Ballarat and Corio though - I think that Corio will still have some growth because of the Werribee East education precent - people won't be able to afford to live / buy in Werribee any more, so what's near by? Lara, Corio, Melton... Corio has the Geelong CBD and is close to the bay... now, if only I could win tatslotto then I'd be able to jump in to both markets quicker!

 

Lara has lots of vacant land, while Corio is scarce with its land, apart from the outer areas closer towards Melbourne. If I am not wrong, Melton goes hand in hand with Melbourne in terms of growth. Parts of Corio that are closer towards Geelong CBD should do better than Lara in terms of growth, I'd say.

 

Amazon result, despite the fact that Eureka st is a busy/main Street across Ballarat East! Interesting to see how the tide will lift up the Rat this cycle.

 

The east of Ballarat is IMO where the true value is, being closer to Melbourne (and also Geelong).

 

True true but my gosh that would be out of budget.

Both my homes are weatherboard (and 90+ years old) and I have not lifted a paintbrush to either of them.

 

Pretty bad yield in Ballarat though.. I am confused between outer Brisbane vs Ballarat for this very reason. Any thoughts?

Main objective is capital growth but also decent yield so as to avoid paying much from pocket towards loan repayment.

 

I guess it depends on what you buy- there's a house in Wendouree at the moment leased at $225pw, for sale at $180k - 3 bedroom house, not on a huge lot as it was subdivided a few years back, but a house none the less not far from shops and not too far from the lake... this more than covers the mortgage repayment pocketing $2-$300pm while someone else pays for the home. I've got 30 years until retirement, this one I'm seriously considering.

 

Not my experience at all! Maybe for Ballarat Central, Lake Wendouree and Soldiers Hill, but almost all other Ballarat suburbs have very strong yields. To put things in a Brisbane perspective, there are a lot of ways in which the Ballarat market mirrors the Ipswich market.

 

Thanks, mate. Can you elaborate on its comparison with Ipswich, as in the similarities?

 

@Michelle Evans that one sounds like a good yield spinner, but the capital growth potential for Wendouree might be a bit more restricted compared to other suburbs in Ballarat. With a lower socio area the other risk is in tenant quality. You may have trouble keeping a good quality tenant and bad ones may have trouble keeping up the rent payments!

The other challenge is with flat capital growth; you may not have much equity to extract to buy property #2, #3, #4 etc.

Providing you are ok with all that, the yields look good. In a low low interest rate environment like this you could use the positive yeild proceeds to aggressively pay down principal. In time the effect of this (providing rents dont go backwards and ideally you can knock rents up ever 1-2 years...); is to create an even wider yield spread.

Good luck!

 

Similar types of housing stock, similar prices and similar yields. As well as this, I believe that a lot of the value lies on the eastern side of both cities (closer to Melbourne/Brisbane)

 

Is that in the West? If it’s not I would jump on it! Even if it is, it’s still worth considering.

 

I think I know which one you are talking about. A weatherboard one with less than 300sqm? If that’s the one, location-wise, it’s in the best part of the whole Wendouree. As other suburbs are not as good as Wendouree in terms of yield, my recommendation is to find something in Wendouree(not the West one), Redan, Golden point or Mount Pleasant.

 

I've actually done a bit more research speaking with a senior property manager in the area- she said don't do it! Near lake Wendouree, there's a section of houses in streets with flower names... it's the worst area in Wendouree in terms of neighbourhood and quality of tenant - this is why it seems like so much of a bargain. Anyone who buys in there needs to be prepared for the dramas that come with a higher rate of tenant evictions and drug deals sadly... so not for me! (so helpful hint for anyone considering rentals - always talk to a property manager, they're the ones on the ground dealing with all the special situations that come along... where as Sales agents obviously want your business, but may not always be aware of the actual rental side of things)

 

Yes, Wendouree West would be the most well known 'bad' area in Ballarat (but not the only one by any means). This image posted in another Ballarat thread by @Ko Ko Naing shows the exact area to be wary of:

 

Why would people prefer to live in regionals and commute to Melbourne when there's heaps of supply (to own or rent) in outer suburbs of Melbourne? 1.5 hrs of train commute isn't short given that train frequency isn't every 10 mins either. So, what will boost Ballarat market?

 

Affordability, so more bang for your buck.

 

The commute is closer to 1 hour 10. And living in a smaller, self contained city (such as Ballarat), is far superior to living in an outer suburb of Ballarat (IMHO).