VIC ballarat prospects?

Some more signs of progress Ballarat to get second cinema

 

He's keeping quiet - must be buying everything! @C-mac ?

 

Hi guys, last trip was good! I almost closed a deal but got out-offered by a home-buyer who paid way more than I was willing to go up.

I put a couple of other offers in but on ones I was less keen on.

I have a couple of other options I'm exploring but no other offers just yet.

The thing that excites me about the inner Ballarat areas is the scope to add value/manufacture CG in some properties there.

 

Read this today: In Ballarat, a new gold rush for property as investors and first timers circle

 

Interesting. Makes sense really. Surprising to read though that Melbourne 'escapees' were buying up the cookie-cutter house and land package stock! I thought the cultured Melbournites would more prefer a Heritage or period home in inner Ballarat that has charm and reno potential?

Also an error in the article mentions the direct train is 75 mins. Is this the non-VLine train?

I caught a V-Line train direct from southern cross the other week and it was 64 minutes. I know it is only an 11 minute difference but when the article is referring to Melbourne commuters, every minute counts. 64 mins is even more appealing than 75! Especially if you reside in Ballarat Central where it is typically a 5-7 minute walk to the station!

Door to door melbourne in say 72 minutes total really isnt too bad. Especially when the VLine trains have an airplane-like fold down table for each seat meaning you can do an houra work efficiently!!

 

I feel this is why central prices haven't had remarkable growth. Being able to walk to a station and have a period home is for some not as popular as new and shiny - and a 5 min drive to Wendouree Station where there is heaps of parking.
There are plenty of central period homes ripe for renovation. I'd like to think investing in the centre will eventually pay off.

 

Particularly not with the new home-buyer demographic that would be moving. Often they don't have a huge deposit and there's big stamp duty savings to be made with the cookie cutter estate, which makes a huge difference.

 

Interesting, this all makes sense.

Maybe with increased population in the surrounding cookie-cutter/shiny-and-new estates, the central area will benefit anyway with more commerce and trade?

Also, good old ksou.cn (as an aside - man I love this site. I dont know how they API-puĺl-through all their stats - pretty sure some of it is shared from paywall-protected sources!), indicates that the best performing schools are in the central areas of Ballarat.

So.. if young family FHB's are moving in the outskirts, when baby/toddler/primary kid gets to high school age, I wonder if the parents will push to get them into the more prestigious schools? I wonder too what their capacity (and catchment rings) look like? If Ballarat grows to 150,000 from 100,000 in the next 20 or so years, thats a lotta kids to cram into these schools.

 

Generally they are close to the 70min mark, if they're running on time. I've been catching the 06.20 for the last 6 months & it usually gets in around 07.30. Unfortunately hardly any of the trains have the fold-down tables They had them on the train I caught home yesterday, but I hadn't seen them for many weeks prior to that.

 

Is anyone aware of the current market condition? Would love to hear any opinion.

 

Just saw another article on how wonderful ballarat was.
Been a hotspot for at least 5 years now.
Hasnt done bad but not good either

 

Hi folks, pleased to say I've gone unconditional on a purchase in Ballarat. Settles in a few weeks.

I won't post specifics publicly but basically it is within 2.5km from the CBD/Train station, offers equity manufacture prospects in multiple ways (reno / subdivision / backlot development etc.) and yields at 5% gross based on current rent rate and discounted actual purchase price. I am pleased with the prospects this one offers. Mostly actually due to the Heritage overlay the entire suburb has (meaning, existing houses can only be reno'd/extended, but not torn down). Coupling this with the fact that most houses in the surrounding streets have already had their subdivisions completed and new dwellings built on those lots (meaning that with most infill already done and heritage overlay restricting future growth, supply will hit a ceiling as demand grows = higher growth and yield prospects later on); and I'm thinking this is a smart buy.

Happy to sit on 5% yields whilst I tap my fingers together (Monty Burns style) and plan my equity manufacturing for it over coming years

 

Woukd like to know your thoughts on my recent IP purchase in Wendouree on Gillies St. Walking distance to Stockdale shopping center & Train station. Close to highway to Melbourne and Lake Wendournee. Built late 70s early 80s Already Tenanted, needs a bit of work to modernise otherwise structural sound. Thoughts?

 

Hi @sam00 I am by no means an expert on Ballarat, but I can offer some thoughts if it helps.

First of all, Gillies Street is a major thoroughfare which is a big negative. Traffic/noise might reduce appeal for renters, especially young families with babies/toddlers that might not sleep so easy with the traffic.

On the positive, it is just about getting away from the worst parts of Wendouree (basically the triangle of land formed by Gillies Street, Learmonth, and Grevillea Road. Anything east of Gillies Street gets better and better. If you keep continuing this seeps into North Ballarat and Lake Wendouree (both very posh suburbs).

Does it offer any subdivision potential? Great to hear it has cosmetic renovation opportunity.

 

Thanks C-mac for your advice by the way congrats on your purchase. Yes I agree Gillies st is a major thoroughfare however I know plenty of rental properties on made roads espically houses that have been knocked down and apartments or units built. Even when I was looking around Wendouree I could see homes already leased on main roads.

This 3 bedroom home I purchased is on a large block 630 square meters. It does have potential to subdivision however the roofline of the house extends out to a carport it would have to either be a knock down or renovation.

I was attracted to the home mainly because of its location it is walking distance to all amenities. Anyway purchase is done now like any investor I am hoping I made the right choice and get some decent capital growth within 10 year period.

 

Too much land?

 

Out west probably. However, last year they declared that Canadian Forrest as a state forest and off limits for development. This basically creates a natural barrier to further land releases on the Melbourne side of Ballarat. Have a look on Google Maps. There's still some infill opportunities, but long term should see land supply become more constrained in the East.

 

Delacombe development “on target” | photos

 

Interesting! Let the infill complete (and be near-fully let!).

Vacancies are super low in ballarat right now.

 

Merry Christmas!!! Just wondering what everyone's thoughts are in regards to Ballarat?? Would it be this regional's time to shine in 2017?? Ballarat East seems a bit undervalued but am not a local and am just starting to do some light christmas research. Any feedback/thoughts will be greatly appreciated!