VIC Ballarat Tip: The Capital of Western Victoria

Discussion in 'Where to Buy' started by Ko Ko Naing, 22nd Sep, 2018.

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  1. Ko Ko Naing

    Ko Ko Naing Well-Known Member

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    Happy days for those invested in Ballarat during pre-boom period! :)

    Is that stats 12-month change to Feb 2019?
     
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  2. Deep

    Deep Member

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    Hi Ko
    Is it a good time to invest in house and land package in Ballarat considering your first and original post on this thread was in Sept'18.
    Which masterplanned community will you recommend?
    Thanks
     
  3. Ko Ko Naing

    Ko Ko Naing Well-Known Member

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    I wouldn’t recommend any house and land packages for Ballarat area at all. People there love living closer to city centre and the value is there with a bit of period characters for the actual building. Out in the west, where there is no scarcity of land and pretty much cookie-cuttered houses, the growth will be very limited.

    Having said that, it also depends on what your investment goal is with house and land package purchase. Some people in the forum did well with house and land packages in other areas outside of Ballarat.
     
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  4. Deep

    Deep Member

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    Hi Ko
    Thanks for your reply.
    My purpose is to have an investment property in a well designed and built master planned community which has facilities for nice living such parks, lakes, shops, entertainment facilities, transport facilities, community club and greenery.
    In Ballarat, I was considering a new 4-bedroom house built on 500-600sqm plot size with nice interiors to ensure tenants are attracted and enjoy living. This would cost me $350K approximately.
    I had shortlisted 2 estates i.e. Lucas and Barlow Hills both 10mins drive from Ballarat Central. Out of these which would be your preference.
    Out of curiosity, why do you believe it is not worth investing in a new community/estate which has new, modern facilities for nice living.
    Appreciate your thoughts.
     
  5. Ko Ko Naing

    Ko Ko Naing Well-Known Member

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    It comes down to your investment goal, I'd say. Try thinking about how you could move your steps further towards your goal with your next purchase. Will your shiny new 4-bedroom house in Lucas or Barlow Hills bring you closer to your goal? Or something old near central areas make more sense to achieve your goal?

    Some forum members have done well with their new build purchases. That's their goal. If you have similar investment goals like theirs, that's another great way to make money as well.:)
     
  6. househuntn

    househuntn Well-Known Member

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    Brilliant thread! Recently went to Ballarat to have a look (Geelong is too expensive now) and I got similar vibes to your ratings when driving around.

    What's wrong with Eureka? I'm interested in Old Alfredton due to location, but if I was looking to rent I would choose a new house...plus not sure how much old alfredton will appeal given all the new housing to the west
     
  7. jodes

    jodes Well-Known Member

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    Hi Deep- Like @Ko Ko Naing I am also a fan of the much older houses in Ballarat Central and steer clear of the new estates. Why? Federation style houses are gorgeous and rare- they aren't making any more and are in demand. While the shiny estate in Barlow or Lucas is nice and modern now, and a 10 minute drive from the centre of Ballarat, in 10-15-20 years, it will just look aged and there will be a new shinier development a 12 minute drive from the centre of Ballarat. In other words, in my opinion, older properties will always hold their value, whereas what looks new now, will not look new in ten years (think of the gross dark brown brick from the 1980's or even the sandstone brick with orange roofs from the late 1990s)...
     
  8. TMNT

    TMNT Well-Known Member

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    Just remember, a new house looks shiny and sexy
    And slightly older house looks like a second hand house

    Fast fwd 5 years and both will look like second hand houses
     
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  9. Toon

    Toon Well-Known Member

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    Ballarat's population continues to rise but is our city ready?

    "Ballarat's population is continuing to rise steadily with more and more people moving to its fringes.

    According to Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures, the population grew by 1,903 people last year, with more than half moving to Alfredton and Delacombe, while the city centre population stagnates. There are now 107,325 people in Ballarat, a 1.8% rise in the year up to September 2018.

    The Ballarat pattern mirrors trends in similar regional cities in Victoria, where the population is expanding faster than any other state in Australia (at 2.2 per cent). Bendigo grew by a marginally slower rate at 1.7 per cent, outstripped by the 2.6 per cent growth in Geelong, which had some of the most rapidly growing suburbs in the country.

    Mayor of Ballarat Samantha McIntosh said she was confident the city had the right planning in place. "We are absolutely ready," she said. "We need to do a lot more work, but we know there is space for growth.

    "Any growth areas need to have the appropriate infrastructure to be able to deal with the population. We have been planning for that. We have expected this growth pattern. Whether people like the growth or not, it's happening and we need to be ready for it."

    The key would be good connectivity, including IT, road, rail and air links, she said, with major infrastructure projects such as the Ballarat link road helping the city adapt.

    Most growth has taken place towards the city's outer fringes, particularly to the west. The fastest growing suburb is Alfredton, which accounted for more than a third of the expansion with 739 more residents - a growth rate of 6.1 percent. Delacombe also grew rapidly at 5.2 per cent, while population declined slightly in the centre of the city for the second year in a row.

    For Cr McIntosh, there is scope to encourage more people to move into the centre. "I don't think we're seeing enough infill and upper level development," she said. "The upstairs of the shops are vacant and there's not residential accommodation or inner city living to the degree that there needs to be."

    "We would like to entice that inner city living, upper level re-use and infill development where appropriate."

    Inner city development would, she said, need to be sympathetic with Ballarat's heritage character: "While we grow, we need to protect the personality of Ballarat."

    Ballarat is expected to expand for some time. While this year's growth rate was marginally down - by 0.1 per cent - on last year, some predict it may soon double. The city is expected to be home to at least 200,000 people by 2050.

    If plans to decentralise announced by Prime Minister Scott Morrison take root, its population could be as high as 500,000 by that time, according to some estimates."
     
  10. Ko Ko Naing

    Ko Ko Naing Well-Known Member

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    When you drive around Eureka and Nothern Ballarat East, you will see the difference. You can sense OO appeal with a lot more period homes in the north with some heritage overlay. Whereas, in the southern part around Eureka, you will see less nicer, hence a bit cheaper pricing. Having said that, recent boom will lift everything up more or less anyway.
     
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  11. MikeyBallarat

    MikeyBallarat Well-Known Member

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    I live in Ballarat East, just west of Eureka.

    There is nothing wrong with Eureka, when talking about Eureka Street and the streets north of it. Lots of nice period homes and close to the CBD and Western Hwy.

    The ‘problem’ with Eureka is more to do with the streets south of Eureka St, where there is some older public housing. One side of Rodier St south of Eureka St is public housing, for example.

    That said, parts of Ballarat East south of Eureka St are similarly questionable. Frances Crescent comes to mind.

    TL;DR Stick to Eureka St itself or north of it, and you’re fine.
     
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  12. househuntn

    househuntn Well-Known Member

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    What about old Alfredton? Doesn't have the period charm of inner east but it's very close to Newington and several private schools, and Ballarat HS
     
  13. MikeyBallarat

    MikeyBallarat Well-Known Member

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    That’s actually a good rule of thumb for Ballarat East - stick to the parts with a heritage overlay, which ends a block south of Eureka St (at the level of Dodds Lane).
     
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  14. MikeyBallarat

    MikeyBallarat Well-Known Member

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    I like Old Alfredton. It really is close to the city/Newington as you mention and has probably a nicer feel than the newer estates.

    As for Ballarat HS - it’s the best of a bad bunch. Ballarat public high schools aren’t much chop. Private schools are excellent though.
     
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  15. Clyde

    Clyde Well-Known Member

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    Well done ko.

    Rising gold prices could also benefit Ballarat in future. If prices rose above $2,000 that could be a psychological trigger to entice people there. Rents would increase and prices would follow.

    You could also look at it as a hedge in that requard. Almost as though you have invested in some gold as well as property. Imagine if prices were to rise much higher than $2,000 an ounce.

    All the best.
     
  16. Toon

    Toon Well-Known Member

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    What next for Ballarat property market?

    "The downturn in Melbourne's property market looks likely to settle in for a while - so is this good or bad for Ballarat?

    On a positive note for homeowners, the slowdown shows no sign of spreading here. Prices are still increasing steadily in most areas of the city, with demand increasing in places - such as Sebastopol and Ballarat East - that had historically lagged behind.

    All sectors of the market, from first-time buyer homes to high end properties, are "buoyant", according to three estate agents who spoke to The Courier.

    There is also strong evidence of a shifting demographic in the city as more and more people from Melbourne either move to or invest in Ballarat homes. One suburb, Alfredton, has welcomed more than 700 new residents in the past year alone, new Australian Bureau of Statistics suggest.

    According to the REIV, the slowdown in Victoria's biggest city is not likely to filter out to the regions for the moment.

    The number of sales in Ballarat may have dipped in 2018 compared to a bumper 2017, but it was still up by around 11 per cent compared to 2016 (2,682 compared to 2,403). That reflected the trend in other comparable regional cities, and in fact showed a faster rate of growth than greater Geelong. In Melbourne sales were down by 23 per cent in the same period.

    Prices in Ballarat too have performed very strongly during the same time, with the median selling price of a house in the city rising by 19 per from $325,000 in 2016 to $387,000 last year.

    The CEO of REIV Gil King cited uncertainty and tighter lending standards having an effect in Melbourne, with owners more likely to hold off putting their homes on the market.

    "On the flip side of that, the property market in regional Victoria is bucking that trend," he told The Courier.

    "This could be due to a range of factors including affordability, flexible working arrangements, improved infrastructure and services and a more relaxed lifestyle."

    It's an assessment that chimes with Tony Douglass, a director at Hocking Stuart, who believes there is currently a tale of two markets in Australia: a decline in the big cities and a much more positive robust market in regional areas.

    "Certainly regionally, we're seeing a higher demand for all types of property," he said.

    He also said in Ballarat 48 per cent of properties they handled came from out of town buyers, mostly from Melbourne. With a shift in the city's demographics, he also predicted there would be a change in the way property was used in the centre - and that interest in in-fill in central properties was likely to increase.

    "Shop fronts with apartments above will become more popular," he predicted, saying they would appeal both for people looking to downsize and Melbourne buyers looking to live near the CBD. The Mayor of Ballarat Samantha McIntosh earlier this week also suggested this as an area that could be developed to allow more people to live in the CBD as the population increases.

    For Ron Morrison of Ballarat Real Estate the central area is still the most in-demand area for buyers as is traditional - but he said other parts of the city were now much busier.

    "Areas such as Sebastopol and Ballarat East, which may in the past have lagged behind, are not lagging behind now," he said, also citing inner Wendouree as an area where buyers were showing a lot of interest.

    Ben Halsall of Buxton suggested a variety of factors at play in Ballarat's rising market, including low unemployment, affordability, investment such the Ballarat GovHub, as well as accessible healthcare and education. He also said that demand could accelerate further if the city succeeds in improving its rail links with Melbourne.

    As far as he is concerned, the outlook for the property market in this area remains bright. "A lot of the indicators are still very positive," he said. "We hope that will continue.""
     
  17. Ko Ko Naing

    Ko Ko Naing Well-Known Member

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    The fundamentals of property investing all ticked;
    • Population ✅
    • Employment (Unemployment rate lower than regional VIC, Victoria or Australia since start of 2017. See https://economy.id.com.au/ballarat/unemployment) ✅
    • Economy (See all the government projects and development sites on my initial post) ✅
    • Vacancy rate (way lower than the rule of thumb 3%) ✅
    What could go wrong? (we call it hype :D)

    On a serious note, we initially invested in Ballarat for cash flow and I don't have a crystal ball to predict that the growth will remain forever. I can only speculate and I can only see positive signs at this point in time.
     
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  18. TMNT

    TMNT Well-Known Member

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    Anyone got a unit in Ballarat and realised that their rates are pretty much the same as a free standing home,
    Plus water rates
    Plus body Corp

    Makes it very very expensive
     
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  19. Ko Ko Naing

    Ko Ko Naing Well-Known Member

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    How’s landlord and building insurance? Is it the same price on units? I reckon LL insurance would be pretty much the same, but not sure about building component. Never owned a unit before.
     
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  20. SharonE123

    SharonE123 Member

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    Hi Ko,

    I have just joined this forum and I LOVE your insights into Ballarat.
    I live here in Ballarat now (in a prop originally purchased as an investment). After purchasing a couple of IPs over the decades, it is now time for my family to purchase a PPOR.

    It is proving very difficult to decide on an area. Much harder than if it was purely an investment because of course our own lifestyle/emotions are part of the decision. We want to make a sound purchase - hopefully one that will yield growth so that when we sell in 15 years we can enjoy some capital gains free $!!

    I wonder if you would be so kind as to offer your opinion; if the house is equal, in terms of long term growth, would you go for Lake Gardens, Newington or Black Hill? Very different suburbs however they all offer us what we want in terms of lifestyle. (Lake Gardens we like based on proximity to the lake and the train station. I assume this will be more and more important as time goes on?).

    I have a feeling you might just say none of the above and suggest Ballarat central. We would be happy to spend up 600k however we do want to live in a comfortable home and we would have to compromise on space and condition to buy in the city imo. Happy to take onboard any feedback should you have time to provide any.

    Regardless, thanks again for your insights on this forum. You are a wealth of knowledge!
    :)
     
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