VIC Ballarat Tip: The Capital of Western Victoria

If you want minimal rental gaps then Ballarat is the place to be.

My personal favourite area is Ballarat East. This area is experiencing rapid growth *right now* - the options you listed are also good.

For Wendouree, go east of Gillies St. West of Gillies St is public housing and while cheaper it has an incredibly bad rep amongst Ballarat locals.

For Redan it’s best to stick in the ‘centre’ of the suburb, in the streets that extend from Sturt St (numbers 5xx-10xx) or their associated east-west streets. Avoid the western edge of Redan near Delacombe (west of Pleasant St) and avoid Campbells Crescent/Yarrowee Parade unless it is a screaming deal. Same goes with houses immediately surrounding a big houso complex at 207 Bell St (near the terminus of Ascot St)

For Brown Hill, all the older parts of the suburb are pretty good.

For Ballarat East, stick to Eureka St or north of it. Try and buy as close to the CBD as you can (the western parts of Ballarat East are walking distance to CBD). If you can find a home on the western part of Humffray St Nth, you’re laughing. The box bounded by Princes St Sth, Eureka St, Queen St Sth and Victoria St is also excellent (I live here myself). Try to avoid Callow/Cutts streets, Otway St south of Eureka St, Rodier St south of Eureka St, and Frances Crescent (and associated courts). Webb Avenue is also a no go due to concerns over soil content.

Feel free to ask more questions, and happy investing!!

 

I considered wendouree housing commission area, years ago, and am a bit surprised it hasn't cleaned up especially with rising prices recently.

 

The stigma runs deep. Everyone in Ballarat (even those who aren’t into property) knows what a westie is.

 

Hi Abbie,
See other’s/my comment about Lucas here, where someone asked about it a while back:

Is Ballarat the next big thing?? [QLD]

Also, I rated Lucas as below on my post.

Lucas
Investment rating - ☆
Lifestyle rating - ☆☆

 

must be !

even people are willing to buy in frankston these days, and frankston secondary is now doing super well,
maybe Wendouree is similar to Frankston North,
however prices in North have risen significantly, I believe the people havent changed much though

 

Thanks for a detailed reply!!!

 

If my partner and I wanted to use the FHOG i Ballarat would this constitute as regional?

Also where abouts near Ballarat would be our best bet to start looking for new houses that will have good CG in the 450k below range.

Final question is how soon would we need to move to ballarat to be in new jobs before any bank would lend to us ( we plan on having the 20% deposit) but will need to leave current jobs for new jobs while qe live in ballarat for the first year.

 

Below link confirms that Ballarat is considered a regional:
FHOG for regional Victoria - frequently asked questions | State Revenue Office

For a budget of 450k, I’d stick to a period home closer to city centre. You might want to take a look at the areas @MikeyBallarat mentioned above in Ballarat East as well. Soldiers Hill is a nice owner occupiers’ suburb as well.

 

But as the period homes are not newly built this would not account for a newly built home though right?

 

As in we would not get the $20,000 grant for a new home in regional Victoria.

 

Yes, but I'd still buy a period home. You will do better than $20k in the long term.

 

+1 totally agree with this. I bought a brick veneer 80’s style house on 580sqm block in Ballarat North for $250,000 back in 2015. I should have bought a period home on a smaller block in Ballarat Central for the same price. I am quite certain that any period homes in Ballarat Central these days are worth a lot more than a brick box in Ballarat North. I’ve learnt a great lesson from this experience.

 

Thanks guys! Feedback notes.

106 South Street, Ballarat Central, Vic 3350

So would you say something like this would make a good investment? Possibly we move down and live in it for a year to save on the stamp cost.

We wouldnt be ready till late 2020. What can we expect of the market in this timeframe?

 

Can’t go wrong with period homes like that. You can see and feel the building materials are so much superior, compared to cheap flat pack materials that come with cookie cutter builds out in new areas like Lucas and Delacombe.

Market-wise for late 2020, as GovHub and other infrastructure projects will be finished by then, I feel the market will be pretty much close to peak. Having said that, no one knows for sure where the current lending changes and economy will bring us.

 

Yes. That is perfect. Location excellent and style is classic Ballarat (and appears well renovated too). They aren’t making any more of these.

 

Awesome! So now I know what kind of houses to look out for and we have somewhat of a goal I guess it's time to buckle down and get saving towards the goal!

Our current joint income is around 120,000 before tax. We have both started a second job each 3 months ago and have been working super hard to get the cash together for this.

We want a 20 per cent deposit as well as having 10-20k in the bank as a safety net.

We have even moved back in with family together to cut our joint expenses down to 20k combined for the year.

Thanks for the feedback. I will be keeping a close eye on ballarat and its market. Here is to hoping all goes well.

 

nice house, I own a few near there but on bigger land and not heritage homes,

Surpirsed how much its worth

 

I wouldn't get too hung up on the 20% deposit target. Particularly if you have plans for this to be an investment property and especially if the Govt's plan to underwrite LMI for 1st home owners goes through.

If the right property comes along at the right time and you only have 10% deposit go for it. The amount you will pay in LMI is very small when capitalised across the loan period and when the value of the property is taken into account in the future.

Don't forget that there is also risk and opportunity cost in waiting. If prices fo up 10% while you're working hard to save that extra deposit then your wait time has just cost $30,000 on $300k purchase. You may as well of saved yourself having to work extra jobs and just paid the LMI and jumped in sooner.

Of course, prices could go down. But I can't see that on the horizon for Ballarat anytime soon.

FYI: according to the brokers 88% is the sweet spot for a deposit before LMI starts jumping up too high.

 

Awesome response and putting things into another perspective. I guess having an additional 1k a year really isnt that bad when we are looking at higher CG's in ballarat in that year span correct?

I think with a plan to pay it down asap would also really help keep costs lower and get us to a positive gearing. I suppose I am just worried that a bank will not loan us the 400k or so for a 12 per cent deposit, interest only on our current income. Then again id best speak woth a mortgage broker