QLD Bray Park, QLD- Houses

Very different areas but on average - better quality housing stock in Bray Park by far (better build quality due to age). Bray Park is popular with OO as it is leafy, well located, has a good shopping centre, close to the new uni + improving schools and easy access to highways etc. There is also a big employment hub next to it as well which is growing with more professional jobs

On the other hand Margate and Clontarf have it in spades for location. In time this will become more important and the creep has already started on the coastal fringes with a lot of knock downs. Clontarf, Margate >>>> Kippa Ring. Don't worry about East of Oxley either there are great buys just west of oxley with lots of knock downs there also.

 

I encourage you to look at the demographic comparison of these areas as well. Weekly household incomes are a lot lower in the two peninsular suburbs you have mentioned compared to Bray Park. The % of renters to owners occupiers and median age of residents is also quite different. Location selection for an investment property should encompass more than price point. Getting to larger employment hubs from the peninsular is actually very time consuming as well! I recommend taking a deeper dive into the areas to really understand them before jumping in.

 

I grew up in Bray Park and my parents home is still there. I have mixed feelings about the area. If I'm honest the life out of the area has mostly been sucked out of it by 1 - further north which is North Lakes as the Northside hub and then Chermside and surrounding areas closer to the CBD. If you have any questions let me know. I don't think the Uni is going to provide as much growth as you think and that is already priced in anyway with the sales.

 

Which are priced accordingly ie more expensive and perhaps not as nice (ie Zillmere). From what I've read I'd expect the right stock in Bray Park, Strathpine and Bald Hills to hum along nicely for the more yield-focused investor (the drivers are largely priced in as you say) without the the increases in CG that other, usually more expensive, areas are poised to experience.

North Lakes hub may have more professional employment opportunities than Bray Park (Brendale business park is more retail and light industry) but the North Lakes itself is high density so not an apt comparison imo unless we are talking about suburbs to its' periphery which has already been touched upon.

I'd be interested to how you think Bray Park compares to Strathpine, Bald Hills and even Bracken Ridge. Does Bald Hills with its' somewhat traditional town feel and Bray Park with its' leafy streets offer an aesthetic that the other nearby suburbs lack?

 

Bray Park and Strathpine are very close if not the same as far as feel if you're after that Leafy feel - part of the reason is the council put in a lot of these huge leopard trees 30+ years ago that drop seeds everywhere. They look good but the council is slowly removing them as they rip up the side walk and damage power lines. Strathpine has some property closer to the hub, but it's not much of a hub per say - Just a shop which is getting a Reno that Westfield moved out of years ago and moved up the road to North Lakes. There is a few new developments in Strathpine including a new one (an old pineapple farmer sold out his land) so just be aware of more land coming onto the market. Bracken Ride and Bald hills have seen some upward pressure on them as they are closer to the bruce highway. Bracken ridge had some bad spots years ago and was a bad area growing up but investment is moving into the area pretty aggressively - I think its over priced, but that's what the market has decided so I can't disagree with the market

 

Anywhere can be good if you find a property below market value .
I have not been going this far up but there is a lot of infrastructure in the pipeline.
I believe it would be hard to find something you could add value to due to the low medium house price. If you go closer to the city you could pick up a ugly duckling on a nice street and build equity quicker.

 

Have to disagree with this. A dog property is a dog property, no matter what price you pay.

 

Not so sure about that. I picked up this house in Logan for 235k just before Christmas. I stripped the wallpaper and repainted the house, had the floors polished and installed new blinds and a second bathroom and some other basic makeovers and just sold it it for 331k. It might have been a 'dog' when I purchased it but wasn't when I'd finished. Still some good affordable opportunities in Brisbane for people who want to add value and end up with a great yield.

 

Fair call, those are some decent numbers. Good for you. Interested in cost of adding the second bathroom if you're willing to share? Assume it was added to downstairs area?

 

Upstairs. Originally the house was a 3 bed 1 bath which at some stage was extended to be a 4 bed 1 bath so what was originally the 3rd bedroom they had as a store room. Luckily the store room was beside the existing bathroom, all we did was add the shower and toilet and vanity and tiling. Being a highset it was dead easy to add the plumbing. It only cost around $5500. All my trades do a cheap rate for me as I'm sending them clients work on a regular basis. Even at market rates for trades it probably less than 10k. Everything was sourced from Bunnings - Vanity $299, Toilet $149, really cheap tiles and fittings, very basic shower head and taps etc.

 

This area has lots of positives when you look around and surprisingly it's the same train commute to central as places like ferny hills which are closer in. Easy access to the water, sunshine coast etc as well so definitely an up and comer. Spill over sales from bracken ridge are certainly pushing prices up...personally I prefer bray park and strathpine to bracken ridge better feel to it. Better shops and facilities also