QLD Brisbane North Side Investment

Hi all,

I'm currently in the market for my first investment property. I'm currently based in QLD, and I've been looking at Brisbane's north side.

Current budget is up to 450k, but would prefer to keep it around 400k. I'm looking to purchase another property later in the year for a similar price, so I'm attempting to keep the first one modest to ensure I have enough for the second.

Suburbs I've been considering are Bracken Ridge, Strathpine, and Redcliffe. I'm not sold on the Petrie development story / investing because of the potential university, but feel Bracken Ridge will do well once the M1 updates have been completed and Chermside etc continue to gentrify.

Redcliffe is still priced well for property near the water, and you can still get 600 squares for under 450, although the house won't be spectacular and it won't be east of Oxley.

My current strategy is looking to buy for capital gains primarily, looking for an established property with some value add opportunity that can be tenanted with minimal work, but also want enough cashflow that I'm not sacrificing more than $100 / week out of it, so above 5%.

I've been shown a place in Bray Park with good cashflow and in decent shape, and was wondering what peoples opinions were of it compared to Strathpine? I'm somewhat familiar with Strathpine having worked there a bit, but I haven't really strayed into Bray Park before. Also looking for any alternatives I should be keeping an eye on in Brisbane.

 

Hi Andrew

Welcome to the forum.

Lots of infill developments (20 lots +) in Bracken Ridge from my understanding. Some of them have sub 400m2 lot sizes. I assume this will help push up the established prices on anythign with a bit of dirt, but no expert on valuation.

 

Here's an example of H&L package where the land will be pretty small
59 Denham Street Bracken Ridge Qld 4017 - House for Sale #126031278 - realestate.com.au

 

Hi Andrew,
Your price point is very tight and limits your options. If your budget was a little better around the 600K mark i would say target a house in the 10K radius of Brisbane with some value add potential as this is your best bet for capital growth. With a lower budget your best options are to aim for townhouses or units as close to the CBD as you can get. You want to aim for small blocks of units in area's like Coorparoo or a little further out depending on price. I would rather own a 2 bed unit 6K to the city than a house 20K out myself.

 

Lived in Bray Park for 24 years, I would say not much different then Strathpine, avoid a small pocket near the high school and you can't go to wrong.

 

I'm looking to DIY - I'm a bit of a novice, but learning as I go.

Interesting, I hadn't seen those. There seem to be a few decent older yellow-brick style houses going for the low 400s on 600 square meters in Bracken Ridge that I feel would do well with a paint job inside and out. They will certainly be pushed up if the houses you gave an example of get their asking price.

 

What is your current view on the unit market being saturated in Brisbane? There seems to be a few differing opinions in other threads on this forum about closer to CBD or not for Brisbane. I was looking at Keppera, in which there are a few opportunities closer to the 500 mark, but that will certainly constrain my second purchase a bit - but just clocks in under 10k to town as the crow flies

 

I also find the price point remark interesting as well - what do people consider to be a reasonable starting point for investment these days? I have around 170k in the bank, and am looking to divide that over two properties, keeping both within 80% LVR to avoid LMI. I could put the lot into a single property, but don't really want all my eggs in one basket so to speak.

 

@Andrew Best i would go Keperra any day of the week than go that far out. Scrape an extra $50k together and you’ll
jag something good if your patient. I wouldn’t touch units either.

 

Bracken Ridge is moving!!!

Median in Dec 2014 was approx $415k. Dec 2107 its $500k. Thats about 28.3k median growth per year. On average thats almost 7% growth per year.

3 bedder median now is $471k - I bought my 3 bedder up there on 721sqm block that was fully renovated in Jan 2017 for $420k. If I recall the median for 3 bedders was around $417k back then. Definitely growth happening up there and Brisbane isnt even a hot market yet.

 

@eletronic_exp0430 - do you mind posting where you got the median price info on Bracken Ridge? I've got an IP there so, could definitely want to see it start moving on a positive note

 

Hope this helps @Andrew Best

A copy/paste quote from the Brisbane Property 2018 thread
QLD - Brisbane Property 2018

Seems like you're starting to get your boots on the ground which is great.

Bray Park is a nice sleeper suburb and starting to get a bit more airtime... it's funny that only recently it's starting to get a bit more air time (but not quite the same air time when you hear about Kallangur; Strathpine etc)... given that you're in the area, take note of the neighbouring suburbs west of Bray Park and their respective price points (i.e., Joyner, Cashmere, Warner, Eatons Hill)

***Thought I'd re-post an older post of mine (with some updates) in this thread:

The reasons why I like Brisbane / Brisbane Northside:

Brisbane In General: Employment Growth + Interstate Migration surging to their highest levels since the GFC

Brisbane-Northside: Good commercial infrastructure/employment nodes (and forecasted future employment nodes):

• Brisbane Airport (2nd largest employment hub in SEQ by 2020)
  • Increasing number of flights to/from Asia
• Eagle Farm Area ("Australian Trade Coast" / Trade Area + NBN extending from Eagle Farm to Eatons Hill). The Eagle Farm area is the highest density area of employment within the ATC, with a diverse industrial base and in a strategic location to the Brisbane Airport / Brisbane River / CBD
• Westfield Chermside ($355 million re-development almost complete) - Chermside is gentrifying well. Westfield Chermside was a family hub for NYE Fireworks at 7:00pm and 9:00pm last night.
• Eagle Farm Racecourse (redevelopment - BRC | Brisbane Racing Club)
• Hamilton/Portside precinct development
• Kingsford Smith Drive upgrade Project (increasing road capacity and expected to be complete by 2019)
• University of Sunshine Coast being built in Petrie by 2020
• Transport links extending further through the Northside
• Costco/Ikea/Westfield already at North Lakes

Essentially suburbs in between all these major nodes have started to trend upwards, especially areas with good access (e.g., motorways; Gympie Rd, Sandgate Rd too) as this also bridges good access to Westfield Chermside, the Brisbane Airport, hospitals etc.

Essentially this area is becoming like a satellite city. Think about the above hubs and draw concentric circles away and look for the suburbs that haven't moved yet to capitalise on the opportunistic capital gains.... some suburbs have already moved (e.g., Carseldine/Aspley) and have reached an artificial ceiling (so investing in those areas.... money will just tracking sideways - probably similar to Chermside West)

I essentially drew concentric circles away from core hubs and locations of significant interest are:

• Bracken Ridge
• Boondall / Zillmere
• Virginia (price already moved)
• Eatons Hill (if you can get in at the right price - great o/o suburb)
• Bray Park / Lawnton / Petrie / Strathpine

*Bullish on the above* - leaving the below in purely as it was a copy/paste

Why I'm a fan of Bracken Ridge especially

• Opportunistic buying
• Good Owner-Occupier interest (ultimately, the people that push the prices up); very strong family-oriented suburb and low-middle income earners breaking into the middle-middle or high-middle income bracket) - some even extending into the lower-high with houses in the $600-$750k mark; my recommendation is that if you pick something up between $450k-$550k you've got opportunities to further manufacture equity too
• In comparison to nearby suburbs (e.g., when compared to neighbouring Fitzgibbon), you can get blocks of land and houses in an area with a tonne of great family-friendly facilities
  • Good public transport system (i.e., bus route - 330/331 - express to Chermside, Royal Brisbane Women's Hospital, CBD; train stations in adjacent suburbs which are a 5-10min drive away - Bald Hills, Carseldine, Zillmere Railway Stations)
  • Schools - great schools especially in comparison to adjacent suburbs (St. Joseph's Primary School in Bracken Ridge has an excellent rating)
  • A tonne of child care facilities (note owner-occupier above and safe neighbourhood)
  • A Coles and Woolworths anchoring a shopping plaza in opposite "corners" of Bracken Ridge
  • Refurbished library
  • New recreation facilities (Emily Seebhom Aquatic Centre) and a range of sporting facilities
  • 4 petrol stations
  • Telegraph Rd extending to 4 lanes (a helpful access route to bridge two of the main roads/arteries into Brisbane - Gympie Rd and Sandgate Rd)
    • Telegraph Road corridor upgrade: Stage 2 - Bracken Ridge, Fitzgibbon, Deagon and Taigum | Brisbane City Council
  • Might sound very silly, but the McDonalds in Bracken Ridge is one of the largest grossing McDonalds in Australia (circa pre-Sandgate McDonalds)... again purely by location and a very smart businessman
• Large Tafe facility - interesting to hear tradies who've become established have started to settle back into Bracken Ridge (e.g., especially when you have a good trade hub - like Brendale/Carseldine for great access and a lot of further growth happening further north)
• House proud owners towards the Phillips St side of Bracken Ridge and in the Enbrook estate; next time I've got a map, happy to share with you where I think the ideal catchment area is

Jump on Realestate.com.au and look at the Sold houses in Bracken Ridge and just trawl through the last 24 months.... you'll certainly see a trend. The ripples of capital gains of the likes of Nundah/Wavell Heights/Northgate/Banyo etc have already happened so in terms of opportunity cost, I think there's certainly great opportunities further north (but not too far north)... follow the ripple effect

 

Free Suburb Profile report for Bracken Ridge QLD (4017)
&
https://www.propertyvalue.com.au/suburb/bracken ridge-4017-qld

Thats just one source but RE is also showing similar growth.

P.S I also like Bald Hills. Its right next door and when I was up there for a few days I felt like the cheaper prices in Bald Hills wouldn't last. The suburbs are pretty much on par in my eyes.

 

I'd certainly say that Bracken Ridge is a superior suburb to Bald Hills and find it amazing the surge in pricing as the ripple effect continues through the Brisbane northside.

However, Bald Hills does have one of the premier private schools on the northside of Brisbane

 

Am I reading this right? Is it saying units dropped 25%. OMG . I’ll be able to afford one soon!

 

That's great info, thanks!

To add a bit of my own perspective for Bracken Ridge:

I lived there from 2012-14. At that time there was some new development going on in a few pockets, and the suburb definitely had its 'good side' - being the Telegraph road side through to around the Woolworths / Barret St, and the 'bad side', which was the back end on Bracken Ridge Road - run down weatherboard houses with old cars on blocks out the front.

Things I liked about the suburb at the time:

1. Good local shops at both corners of the suburb, easy to access.
2. Good family suburb, local park had a little train track thing that the club did regular rides at, local Maccas put on good events for kids etc
3. Some nice quiet streets for the kids to play on, friendly neighbours
4. Stones throw from Sandgate and the fantastic Shorncliffe Park
5. Close enough to Chermside Westfield
6. Somewhat close to the train

Things I didn't like:

1. God awful commute times down the M1, particularly the Nudgee area. Once the work on the M1 is complete, Bracken Ridge will be *much* more accessible.
2. A north side thing in general, but I prefer the south sides network of highways to the north sides 60kph main roads everywhere
3. Still the odd stolen car sitting around, was strictly lower/middle socio except for a few select pockets near the private school in the middle of the suburb.

I think once the infrastructure projects complete around there and as Chermside continues to gentrify, Bracken Ridge is poised to do quite well.

I'm hoping if I pick up a decent brick house that can have some value added through paint or basic bathroom / kitchen updates on a good parcel of land in a better pocket of the suburb for low to mid 400's, it should be poised to do well.

And the data seems to back it up too as @eletronic_exp0430 pointed out.

 

I'll have to keep an eye on Bald Hills too

 

I thought the areas close to city, including CBD, has oversupply of units/apartments already.

 

@trinity168 out of curiosity what type of house do you own in Bracken Ridge, and in what 'pocket'? Has it done well since you have owned it?