VIC Buying in Seddon/Yarraville

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the forum and considering buying in the inner west of Melbourne. I've narrowed my search down to Seddon and Yarraville as they appear to be the "bluechip" inner west suburbs, closest to the CBD.

I am only looking at apartments given my budget. I understand that apartments are generally over supplied but given there's limited land in Seddon/Yarraville and minimal high rise developments taking place I'm not concerned about over supply. I also prefer older style apartments given the high land ratio and fewer units within the block (not to mention OC fees!).

As I'm new to investing I am keen to get your thoughts on a couple of apartments that I think might be worthy of considering. Hopefully I'm on the right track!

In terms of strategy it will be a buy and hold. As I'm interstate I want a set and forget propostion. Growth is more imprtant than cashflow.

12/117 Albert Street, Seddon, Vic 3011 - Property Details

9/51 Stephen Street Yarraville Vic 3013 - Apartment for Sale #124335942 - realestate.com.au

4/248 Gordon Street Footscray Vic 3011 - Unit for Sale #124455582 - realestate.com.au

The last link is Footscray so not as preferable but it looks like a low maintenance proposition. Preferred option is the Seddon one but keen to hear from the experts.

Many thanks for your responses.

 

Here's the correct link for the first property

12/117 Albert Street Seddon Vic 3011 - Apartment for Sale #123554082 - realestate.com.au

 

Seddon and Yarraville are great residential suburbs with medium housing price close to 1m if not already over that amount. They don't have lots of apartments but the neighbouring Footscray does, heaps and heaps, hence I don't think it is the best idea to buy in these two suburbs, or anything close to the CBD. Also don't expect to get much growth out of any apartment in Melbourne, old or new.
Location wise the first two are in much better location than the last one, they are not in the same league.

 

What makes you choose an apartment? I understand your budget constraints but is it the best bang for your buck?. Lots of other threads have some great info for research.

 

Thanks for the responses so far guys.

Penfold25, I'm drawn to apartments because of their yield and they fact that in certain pockets the older style apartments seem to be undervalued (especially compared to Sydney. I appreciate the fundamentals of these markets are slightly different, but with Melbourne growing at a faster pace than Sydney you would think over the long term the gap will close).

 

Might be a little late - but hopefully useful.

I lived in an apartment in Kingsville from 2007-2015 then a house in Yarraville in 2016 so know a bit about the area. A couple of pointers that might be useful:

1. General rule - don't buy anything that has recently been painted. The apartments you'll want are probably the pre 90's ones and they will very likely have cracking in the walls due to the sandy ground in the west. If it's been freshly painted you won't know how bad it is. If it hasn't been painted in a long time and there are minimal or no cracks it's a winner.
2. Try and get a villa unit with some land. The two bedder apartments aren't going to go up in value much if at all IMO. There are plenty of apartments and townhouses being built around the area, so you might struggle for capital gain and finding renters.
3. I'm not a big fan of north Seddon near the shops at all for apartments, I'd much prefer Yarraville, Williamstown, Newport and even Kingsville. The sweet spot for me is anything in south part of Seddon / North Yarraville or Kingsville within walking distance to Coles Yarraville, Yarraville shops, Seddon station and Middle Footscray station. That will have no trouble finding renters I'd imagine.
4. I wouldn't go an apartment in Footscray unless the numbers are really good, it's much better than it was in 2006 but still a bit of a gamble. I'd take my friends who visited from QLD there to show them "the wild west", two blokes walking around still get offered heroin from randoms on the street and there are plenty of squatters who will move into your place if it looks empty.
5. Try and get a garage if possible. Rare as hens teeth in the inner west (for houses too) and will ensure you get a tenant.
6. Stay away from the major roads (Francis, Williamstown, Geelong), and avoid Hyde St and any of the streets that are marked for the new truck routes into the city.

All just my opinion, I'm no expert.

 

Thanks Ross for your thoughts.

I would like to buy a villa unit in Seddon Yarraville but I'd be looking at 550+. My budget is only mid to high fours.

I have totally disregarded Footscray as an option but like the Seddon apartment which I visited last weekend. It has incredible city views which can't be built out and give it X factor appeal but is also very close to the train line.

What does everyone think about long term growth prospects in such an apartment (10-15 years)? From a yield perspective the numbers look ok for me and allows me to get in the inner Melbourne market (this is not remotely possible in Sydney)

I'm not a massive fan of Kingsville as it's not close to the train station. Closest station is West Footscray which is a fair walk. Also, From my observation the demographic in Seddon Yarraville seem to be far more sophisticated!

 

Don't
Buy
Apartments

Hope that helps

 

i would 2nd those people who said don't buy apartments if you want any capital growth in the foreseeable future....

 

Apartments are fine if their not medium/high density where your share of the land is 1square meter.
The ones Hes linked his share of the land is huge