Hi, I am considering to buy an unit/apartment (2 Bedrooms) in Parramatta (within Parramatta Public School catchment zone). An old unit there are around 500k – 550k (mainly located at the south), and the new unit are around 600k and above(mainly located at the north, near the river), just wondering is this price fare? I noticed that there are oversupply of new unit in Parramatta CBD in next couple of years, and it may affect the unit price. Can I buy a 2 bedroom unit in Parramatta CBD for 4XXk in the future? Or, 500k is pretty much the fare price and it won’t go down anymore? For the new unit, will it be possible to drop further down to 5XXk? I don’t have preference on which part of Parramatta, as long as it’s within the school catchment zone and also walking distance to the shops and public transport, that’s fine. My plan is to rent it out for few years and then move in when my kids go to school. Thank you for any advice.
Might be worth taking into account the land value as well. You'd have much more in a 3 storey building than a new fancy 50 storey building (though the location is likely to be a little bit worse).
What are the strata costs of the two units? Are they both walking distance to public transport? How many units in the old block vs the new block?
I like the area North of the river, bounded by Wilde Ave, Macarthur St and Victoria Rd, it's all pleasant low rise. But it won't be in the school catchment you want though.
It depends, the old block strata are from 600pq (without lift, less units) to 900pq(with lift, more units) For new blocks, it start from 600 pq I inspected a couple of units, and can't give an exact number, it just roughly. I personally prefer the old units, they are cheaper and larger in size, compare to the new ones.
I think you just answered your own question! Developers often keep the BC costs artificially low on new developments while they are flogging them. After a year or two they shoot up when the lift breaks, the pool leaks, the lift breaks again, the car-stacker explodes..... If it were me I'd go the bigger older unit with the lower strata. No lift and less units = way less Body corp costs. Do the maths over 15 years. Not only will it cost you less over time, but you'll be less exposed to a potential downturn...which at this stage isn't unlikely in the Sydney unit market. Not advice though! Do your own DD etc ra ra....Someone with bigger brains than I may have a different idea... Good luck!
I live in that area. I am aware of 64 new units going up on the corner of Hassall and Arthur st at the moment and also the huge block thats on River RD west thats currently used for car servicing etc has been sold to the same developer that also just built the 3 big apartment blocks along the river in front of it. The Albion hotel has also been sold to a Chinese developer and that will be high rise too but i dont think anything will start there for another 2 years if I can remember rightly. The light rail line is also going down George st to River road west as well. This are is going to change dramatically in the next 5 years with a huge influx of ner units on the market and thats just this part of Parramatta. My kids go to the local Catholic schools so I dont know the zoning for public but I would say down this end you might be looking at Rosehill public school and not the one you are wanting. I think Parramatta high rise public school is due to be completed in 2019 but I cant see that happening as they are still renovating the old place near the swimming pool to relocate for the build. I would go for older units in a smaller block but i am no expert.
Parramatta Public School Catchment | schoolzones.net.au It also might be worth calling the school to enquire if the boundary will change. Rosehill public school has some new demantables set up recently so maybe it is at capacity and the will extend the boundary to cope with the new school being much larger.
It's funny how much Parramatta has changed so much now in comparison to 10 years ago. If I was starting out today and needed to purchase a PPOR, I'll probabaly buy an older place in Parramatta because feel that the price is more reasonable than a unit in Lidcombe. I do worry about the number of apartments popping up and wouldn't touch any of the Meriton units.
I would personally go down the older unit path. As others have mentioned I have seen plenty of strata levies jump significantly a few years after development. At least with the older you know what you are in for. As always do your own DD and let the numbers do the talking.
Anything in or around Parramatta is worth buying (depending on numbers). Parramatta is set to catch up with Sydney CBD in the next decade and it may well easily become more expensive than Sydney CBD area. Western Sydney is still under-priced.
Ok, nothing against Parramatta and honestly I quite like it but it's never going to get more expensive than the Sydney CBD region...
I'm setting a reminder to look to buy something with development potential in or around Parramatta in five years' time. As we're surely finally nearing the end of the current boom, with a bit of a bust to follow, I don't think it's a great time to buy from an investment point of view, but I do definitely agree with you that Parramatta may well become the major hub in Sydney as it's just far more central.
Just saw this.... A guy was happy to say he paid $502k for a 44sqm studio in Parramatta. Imo....just nuts... https://www.domain.com.au/news/why-...nercity-living-for-parramatta-20170407-gvg70n
