ACT canberra general

I am a newbie and may not have an eye for spotting gems yet.

My logic was decent block with fairly new construction ie less than 15 yrs. Prices are roughly same as in 2008/9 for houses under 500k. Travel is not as clumsy as gungahlin belt. Broadband speed an issue though.

 

Hi guys need your advice,

The pest report for a property I am interested in states there was no visible evidence of live or past termite/borers found, which is good but the following line concerns me
"At the time of inspection, the degree of risk of subterranean termite infestation to the overall property was considered to be MODERATE"

The agent says its normal for Canberra region come up with such assessment.
Just wondering Is this normal?, Please see the assessment below,

 

My PPOR this year was "MODERATE to HIGH". None seen of course. Brick piers. Easy and full access to all of underneath. Doh - makes you wonder.

I wouldn't worry as long as none were detected.

 

Sounds pretty normal. Best bet is to call the inspector and ask.

Cheers

Jamie

 

What do people think of the "old" Kingston area. The old service station area is being developed with apparently a new shopping center but maybe also new apartments.

I own a unit in the area and the value has been down for the last few years. I'm wondering whether to cut my losses and sell or hold on and hope for improvement in a few years time.

thoughts?

 

Canberra's rental scene

Back in late 2006 I rented a 3 bhk apartment (with beautiful lake view) at a stones throw away from west-field mall and other amenities. I rented it for 400/wk which was increased over the next 2/3 years to 470/wk as per market conditions. Rents increase have stopped since. Today I saw a very similar 3bhk apartment listed at 395/wk.

So effectively the rents are back to 2006/7 levels.

There are similar scene in house rental market as well.

With massive supply hitting across the board there will be continuous downward pressure on rents.

What do more seasoned investors think of it in terms of Canberra as investment opportunity?

 

The market for "houses" is heating up - decent homes get snapped up quickly and auction results have been strong.

Units on the other hand..... I wouldn't bother.

 

Canberra house markets has been quite heated last two quarters (any impact of fluffy buyers?)
Do you think the recent lvr caps will have an impact?

 

Nah doubt it.

A lot of the buyers are upgrading or first home buyers.

I don't tend to see too many high LVR IP loans for Canberra properties.

Cheers

Jamie

 

agreed with the continued pressure on rents. and i wouldnt call myself a seasoned investor..but i think there are better places than canberra to invest. as we said rents are not too good and wont be going anywhere for a while ...adding to the holding costs are high rates and excessive land tax..all of which limits investor activity...there are positives like that everyone is on a good income...but still, better opportunities elsewhere

i dont know enough about this area to comment specifically...but..what kind of supplies are coming on over the next few years? the waterfront must be built out by now and excess supply soaked up? its a good area....must get to a stage soon where developers dont get the pre sales and new ones stopped being built for a while.

i was talking to an agent on the weekend and he things fluffies have had a big impact. on the flip side her is concerned when the supply of vacant blocks hits the market

on a lightly different note...this sold for 487k on the weekend..50k overvalued imo....above suburb median , but way below average house and land imo...but i guess a good sign...lets hope the increases sustain.

 

what does everyone think of Downer? There is a planned redevelopment of the old Downer primary school site which will include some 'affordable living' apartments. Is this likely to bring down house values in the area?

 

I live in Downer and love it. It's a short walk to Dickson and 5 min drive to civic. There's good schools close by and the area is gentrifying - if you drive around you'll see lots of rebuilds, developments and renos going on.

The old shops are being redeveloped - first tenant (a vet I think) to move in end of the year followed by cafes, bars, restaurants, shops, etc.

Lots of young families are buying into the area - expect to pay upwards of $650k

I doubt the affordable living apartments will have a big impact on prices. Families continue to demand houses - and there's not a lot of new listings that come onto the market in this area. When something does - it usually gets snapped up quickly.

Cheers

Jamie

 

Bush capital posts surprise performance

"Australia’s capital city experienced the third-highest median house price growth rate over the past financial year according to a recent housing report."

http://www.smartpropertyinvestment.com.au/news/14412-bush-capital-posts-surprise-performance

 

yep the burbs i watch are goin well...places even selling before auction, amazeballz i know

 

Just think what will happen when people notice and start talking about it!

 

Yep not surprised at all - I've got quite a lot of clients going to auction each weekend and the general consensus is that properties are selling for a lot more than expected.

Spring is about to hit too - that usually gives the local market a kick along as well.

 

Yes, Spring in Canbrrr is delightful, can't wait until December!

I think I would have bought in Canberra over Brisbane if I wasn't planning on moving back to Brisbane.
And if I got in earlier, all the cheapies are going pretty quickly off course.

 

Can't wait for that first weekend in Oct - c'mon daylight savings!