ACT canberra general

Here's what John McGrath has to say about The 'Berra;

 

Yes, "lower narrabundah" was always the poor cousin. It's closer than ever before to "upper", but still lags.

Weston shops have been much better since Aldi came. It's still a (very) large pie-in-the-sky though thinking of it as another future Woden/Belconnen. It could easily stay it's current size and let the new suburban centre have it's own local.

Weston Ck has been quiet over the past 5-10 years, 3-4% CG on average. Good location next to the parkway, but abysmal public transport service.

 

I was definitely in the same boat, but decided on a pricier Brisbane-based IP rather than a mid Canberra one. There's still some good picking between Woden and Tuggeranong before going over the hill I reckon, but it's much harder now. North Canberra seems pretty silly now too. There's the new CIT in Tuggeranong (again promised), but they've missed the hospital that's going to UC in Belco.

 

Hey Alex, do you have the link to that by any chance?

 

Woops- Change is afoot in Canberra - The Experts | Switzer

 

Cheers, gotta send it to a friend in Canbrrr who was going to look at units.
Some people just don't listen

 

In Canberra is there a preference to Northern or Southern suburbs ?

As far as I can see North has the university and the AIS and the South has Parliament house and the hospital ?

What about new estates, are they building more north or more south ? Would it be possible that they are expecting more population growth north with the new train line announcement ?

 

North side is the best side

Cheers

Jamie

 

Same as anywhere, people prefer where they grew up or where they live.
Southside!

 

What's your budget and what are you looking for?

North and south can mean very different things. Eg. Yes Parliament House is south of the lake, but it's actually centrally located with very expensive housing around it. You can go another 30km south, where the housing becomes Very suburban family orientated at a cheaper price.

Most new houses are within the gunghalin area. There is a little development within a new suburb in Belconnen called Lawson. Almost no new development in Tuggeranong. I nearly forgot there is quite a bit of development in the Weston creek/ molonglo area which is fairly well located.

I grew up in Tuggeranong, however I have lived in Belconnen for the last 15 years and definitely prefer it.

Something that can really affect investing in canberra is land tax - there is no threshold in canberra and it can make up a significant portion of your expenses - not all properties are equal in this regard so investigate thoroughly. Allhomes will tell you how much land tax you need to pay on each property.

Eg. A $600k property in Hawker may have a $6000 land tax bill. But two cheaper $300k properties may only have a $1500 bill each ( land tax is per property, not cumulative like other states).

 

Tharwa? A bit too family orientated if you know what I mean.
<cue music from Deliverance>

 

Would this one be a decent buy ?
3 Stralia Place Melba ACT 2615 - House for Sale #120590461 - realestate.com.au

 

Houses seem to be quite a bit more expensive and alot more under contract in Franklin / Harrison / Gungahlin / Ngunnawal area compared to out towards Melba / Evatt / Scullin area ?

About the same sort of km distance into the city ?

 

I think traditionally, the pivot of high property value was in the inner South with the seat of government and the inner circle of departments (Finance, Treasury, PM&C) plus the foreign diplomatic missions. For the accommodation of all these functions, practically only the best will do. Hence, the value of properties around them in the inner South shoot upwards to accommodate the high level officials. The suburbs with the highest median values are in the inner South.

The limitation of land to accommodate the support services for the upper levels of government cause the 'spill over' to the inner North. Naturally, around Lake Burley Griffin - for the vista. Most commercial, retail and operational parts of the public service, especially the ACT government (which used to be a department of the federal government) are found in the inner North. These suburbs form the next cluster of high median prices.

The properties in inner North and South will retain high values and keenly sought after, anchored by proximity to the core structures like Lake, hospitals, schools and seats of government.

 

R377, gunners is relatively new as opposed to areas like evatt, melba etc. not a fan of gunners but seems to be doin ok. Hope that train never goes Ahead, such a wate of money.

Ive got one in evatt, just an old x govvy. I like to location, and seems good value when compared to block prices in lawson. In process off adding a granny flat, trying to get thru council, to make it cash positive.

Anything low 400s around there is ok.

As nemo said, and ive said many times, land tax is a killer! Be prepared to be negative 5k plus a year no worries

On all homes you can click zoning overlay on the map, handy to see where the rz2 areas are.

 

There's a LOT more supply in Franklin et al compared to those older suburbs of Melba, etc - that skews those results.

Franklin and the rest are relatively new estates in Canberra. They are generally good sizes houses on very small blocks. As for an investment - I personally wouldn't purchase in the newer areas. The abundance of properties and lack of land means the CG probably won't be too flash. As for a PPOR - I don't mind the newer areas. I'd prefer a larger yard - but some of those suburbs are nice. Crace seems pretty good in particular - it's located closer to civic.

At the end of the day - Inner North is where it's at. Yes - I'm tremendously biased

Cheers

Jamie

 

A gussied up small 3 bedroom ex-govie house.
Doesn't look like the worst buy in the world.
There are smaller blocks around.
Would do more research on it.

 

In Canberra I feel there's a flatter market than many around - the price difference between Woden and Tuggeranong or Belconnen isn't that huge. It's different if you are comparing Turner with Melba, or Hughes and Conder. But I bought into Curtin recently and it was the same price as selling in Rivett. Ok, the houses were quite different but the CG potential post-reno is excellent, at least as a PPOR.

 

curtin is a great suburb, im sure you will do well.


another canberra article

Canberra property stages a comeback after a roller-coaster year

 

Well done, it's a good spot, very central.
Do they still play gridiron over there?
Thought you would've bought in Macarthur