NSW Castle hills vs Carlingford

Hello,

I have been looking to buy a property to live in Sydney and was considering Sydney West - Seven Hills,Blacktown,Schofields etc with 800K budget. Spent 3 months driving around these suburbs and talking to friends and colleges,our thought process has changed and now looking to buy in Hills with 1.1-1.2 mil budget (although we had budget and borrowing power, we thought of just buying cheap but then realized it will be our forever home and the high transaction costs,we should buy whatever best we can)
I'm also looking around North Rocks,Carlingford and townhouses in Epping.Criteria is simple - good public transport to city and good schools.

What I'm unable to understand is why is an average house in Carlingford more expensive than Castle Hills? Same money gets you a better house in terms of layout,condition and many occasions pool but in Carlingford its just old properties requiring renos. School could be one reason - Murray Farm and carlingford West but Castle Hills public is not that bad. Also there is Castle Towers and upcoming Metro. Few properties which are 15 min walking distance to upcoming Metro have sold for ~1.25m. Similar properties in Carlingford closer to M2 bus stops sold for almost 1.4m.

Is it because CH is bit far away from city and Carlingford is closer and considered Northern suburb?
This is based on my last 3 months observation and I could be totally wrong.

Long run which one do you think will fare better?

This one just sold for 1.5 in Carlingford:
5A Woodstock Rd, Carlingford, NSW 2118 - Property Details

Requires major reno, sold for 1.26:
31 Bellevue Drive, Carlingford, NSW 2118 - Property Details

This one sold for 1.27 in Castle Hill
5 Verletta Avenue, Castle Hill, NSW 2154 - Property Details

Very nice property sold for 1.31
12 Henley Close, Castle Hill, NSW 2154 - Property Details


Thanks in advance.

 

Castle Hill is cheaper because it is in Castle Hill. If Castle Hill as in Chatswood, you'd be paying the Chatswood premium.

 

Are you saying Carlingford is more premium? I always thought CH was costlier than Baulkam Hills and Carlingford

 

I guess it is the school premium, the train and the 'chinese' factor that is pushing the prices higher in carlingford. Castle Hill is equally nice with good schools, upcoming metro but it does not have the chinese demand.

 

There are parts of Castle Hill which are $3M+ (eg Castlewood Rd region)
Not so in Carlo.

Carlingford was originally a new land development for first home buyers in early 1970s with a project home display village (one of the first) at intersection of North Rocks and Jenkins Rds and along Pennnat Hills Rd near the present Mormon centre. Real first homers stuff. Baulkham Hills encompasses some very old areas (1940s+) along the Windsor Rd corridor as well as 1970's style project homes (Roxborough Park) and 1980s (Balcombe Heights & Matthew Pearce) through to 1999s Crestwood and many newer areas adjoining Bella Vista

 

Really. It does. Real estate agents say they are a more educated and professional mix than say Epping etc. They also love the bible belt.

 

Flow on effect from West Pennant Hills, Beecroft and Epping perhaps? Carlo has bigger block size and somehwat wide roads.
I would agree that CH houses does seem to look better and are better VFM.

Epping is mostly Chinese, Carlo has good mix

@hash_investor - That train line is useless, trains every 30 mins and that too to Clyde. Wish they connected it to Epping line

 

still too ethnic for my liking. I would prefer Castle Hill any day even though it is cheaper. it just feels more up class to me

 

Do you eat out a lot esp Chinese food? Eastwood has plenty of restaurants and groceries. My reason why Carlo is more exp than CH

 

I personally can't stand the congestion around Carlingford/Eastwood. Even though I eat/get takeaway there at least 3 times a week, travelling to and from and finding parking is the worst thing about it - especially on weekends. I would hate to live around there and have to deal with main arterials going to and from home. There is also a large mix of drivers who are on international licenses and lets just say they often have a different driving style to what would be "normally accepted" in Australia. My car has had its fair share of bumper/trolley/door dings!

If I had to choose between the two it would be Castle Hill but given the price point today, I'd go upper North Shore or Ryde area instead

 

you need to stop increasing demand in areas that i like..




add putney to the list xD

 

Ah Eastwood drivers and its traffic . Have you seen this FB page Humans of Eastwood

 

Ryde's a pretty big area...and so is Upper North Shore

Personally I like Longueville...especially on the eastern side of Arabella

 

Not too many streets east of Arabella unless you're a Venetian and count the LC River as a street.

 

OP: In that case I'd go for Castle Hill. It will have a good train link soon, the houses are generally nice, solidly built but not too old, you've got a major shopping centre nearby, the schools are good, the streetscapes are very pleasant.

Perhaps Carlingford is more expensive as it's a bit closer into the city, but I don't think it's that much more convenient than Castle Hill and the houses tend to be older in Carlingford. The train line in Carlingford is useless. It might turn into light rail connecting to Parramatta, but that would only be of limited use.

The schools - I think Castle Hill's primary schools are generally just as good as Carlingford's (parents of kids are very education focused in both suburbs), and don't bother buying in Carlingford if you want to enrol in James Ruse as it's fully selective.

I have family members living in both Castle Hill and Carlingford and I'd actually say Castle Hill is maybe a bit nicer than Carlingford, I just like the streetscapes and street presentation, they are very appealing, Carlingford is perhaps just a little less attractive overall (I don't know what it is... maybe the houses have a little more street appeal in Castle Hill?)

Of course... me personally, I'd go for east of the Epping railway bridge. It's just generally better with traffic, and I don't feel the need to ever pay M2 tolls to go home from the east. But if you can't afford to buy a house there, then stick to looking in or around Castle Hill. It's a good suburb, and if you can buy a house there for 1.1 to 1.2mill.... that's good buying.

 

Another up and coming area is round corner Dural , it's got a really nice feeling bordering acreage properties has a great relaxed feeling about it.

 

love longeuville or lane cove.. but not the same price range haha.

if pees are considering dural might as well include kenthurst.

 

Carlingford prices are driven up by the Asian population who are locating in good school catchments. It’s also just a general overflow of Asians spreading out from neighboring ryde / epping / Eastwood.
Castle Hill is a nicer suburb in my opinion, it has some super expensive pockets and some “affordable” pockets. Train line is going in now and there is good bus servicing that runs down old norther rd / Windsor road and directly on to the M2 bus lanes.

 

Castle Hill is cheaper because it is (much) further away and school options aren't as good. Rather than Castle Hill, I would suggest Cherrybrook, if you are comfortable with that kind of distance. Cherrybrook is much nicer than Castle Hill, still gives you access to Castle Hill shops, has the new metro train station, which will be closer than Castle Hill going towards the city. Did I mention local schools are better, streetscape is nicer and the suburb has more of a community feel?

 

Carlingford is very diverse. I completely agree with you when it comes to the Carlingford Court area and you couldn't pay me enough to live on Carlingford Road, horrible area!

I live in Carlingford just near North Rocks though and love it! Minimum block size is 750m2, it's a quiet sleepy area and waking distance to North Rocks shops and the M2 bus.
Also very easy to go up the coast, to the city and out to Penrith from here (outside peak hours anyway).

One massive benefit: if you don't mind the HV power lines, buy a property with an easement on it, they can be up to 25% cheaper.
That's what I did and both my wife and I are very happy with the decision.