VIC First IP - Corio/Norlane or Melton

Drove around Norlane/Corio/Bell Park/Bell Post Hill on Saturday. Must say was pleasantly surprised with what I saw. As it has been mentioned here before you can definitely see the difference between East and West side of Thompson Rd.
Was told the west side of Thompson tends to have more Europeans living there, clean streets and maintained front yards.
Quite a few streets with west-east orientation in Bell Post Hill have bay views too.
Will be keeping an eye on the area for IP opportunities

 

I remember a couple of years ago you could pick up places in norlane corio for around 160-170
So its not like it hasnt grown either.

Personally Id be cautious but then look at a place like Newcastle. Then again Melbourne isnt Sydney and Geelong although nice doesnt have much on Newcastle. Also the western suburbs of Melbourne still offer affordable housing so most will still go there before Geelong

 

Hot on the heels of my place in Dunloe Ave being valued at $310K, this place at 78 Dunloe, a relatively standard place on the 600m2+ block sold for an impressive (and odd) price of $313,578.

78 Dunloe Avenue, Norlane, Vic 3214 - Property Details

One thing is for certain, the young family right over the road from me that bought their place for $225K at auction December 2015 is probably very happy now, i'd suggest that place, a 60's 4BR weatherboard place in need of some cosmetic work would now be approaching $300K. An awesome result and a huge kick start in equity for this family....that's the advantage in the land content.

My place was a new build in 2010 for $260K, on a 300m2 block, so the rise in my place has been much slower. Also, 1 Hinton Close, a similar place also sold recently for $300K.

Looking like the prospects of getting a place in Norlane West now under $300K may be diminishing. But there's still cheaper buying East of Thompson Rd.

2 Kagoola Court Norlane

2 Kagoola Ct sold for just $225K. Again, given you're moments from Geelong and close to plenty of amenities, this is still pretty good buying. Not many though now are selling for these prices now.

 

How big does a block have to be to subdivide?

 

Is Melton still a good bet to buy land and build as compared to plumpton/rockbank where prices are high as compared to Melton ?

 

From what I'm seeing most common subdivisions nowadays in Corio/Norlane are subdividing the 600SQM block, where they cut in the middle around 300SQM (with some plus minus), keep the front of the house and sell the back with a plan or permit. I can see lots of the cheaper properties on an already subdivided block of 300 or less.

Not sure about the official minimum LOT size that can be subdivided - would appreciate if someone can share this information.

Cheers,
David

 

I would advise against that. There's just too much land around Melton and most of the new estates are popping up on the fringes of the town. Go for a drive and head towards the shopping centre or station and you'll see what I mean.

Depending on what your budget is you can still find bargains in Melton. Granted some of these properties might need some cosmetic reno but they're usually just a stone's throw away from school, transport and shops.

 

Going there today, will have a look.

 

@ej89 @David Shih
I spoke to someone in the planning department about minimum lot sizes the other week and he suggested there wasn't a minimum, it was just a case by case basis making sure it fitted in etc.

*dont take this as 100% fact I would be double checking before any purchases but it's what he told me

 

Is Melton good from living perspective ? Reading a lot about increasing crime rate in Melton.

 

Haha no comment

 

@Tufan Chakir is a great local planner and can help

 

Hi Folks,

Can someone confirm that Corio is part of Greater Geelong council?
Trying to work out council rates and got a figure of approx. $1052 for a property worth $250k at this link: How rates are calculated
Can anyone confirm this is accurate?

How much is water supply for the qtr typically? Can properties be made 'water efficient' to allow passing on usage costs to tenant?

Also, what % are most ppl here getting for yield in Corio?

 

I would say all of your questions can be found through some light research

Why not do the research yourself here and contribute

Here.. I'll get you started..

Planning Property Report from www.dtpli.vic.gov.au/planning
Address: 2 TOWANGA STREET CORIO 3214
Lot and Plan Number: Lot 352 LP91913
Local Government (Council): GREATER GEELONG
Council Property Number: 293218 Directory Reference:
Melway 432 E6

 

For those interested, I'm told Barwon Water is the main supplier for Corio.
Water supply is $42.71/qtr
Sewerage is $137.59/qtr
Info found here: Barwon Water

Agent I spoke to said usage can be passed to tenant.

 

Usually usage is always paid by the tenant, but the fixed charges (as Bread Boy identified above) is $180 a quarter.

Corio is Greater Geelong, for what it's worth all of urban Geelong is under the Greater Geelong council, exceptions being the Borough of Queenscliff and the Surf Coast Shire. (Torquay, Jan Juc etc)

 

Yep, I can confirm the water rates correct and the quarterly water bill figure I received is exact to the dot (well they should be!)
Water usage is charged on top of the $180.30 and can be passed to tenant.

2 months ago I was still able to find one or two deals around 5.5 to 6% yield but the market has clearly been moving rapidly. Anything between $200K to $250K is starting to get rare nowadays so I would say any deal that you can find with yield above 5.5% would be a good start.

 

Just noticed these properties, which all look to me to be most likely 'detonate' type places, thus probably for land value only. But they are all for auction in a separate venue which is different to normal anyway.

12 Orchid Street Norlane Vic 3214 - House for Sale #125366342 - realestate.com.au

Following that link should show the other places.It will be interesting to see with the Moa St one, it's right next to Waterworld and a proposal (although not sure if it's set to go ahead or not) of having a medical centre nearby to that too.

None of those places look livable or rentable in the condition they seem to be, so probably as cash flow they'd not be delivering a positive return. But as a resident it's still going to be interesting to see what they sell for, and given that they are five rather crappy houses, maybe a bit of new development to come.

 

Any thoughts on what they may go for @Dave3214

I think I'll be in the area tomorrow having a look around look like they may need a bit too much work for me.