QLD Guidance on next Investment Property - where in QLD?

Hi guys,

I have been reading quite a lot on this forum to get ideas on our next investment property in Brisbane and the surroundings. I just wanted to share some background, as it might help you shape your opinion on giving advise.

Background:
My partner and I are both on decent salaries (150 and 110k)

Current investment properties (all apartments):
- 1 in Sydney - Rented - Positive cash flow before tax. Currently not paying any interest on this
- 1 in Brisbane (Coorparoo) - Rented - Positive cash flow before tax - paying interest
- 1 to be built in Sydney (bought off the plan). Walking distance to Blacktown station. Part of approx. 40 unit apartment block

Aim now: Diversify our portfolio. Apartments were good to get started in our investing journey. We are now looking to buy houses moving fwd.

Budget: 500k

Criteria: >500sq mts land size - 4 bed rm - not more then 5yrs old (preferably) for deprecation reasons - no refub or work required

Location:

Ipswich - Easter Heights, Newtown, Raceview (looks like out of our budget)

Logan - Kingston, Loganlea

Moreton Bay - Narangba, Deception bay, Ningi, Rothwell, Bellara, Bray Park (looks like out of our budget)

With our jobs we can't afford to look into properties that have potential for refub or build a granny flat or take on any project work etc.

We were also considering a buyers agent, but have no experience with them.

What would experienced members who have been in this game long enough do in our situation, where will you invest?

I was hoping, based on little info that I have provided that you might be able to point us in the right direct as to what areas should we consider?

Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time in reading my post.

Cheers

 

There would be many many properties available in Moreton Bay for under $500K. However some suburbs on your list are not what typical experienced investors on this forum would consider as being good for investments. Maybe you have been looking at sales pitches aimed at home owners instead?

 

Thanks for reading the post Angel. Can you suggest some areas we should be looking at if not the ones we shortlisted?

 

Hi there,
There are still some Melbourne suburbs where for your budget you can get a 4 BED house with good comparative yield at $500k with circa 500sqm.
In Brisbane I like the middle ring suburbs (as opposed to going too far out like Ipswich). I am not an expert in the Deception Bay area, I understand that there are a lot of Housing Commission in parts. I invest with a buying group and we do Group Purchase bulk-buys. We have a project in Everton Park in NW Brisbane about 10kms from CBD, 4 BED townhouses around $550k mark, forecasted yield of 5%.
PM me if you want to chat on the phone.
Matt

 

Bray Park or Warner in Moreton Bay are probably closest to the CBD. I tend to avoid Warner as it is a bit further to drive to the train station for commuters, but then there are many people in MBRC who work locally as opposed to the CBD. Bracken Ridge (Brisbane City Council) you would possibly get under $500K but probably not under 5 years old.

Have a look in Keperra and Ferny Hills/Ferny Grove.

Sorry, I don't study properties with the same criteria that you described so I wouldn't be able to offer much more info.

 

Looking at your specs, may I suggest as part of Logan, you could include Meadowbrook and Crestmead as potential areas for investment too? Meadowbrook is right next to Loganlea, and has the hospital, train line, shopping etc. The downside is that the houses might be a bit older than what you are looking for.
Crestmead has houses which are a bit newer and will be more likely to meet your land size specs etc. It's not as convenient as suburbs like Meadowbrook and Loganlea, but we have an investment property there and very happy with it so far.

Areas like Waterford West, and Berrinba may also be worthwhile to look at. Eden's Landing and Bethania may also be options, but the houses are a bit older so may be a bit dated.

 

Thank you all for taking out the time in reading my post....much appreciated.

We are looking at engaging a buyers agent for our next IP. I have come across some threads here with feedback on agents.

Cheers

 

Hey Shori, I'm going to stick to the bottom end of South East Queensland (Ipswich, Logan, Gold Coast) because that's the area I know back to front. I'll leave others to comment on the Northern growth areas.

With your budget you have a HUGE variety of options available across Ipswich and Logan, the opportunities are almost limitless. If you can still benefit from strong depreciation characteristics, a brand new build is well within your budget in a number of places set to see strong growth. If you'd prefer something existing with a somewhat higher risk but at a better return (bird in the hand), there's a million places to look. I personally prefer Logan over Ipswich for the more central location, better current yields and great expected growth. As we step up another price rung, you can look at the Northern Gold Coast corridor along the Pacific Motorway (Coomera, Pimpama, Ormeau, etc.etc.) and that would 100% be my pick for an investment right now if the price doesn't turn you off. The rental market is heavily saturated with new stock, but there's a huge supply of quality tenants and I have had a dream run getting top rents quickly for the past twelve months along here.

I'll stop here and take a breather! What are your thoughts?