NSW House in Kellyville vs. Apartment in Epping

Greetings,

I'm a would-be first-home buyer in Sydney. With a budget of around 900K, I'm wondering wheter to buy a turn-key package in Kellyville or Rouse Hill or to buy a 2-2-1 apartment in Epping.

Pros for Kellyville/Rouse Hill would be the fact that I could buy a small but proper house with a backyard and I am also looking at these suburbs' growth potential with the introduction of new rail link.

I am primarily interested in Epping, because I have wanted to send my primary year kids to Epping Boys and Cheltenham Girls High School in a few years' time. In addition to good schools, excellent transport, close to amenities are definitely pros.

So what would be your choice? Any advice would be much appreciated^^

p.s. I work in Parramatta.

 

Land is king.

 

None of the above

 

It really is a personal choice given your preferences and budget. We know all these areas pretty well having bought for many home owners and investors over the last 13 years. Keeping in mind that the new metro line will be running every 4 mins in peak and there's only 9 stations between Tallawong (end of the line) and Epping it won't be difficult for the children to commute- as long as you buy within easy walking distance of one of the new stations. Getting back to Cheltenham will be a little trickier, as your daughter will need to then change at Epping to go back one station, but it's certainly easy and there's lots of trains going back along the Hornsby line on a regular basis.

I'd be looking at the Blacktown LGA side of Kellyville ie: the Ridge and Stanhope Gardens for value for money. You can certainly still buy 4 bed homes under $850K and they represent good buying considering the new rail is a short walk away. The other area you may want to consider (and depending on your renovating skills!) is Baulkham Hills- it is possible to pick up an older house here or certainly a townhouse and again it's much closer but a drive or bus trip to the nearest station- Castle Hill (major station)

Epping has a lot of new units so over-supply and valuations could be a concern here. However convenience-wise it also has a lot going for it. A central express station, easy drive to many amenities and closer to the city. Look for older units or even the occasional townhouse- you should be able to buy a 3 bed unit for $900K in this market. Best of luck with it all.

 

An older house with land around Wentworthville or Pendle Hill should be in your budget and you will be commuting to work/CBD in no time.

Don’t buy an apartment anywhere in Sydney unless it’s 30-40% discounted.

Resist the urge to get a newer place in A fringe suburb. $900k will only get you entry level 3 bed in Kellyville/The Ponds on a 300sqm land.

Buy an older house, save the money to renovate it in 2-3 years and you will find yourself miles ahead of those buying first property as an apartment or new estate house. You may then sell your house in few years time and buy something closer to/within Epping school catchments.

 

Cheltenham & Epping Boys both have a small enrolment catchment zones, even Beecroft may be too far away.

 

welcome to the forum @x1011, reading your post, good schools seem to be your top priority.

there are many good schools around Epping, Cheltenham Girls is an excellent high school. the school has changed its boundary a bit , but still decent.

Enrolment - Cheltenham Girls' High School

in this aspect, Kellyville or Rouse Hill can't compete with Epping.

 

While I know you are comparing Kellyville House to Epping Units I can say this: back in 1999 I was looking to buy a house and my budget was around $255k which is what a house in Kings Langley would cost. Had I'd borrow an extra $30k I could have bought a yellow brick house in Epping for $280.
Fast forward to 2018, my Kings Langley house is worth $900k but the house in Epping is worth 2 million. Now I'm not saying that this would repeat again in your situation because I honestly don't know but it's worth the thought.
One also needs to factor in whether you prefer to live in a house or unit, I prefer a house. On the other hand if you work in Parramatta and want your children to go to Cheltenham and Epping boys, both these things would be more attainable living in Epping. Travelling from Kellyville to Parramatta in a car is a nightmare, you would need to catch a T Way bus to do it.
As far as schools, there are some good schools in the Hills including Marion College, Hills Grammar, Oakhill just to name a few that are good schools. Castle Hill high is good.
If you are looking for Epping units I would look at some of the older ones in smaller blocks that sell for market value rather than the high density new ones.

 

Bus to Parramatta from Rouse Hill / Kellyville is 30 minutes.

Medians here in Rouse Hill have actually flat-lined ( I think because of the Metro ).

If you're interested in a townhouse or free-standing property then consider the area near the new Tallawong station ( previously known as Cudegong Road ) for proximity to the metro. Aim for within 10 minutes walk of the station. I'd definitely avoid units in the current market.

Whilst outside your stated budget, this looks interesting because you can derive an income from the granny flat ...

127 Rouse Road, Rouse Hill, NSW 2155

You would be able to rent the granny flat for perhaps $300 to 350 per week.

Real Estate & Property For Rent with studio in Rouse Hill, NSW 2155 (Page 1) - realestate.com.au

 

Before I make some recommendation, do you need to buy now, or can buy over next couple of years? Because I think next couple of years there will be more opportunities as price falls ....

If you do have the time on your side, you could even look at Epping Villas:
1/55-57 Pennant Parade, Epping, NSW 2121 - Property Details
2/52-54 Third Avenue, Epping, NSW 2121 - Property Details

Now these are definitely more than your budget but over next couple of years, their prices may fall to your range ....

Another option you should look at is Cherrybrook/Castle Hill where the house is at Cherrybrook Technology High School zone. It is an excellent school as well as is comparable if not better than Epping Boys/Cheltenham Girls. Also next year the Cherrybrook train station opens!

Cherrybrook:
6/105 Gumnut Road, Cherrybrook, NSW 2126 - Property Details
8/14-16 Patu Place, Cherrybrook, NSW 2126 - Property Details

Unfortunately any decent ones right now would be much more than 900K, and the 2 properties above does have its disadvantages. However I wouldn't be surprised if the price of these will drift lower next couple of years.

If you don't have time on your side and need to buy now then it is a different story.

 

Honestly have you been to epping/mac park lately? I would NOT be touching units there at all.

 

Beecroft definitely included in Cheltenham Girls high school- it's a small suburb too

 

Would it be possible to rent in Epping for a year, get the kids into your desired school, then move out to a PPOR while the kids remain in those schools?

 

Anyopinion about North Rocks?

Iso.want under oraround million $ in the area (donot think $800k-$900k is achieable)

Hi @Jacque Is it achievable?...

 

From Eric's link, the Cheltenham Girls boundary shrunk significantly for 2018.

I feel blessed that we bought our first house in North Epping 10 years ago and then traded up into Epping just shy of 3 years ago.

If you can buy a house in Kellyville that's a walk to station within your budget, I think that's really terrific. I think they would be more than 900k though. I could be quite wrong however.

 

I really like North Rocks but I think with your budget it would be quite difficult.

 

lifelong eppinger here
prices did go crazy for a while but its been going down all around. A decent house around the corner has been sitting around $1.2m asking and we're like 10-15 min walk away from station! But houses most likely will never drop below $1m as your budget allows.

Transport and schools are its solid draw cards. This brings in middle class families, who fills schools with disciplined and ambitious kids, schools continue to do well, kids grow up uses the transport to go to uni and work in the city, and then tries to buy around this area again - the cycle perpetuates.

But if its unit you can afford, I would say look elsewhere - lots of new stuff esp in north epping side which are overpriced themselves and will devalue the older units too. So lose-lose, unless you are a renter.
Beecroft near the station had some houses around the 1-1.2m mark a month of so ago. I'd look there

 

How is the bus/ train connectivity from North Rocks to city?

 

Great if you are walking distance to M2 interchanges. For other parts, you may be better off moving to Blue mountains.

What I love about North Rocks and Carlo are views over Parramatta region but those houses with views also happen to be in public transport dead spots.