Is chapel Hill a good buy?

Hi All, New to this forum. I am on the lookout for an investment property. I have zeroed in on Chapel Hill, Kenmore or Indooroopilly areas as it is close enough to the CBD and has great schools.
I am looking to buy a house with possibly > 800m2 for around 800k. Is this doable and am I on the right track. Any guidance from the experts here would be appreciated.

 

Chapel hill, Kenmore, Kenmore hills has the highest owner occupier rates in brissy that are closest to cbd i think from memory they average like 72-83% owner occupier rate those 3 suburbs. where like ascot for example i believe is like 55% owner occupier rate.

 

I drove through these suburbs and quite liked the feel of the area. Is a high percentage of owner occupiers a positive or negative? Will I struggle to find tenants when I try to rent it out?

 

Is it worth paying the extra 200k that Indooroopilly seems to demand? I have noticed that the Indooroopilly State school catchment seems to be easily 150 to 200k more expensive than the Chapel Hill State school catchment, although school ratings are very similar (100 vs 99).Can somebody with local knowledge throw some light on this? Thanks.

 

Indooroopilly is closer to the CBD and has some private schools. Indo has character homes and CH is much newer with "boring" homes. Otherwise I cant help you.

 

Thanks for the insight Angel. Is there any negative aspects to Chapel Hill like public housing?

 

All are great areas. I think Chapel hill is still undervalued considering its proximity to CBD, and the prices in adjacent suburb of Indo. IMO ,the Eastern part of Chapel hill( bordering Indo) is more sought after as compared to Western side. Houses in that area fall in the catchment area of Indo SHS and access to Western expressway, CBD ,etc is far easier and quicker during peak traffic times.
I reckon one would struggle to find 800 m2 property for 800k in Indo or chapel Hill . Certainly doable in Kenmore.

 

A high owner occupier rate is typically a positive. It’s certainly something I consider when researching an area and is often overlooked. A few reasons I can think of..
Owner occupiers are just buyers, if people are buying in and not leaving or continuously upgrading in the suburb, the area is obviously attractive in most cases, owners on average tend to look after properties more making streets and surrounding areas look more attractive, owners often update properties & renovate as the family & incomes grow, more owners also means a Tighter rental market with less stock that is actually available for rent, suburbs that have great school catchments often have a high owner occ % and I think your on the right track with the ones your looking at. Indro would be my pick, long term can’t go wrong.

Just an example of high owner occ % - I bought in a street close to the hills in Brisbane and the entire street (36 homes) is owner occ. no renters, Except now mine. I met most of the street and some have lived there anything from 5 to 20yrs. All renovated or tidy. There’s been 3 up for sale in the street in the last 8yrs and they sell ultra fast and for a higher than suburb average.

 

No doubt Indooroopilly will likely be the safer long term bet, with better access to transport, better schools (Indooroopilly State High) and overall proximity to CBD. There is a large contingent of Asian investors driving interest in Indooroopilly and gentrification is more evident with subdivisions, renovations and new builds. IMO the fundamentals for consistent, long term growth are already in place at Indooroopilly compared to Kenmore and Chapel Hill. If transport can be improved to the latter suburbs then they may outperform given the price differentials, however I don't see that happening any time soon.

 

Thanks everyone for your inputs. Glad to know that both these suburbs are good investments with very few negatives. I am from Sydney and have been asked to look towards Logan or Griffin by some of the real estate spruikers here. While those suburbs are much cheaper I didn't find any growth drivers like school or proximity.
I have zeroed in on Chapel Hill rather than Indooroopilly mainly because of affordability issues as I want only places greater than 810 m2 with a view to subdivide 5 years from now. I have noticed that BCC requires 405m2 as the minimum lot size. Fingers crossed to see if there are any available at the 800k price range.
I will keep you guys posted on how I go.

 

The western suburbs of Brisbane are very nice, but patchy. Assume you aren’t buying without inspecting but look out for the following:

freeway noise
Oregon Pine
Termites
Steep driveways you can’t reverse up
“Leafy” = blocked gutters and pools with gum leaves
Drainage issues on sloping blocks
With The Western suburbs being much hotter than Brisbane make sure most of the building doesn’t face west

 

Totally agree.

If you want hot, head towards Ipswich as it is a lot cheaper .

If you want cool, head towards the coast to get the sea breeze .

 

I am definitely not buying without inspecting in person. I will keep your inputs in mind. The last time I visited I noticed it was less humid in Chapel Hill than in Nundah. I was choosing between these 2 suburbs as they are similar distance from the cbd. I currently live in the hills district in Sydney so Chapel Hill and surrounding suburbs had a similar vibe.

 

I certainly agree its a good suburb; I lived nearby for many years. Just a few things to look out for.

 

Was driving through there the other day and the hilly, steep streets were certainly quite a standout for me as I live in a much flatter suburb.

Another pro for Chapel Hill is also it's fairly close proximity to UQ St Lucia. Would be good for the student demographic.

 

My parents have lived in Chapel Hill for the bulk of my life. It is an absolutely lovely place to live and raise a family.

It has historically not been a high growth suburb, but it does appear to be getting some attention by developers etc which is typically a good sign for the suburb. For example, Sunland has a reasonable sized development going through now. Lots of small development around as well.

You'll find a very low percentage of queenslanders etc as a significant portion of the land was developed during the 70s so some may consider it to be missing some charm. There are a lot of fairly ugly 80s sort of homes around which aren't amazing on the eyes, but probably lend themselves reasonably well to renovations etc.

There are a huge amount of positives to the suburb, pretty much mentioned above, but I need to emphasize the main drawback in my opinion which is the lack of train access. To me from an investment perspective this takes it off the table for me, as I avoid investing or developing in areas that don't have easy access to rail. There are options with buses etc which is fine for many.

With that in mind there are some fantastic deals around in Chapel Hill and while growth may not be double digits going forward, more and more people will be looking for larger blocks which it has in spades. 405m2 blocks are pretty uncommon. Let me know if you have any queries etc about a specific place you are looking at. I don't live there, but I'm in the suburb fairly regularly and know it pretty well.

Cheers,

 

Yes. Agree on the hilly suburbs having a certain charm. The other advantage is the views you get as a result of the up and down terrain. The only negative I see is there doesn't seem to be a high school or a major shopping centre, although the neighbouring suburbs have those in spades so not a major issue.

 

WilliamB, Thanks for taking the time to go in detail. How are the parts of Chapel Hill bordering Mt Cootha? I can see some fairly decent sized blocks available at reasonable prices.

 

I don't think the lack of trains is a big negative. It prevents a suburb from getting overcrowded. So in the long run, the suburb keeps it original character.

 

Would you also consider The Gap? Same vintage/architecture. It is totally land locked and may be slightly cheaper due to not being as close to UQ.