Hey everyone, I am just wondering what are people's thoughts re Lara. I know it is close to Avalon Airport so not sure what the noise levels are. I'm interested in any insight as to how it is to live there and also potential for growth. Thank you.
No noise complaints from any of my tenants. The planes don't fly over the resi areas in Lara. It's Little River that gets the noise, for the most part. The Grand Lakes estate is *nice*, really is. The cafe there draws people by the dozens, I've been there more times than I can count on my fingers seriously, the food's fantastic, the coffee's one of the best you'll ever have and consistently top-shelf, the service is impeccable. Kids love the playgrounds there. The adjacent Canterbury Estate has benefited from being right next to Grand Lakes in terms of growth. It's mostly OO territory in these two estates. Lots of investors in Manzeene, Austin and another one (in Lara West) the name of which escapes me right now. That hasn't stopped Manzeene from getting good rents too, the residents-only club seems to attract tenants. I reckon Lara grew well over the past 2-3 years, but then the rising tide lifted most ships. The receding tide has not affected prices either, for now that is. One of mine there was valued at $566k last week by CBA, built for $405k and tenanted since Jan 2018. That's not bad IMO, considering the fact the rent covers the mortgage. I think Lara was a bit undiscovered, if you will, which is why it grew well in value from say 2015 onwards. It's pretty self-sufficient from what I see. People work in Geelong/surrounds from what I heard from my PMs, but I'm sure people jump on the Vline too to get to Spencer Street station. It has its own decent sized town center, without smaller strips here and there. Nice country feel to it, while still being under an hour from Melbourne. How much more legs does it have? Steady burn is I think where it will be at. A new 4x2x2 on about 400sqm block is going to be about $500k minimum, but you should be able to find cheaper ones to the south of McClelland Road and to the north of the station. Blocks are much bigger in this part of the 'burb. Anything else to add @ashish1137 and @hieund85?
Hi @Nik P. @Westie pretty much covered everything. I bought one very esrly (2015) and bought another one in nov last year at 360k and 460k respectively. Have helped a lot of friends snd family acquire blocks and build there. I do believe it has peaked now, especially if uou are buying at market value. If your intention is of long term hold and can stick to 500k or vicinity, there might still be some room. But it depends on where you target and what you target. Regards
