NSW Looking to buy our own home in Sutherland and surrounding suburbs

Hi there,
I'm new to the forum and would really appreciate your help with suggestions of a nice suburb to buy our own home. We recently secure a job in Sutherland and are thinking about moving to the area. We have up to 1.2m for a home in Sutherland or about 30 mins drive away. We love leafy and quiet neighbourhood.
Would you recommend Sutherland or a near by suburb? We're looking or long term capital growth as well. Thanks so much for your help!

 

Gymea Bay or Yowie Bay would be my picks.

 

Welcome to The Shire and the forum here. In the latter part of last year I conducted a search for a client that was referred to me, so I got to see many parts over the 2-3 months I was looking. There are lots of nice leafy parts and near the bays.

Your issue will be that most of the suburbs (not near the water) now like Miranda, Caringbah, Gymea, Kirrawee, Sutherland etc all now have median prices in excess of your $1.2M budget. $1.3-1.4M gets you a pretty ordinary house that will need some updating. But if you are up for that, then you're in with a chance.

 

Hi @bimbim. Welcome to the forum. There are some suburbs near Sutherland which fit your price range and distance from work. The type of house you want at that price range will determine which suburb you can buy in. Example: you can get a simple entry level 3 bedder for about $1m in Kirrawee. Spend $1.2m and you get something with another bedroom and maybe a second story.

The same money will get you something a newer/nicer south of Sutherland at Loftus or Yarrawarrah. Plenty of leafy areas being close to the National Park.

As usual though, suburb selection is a subjective thing. Best to drill down a few suburbs based on some basic online searches of properties that fit your criteria (eg: $1.2m, 4 beds, min 550sqm land etc). Jump in the car and go for a drive to check them out and get a feel of what each area is like. This will make your decision on suburb/s much clearer. Then you can fine tune your criteria based on what you see and feel.

Alternatively, you can engage a buyer's agent to do the leg work for you and present you options depending on what you want. A good BA can also get properties off market and negotiate for you if you want that service also.

 

Agreed but you need $1.9M for Yowie Bay for a median priced home and $1.4M for Gymea Bay.

 

I can't comment on growth for this area, but there's a few choices for that price. Prices just increase pretty linearly as you head east towards Cronulla, and then exponentially north/south towards the waters.
You haven't said your requirements i.e. if you have/want kids. But if I was buying again, I wouldn't hesitate buying in Engadine. It's a great community town. Lots of cul-de-sacs to choose from.
Heathcote is pretty similar, but less stuff out there.
Jannali has good parts, some rougher parts, but a good feel to it overall.
Menai is another good one for families, but there's no trainline, so you'll be restricted to buses to take you into Sutherland.
If you're flexible about the 30min commute, you'll find that a lot of people who work in Sutherland and surrounds actually live south towards Wollongong. Can be a 40minute drive/train but it's a very easy drive with only 3 or four traffic lights to contend with. Your money will stretch much further, too.

 

Thanks so much Alan! We don't mind an older house and renovate. Our aim is to get into a nice subburb

 

Thanks so much George! Very helpful information. I forgot to mention that we like to be close to a good school in the area. Do you know?

 

Thanks so much @ShireBoy! Yes We also like to stay near good schools, trainline and not too far from shops/grocery stores.
What suburbs towards Wollongong would you recommend?
Really appreciate your help!

 

Might not necessarily be priced out of Sutherland itself...

23 Linden Street just sold for $1.21m on 803sqm.

Looks far enough from the main road to not be affected by noise

 

Thanks John! it was a good purchase indeed! we will keep an eye out for Sutherland also

 

Why not look at Helensburgh, Stanwell Tops, and Stanwell Park? They’re 15min away, along the coast and in the National Park, and you get better value for money (product vs lifestyle).

 

I wouldn't discount the StGeorge area for that price range, nice places to raise a family and only a short drive away

 

I’d be going for a renovator in Como or oyster bay.

 

I grew up in Jannali Como Oyster Bay are lovely and cheaper than Yowie bay or the spots closer to Cronulla. Bangor Menai are ok too but I prefer the old train line suburbs. If you want to chase slightly cheaper options you could try Engadine.

 

Sounds great! but we will need to be near a good school too. What suburbs would be your pick?

 

More like 25-30 minutes away. 45 minutes on the train.

I work with a guy who lives in Stanwell Park. Takes him an hour and half to get to Redfern station. But yes, nice spot. If you don't mind the sun setting early each day.

 

@Smasher Wow, good to know! I do like my sunshine. What do you think about Loftus?

 

Loftus is nice place and fairly cheap compared to subs closer to cronulla, though traffic down that end of the shire is getting so bad of late not to mention when brick pit development is finished.

 

I've been in Engadine 28 years now... beautiful suburb - surrounded by bush/national parks. Slowly modernising the commercial centre too - several supermarkets, docs/pharmacies, and lots of new eateries popping up.

Good schools - St John Bosco Primary and College are nearby, as is St Pats Sutherland and Aquinas at Menai.