Melbourne Flats

I loveeeeeee Elwood. Think I could be quite happy there.

Close to the city, beach side, cafes, quiet (ish) roads, it's a nice place.

The older apartments are always pretty popular, especially if you have a ground floor one. Elwood and surrounding areas have a lot of new developments which are typically a lot smaller, ground floors are even more popular because you don't need to climb 3 flights of stairs and it's often easier if you have pets to have a ground floor place.

Buy in isn't too high and rents are pretty decent for the purchase given some other areas that maybe aren't quite as good.

I can think of a handful all around that area that offer similar, parts of St Kilda, Balaclava, Ripponlea and up to Windsor/Prahran way. The great thing about the older places is they rent pretty well on their own even if they're not renovated (as long as they're well presented) and you have the option to renovate down the track to make it even better.

 

I am just sitting back and watching, no rush at the moment, certainly may see flat market or prices fall back? Not looking at this as investment but to reside when we are in Melb. Still need want to make sure its better option to buy than rent, don't see this at the moment.... though things can change rather quickly

 

Court yard is a bonus for sure. Also car space over carport, rare as hens teeth

 

that's good

 

I wish I liked St Kilda, but I don't

 

I would really like to be able to get a 3 bedroom but I think it may be out of my price range. Do you think a 2 BR still has some merit to it (I know it's hard to generalise) or would you steer clear and wait?

Thanks for your help, really appreciate it!

 

It is such a nice area, I think it's priced really well given it's proximity to the beach and also the city.

Personally I'd be very happy living there - one of melbournes best spots I think. Which makes me worry I'm making a decision of emotion rather than facts and numbers!

 

It would help if I read the advertised price a little better, that's within the price range - sorry!

Out of curiosity though, would you push towards a well located 2 bedroom flat or prefer the townhouses in the west?

 

The only thing I would suggest is that you check the previous growth rates for apartments of any area(s) you think seems to offer good value and then see how houses further out in the same price bracket have performed over the same time period.

Older apartments do suffer price wise and rental wise in areas where new towers are built, so be mindful of which suburbs you choose. Some have more development in the pipeline than others. I have seen really good areas like Prahan suffer severely, plummet in price and demand for both rent and resale when the new towers entered the market.

Elwood doesn't have large towers so it is protected a little as the new developments tend to be very high end, low rise. Not too many to a block and Elwood offers something unique compared with other areas. Leafy, beach, village & proximity to CBD.

It doesn't have a train station and transport is not as good as other areas, however it doesn't deter its popularity due to the other qualities mentioned above.

 

Thanks very much for the advice, like you mentioned I think Elwood probably has enough factors to offset the limited transport.

There are even some good 1BR's there with a small courtyard that at face value seem to have good growth potential in the long run.

Thanks again for everyone's advice, it makes someone relatively new to all of this like myself feel much more comfortable with the process knowing there is such great advice out here

 

I really like Melbourne flats and they are ridiculously well priced compared to Sydney! We have purchased two apartments in the past 12 months- a 2 bedroom art deco in St Kilda and a 1 bedroom 60's style in Prahran (in a beautifully maintained block).

Some rationale for purchasing:
- The gap between the price of apartments and houses continues to widen as house prices skyrocket and apartments stay relatively flat. I think this gap should eventually decrease slightly.
- Strata is generally quite low (once again especially compared to St Kilda)
- When looking at previous purchase prices, there really isn't a lot of movement- (we paid about 20% more than the owner did in 2002 for our Prahran apartment !)
- I'm a sucker for old well built buildings. Stay away from the towers and new builds and go for those that are well located.

 

What are the pros and cons of 1 bedroom flats, smallish complex, old style flats

 

For me I think it is a bit more affordable and there is still a market for the one bedders there based on location alone.

However obviously being smaller will make it less appealing to the banks if it doesn't hit the 50 sqm and also the fact it only has the 1 bedroom is also a con.

I think essentially it is preferable for a 2 BR, however if you can find a one bedroom with some character (courtyard or maybe a larger living space and some potential to renovate) then you could still be on a winner all be it at a lower cost

 

Sounds like you have had a big 12 months, congratulations!

I definitely think that apartment living will become more popular in Melbourne based on the prices of houses and like you said, the price gap will bridge.
Also, the lower body corp makes the cashflow a little more manageable.

For myself, as a young professional I am more than happy to start in a unit/flat and work my way up to a bigger house to settle down into - I think this way of thinking will become more acceptable by others my age which creates some demand for properties. Prices aren't going to get cheaper and the sooner the younger generation get over the fact they can't buy their 4 bedroom house 10kms from the city for their first house the sooner these type of markets will do well.

That probably opens up a whole new discussion about smashed avo's!

 

The smaller, older complexes are generally still pretty popular (per last post).

The only real negatives in a 1 bedroom vs. 2 bedroom from a tenancy perspective is generally a higher turn over of tenants, smaller pool and doesn't tend to be as much growth with rents. Sales side of things is probably reasonably similar, plus lending issues depending on the size - but that's not really my forte.