[Melbourne] Inner-city Apartment or WoopWoop house

Hi Everyone,

The girlfriend and I are currently looking to purchase our first house in Melbourne. We are expats (from UK) and have saved roughly 180k~ since moving to Australia 4 years ago.

We have lived in St Kilda since we moved here and really love the area, I currently walk under 10-minutes to work and my girlfriend cycles to the city via Albert Park or gets the tram in bad weather.

We have been approved up to 930k~ for our mortgage but we're not looking to spend anywhere near this and are budgeting between 675 - 700k purchase price as we want to be able to afford the place on a single salary.

We have been looking at 2bed1bath places in St Kilda and surrounding suburbs, typically 1940-1970 builds with no more than 6 apartments on the block. There seems to be little consistency in prices and from the auctions we have attended, its even more unreliable as seemingly decent places barely break into the REA guidelines and dark buildings sky rocket.

We've seen several places we like but we cannot help but cast our eyes further from the city as we can get a bigger property for the same money, especially as my employer is now offering flexible working with 3 days at home 2 days in office.

Has anyone else got experience of moving from somewhere like St Kilda to somewhere more 20-30Kms out?
Is commuting that bad?
Where in the South(east) would you recommend?

 

If you think of it as woop woop, then...... you want the convenience you sacrifice the space.

 

St Kilda is great for a young couple, but if you are thinking of having kids in the next 3-5 years, you will probably want something bigger and the changeover costs are considerable. Making a smart decision now could easily save you $60k.

Commuting isn't great, but there are things you can do to make it better.
- Buying close to a train station that the Express Trains stop
- Consider the north or western suburbs, as you won't have to move as far out of the city
- Buy a motorbike

 

LOL when I read the title I thought woop woop meant like Horsham or Traralgon - which have enjoyed phenomenal capital growth over recent past years.

What you meant was just a little bit further away in metro Melbourne. In which case I can suggest Carnegie or Oakleigh... Nunawading if you really want woop woop by your definition. The first two close to train/tram lines and high capital growth suburbs; the last is underrated IMO I foresee expansion of Box Hill developments spreading out through Blackburn and Nunawading in the medium term, plus close access to the M3 ring road/motorway.

 

Thanks,

Perhaps I was a bit unfair with stating woopwoop!

We have considered the inner-west such as Footscray or Altona, but having only moved here a few years ago all of our friends live in/around St Kilda.

I'll put some further consideration into suburbs a little further out, especially now that flexible working is more of a thing.

 

I lived in Parkville, South Melbourne, Brunswick, Elwood over about 14 years. I didn't need a car, my bicycle and public transport was enough.

Then we bought in Mitcham, 20km from the CBD. Been there for 17 years now, no chance I'd ever move back.

It's nice to be able to walk to the beach and the cafes, but that's only a small portion of your day. It's much better to be able to live in a quiet street, not hear the neighbours flush the toilet and have some real green space outside.

 

Doesnt matter whats fair, just what you think.

some people hate the suburbs. They want to walk everywhere and think a crowded train is terrible even for 10 minutes.

thats fine, but its not very useful for you when asking others is the commute that bad. Maybe not to others, but to you.......

The fact that you think the suburbs is woop woop just says that you love inner city and cant do the suburbs.

 

Anyone with a pommy background might have a perspective of space and distance based on UK miles. I suggest you stay very close to where you are happy. Maybe spend a few more of these monopoly style Aussie dollars and don't go too far out. You might see a snake if your not careful!!

 

True that. Drive the entire length of the UK from top to bottom in 14 hours. That gets you barely out of 1 state and half way into another in Aussie-land.

 

Key word, budget is around 675 k. So I’d say a unit in St. Kilda, Elwood and surrounding suburbs in small complex presents good value with good potential for growth I reckon. Spend free time fixing up, renovating the old units to suit your comfort as a form of exercise. But check if you can hear the neighbour peeing from that unit.

Or a house in Frankston? Or maximise your borrowing power for a house in Ringwood? Or just rent wherever you like in Melbourne and buy a house in Inner City Brisbane as investment, good timing to do this at the moment, DYOR

 

I don't think OP be able to tolerate the commute from Frankston. I personally found it intolerable when I lived slightly closer towards the city than Frankston - its a world away living near St Kilda Road and being able to live comfortably without a car.

Although I think OP would get better capital growth by buying a detached home in a good part of Frankston.

I agree that buying in Brisbane is the best of all options!