VIC Melbourne West area - the "Birdcage"

I decided to pass on Werribee , found the agents all a pain and not helpful, yields were no better than Sydney areas I look at which I thought was not good enough for the type of tenant, also as others say, in the bird cage you have to be picky, we were beaten on one we wanted it was in a clean street, a lot are absolute dumps or the neighbors are not the best & yes, it would be a long term change.

I think if you can get the right size block and a decent new build it may be worthwhile, but frankly, if I were looking there again, would spend the 30 or so k more for outside the birdcage unless it was again a clean street with OOs.

 

Agree...but you have look at what is happening there...it is mirroring places like Noble Park and Springvale about ten years ago.

I am fortunate the area I chose is walk to station...prices there are escalating quickly and lots of new development as people bowl over the older houses.

So the 64k question....did you end up buying anything?

 

no, not there, I was under contract but gazumped, agent was taking multiple deposits, was a waste of time, found all the agents a bit dodgy as they were all too busy.

the area and people put us off a bit I will admit, but would buy there and the other areas I was looking at, maybe you can advance some $$$

I think yours will do well.

 

Yeah...but not buying there for the reasons you cite...too hot...and too many d!ckhe@d agents....

I have my own issues...have to go to ground zero again...after getting rid of dodgy builder. Have a plan B looking which is well advanced. The good news is ...... I get all of my cost back from the previous builder....a little legal jargon always does it....

 

not Trevor is it?

 

Note that there are slightly better and worse ends of the Birdcage.

The south-eastern end (basically bordered by Kookaburra Av) has a lower repute than the rest.

South East Birdcage is not easily walkable to any local shops, although it is across the road from the newly upgraded aquatic centre and not far from Heathdale College. It will also be convenient to any new station at Derrimut Rd (talked about long-term but not on anyone's immediate agenda).

North Birdcage is very handy to Werribee Plaza (or whatever they call themselves). Portions near either Tarneit or Heaths Rd have faster, more direct direct and more frequent buses (every 20 min 7 days/week) bus services than the middle bit which has only a meandering local route.

Werribee's birdcage isn't the only one in the west. A remote bit of western Altona (near Truganina Swamp) also has one.

 

Good that i found this thread. I was also looking at one of the option in this are but new estate land releases. Someone mentioned in the post that sub 300k buy is good in this area. We can get something new in may be 350K with this new release... i was not too sure about this area and was not confident about whole new House and Land to dropped.. it's from PEET..

http://cornerstonewerribee.com.au/about-cornerstone/location

Anyone explored this or any views on this one ?

 

Not a convenient location and in the middle of nowhere. Severely isolated by the rail. Everything's marked 'future' (eg train station, town centre etc) which means it's highly speculative and may or may not happen for years. The cheaper blocks of land are likely to be very small. So you end up with high population densities with no services.

The only direction that it can go - like most new estates - is downwards. We've seen whole estates of the likes of Roxburgh Park go from high income to low income in the space of 20 years and capital growth has been pretty ordinary. Parts of Wyndham (eg Truganina) have similar conditions to there. Especially estates built and sold to OTP buyers to put in tenants.

In contrast, despite its tenant and social problems, the 'Birdcage' is bordered by Werribee CBD/station, Werribee Plaza and Hoppers station. Private and select entry schools are nearer. It's also near the proposed Werribee East precinct. A vastly better location with bigger blocks of land.

Once a mega shopping centre gets a foothold in the area (eg Werribee Plaza, Fountain Gate, Chadstone, Woodgrove Melton) it keeps growing and becomes more desirable. It saps energy from potential future centres (eg Manor Lakes, Williams Landing) which don't grow as fast as developers promise. And in an extreme case (like Melton) the big centre basically has a monopoly such that it kills off the main street. In the new bits of Melton developers don't even build small local centres - it's just rows of houses and nothing nearby.

Birdcage has established stuff nearby. Private enterprise, government and council have put money in to make these better. The last 18 mths in particular has seen massive improvements - eg Werribee Plaza extensions, aquatic centre/waterslide, new bus network etc.

Cornerstone does not have all these benefits. Railways like freeways can be barriers and mean there's few connections to the outside world. This gives similar problems to Point Cook where there's only a few roads going out of the estate and they're bumper to bumper. And people will need to go out of the estate for every trip since there's no local services. That plus barriers creates bottlenecks which will make the place a transport nighmare.

 

You are correct about shopping centres...the upgraded Werribee Plaza and other infrastructure is the game changer. A lot of people can't see the vision till it is too late. Thought I tend to buy in early and then move on.....

 

I define the Birdcage a little smaller. It does not include the south-western portion (eg Tamarind, Argyle and streets branching off). If you do a street view you'll see the homes are a bit better presented with more care taken of the gardens than over near Kookaburra Av.

Having said that, presentation doesn't seem to be everything. There's far worse looking streets than the Birdcage in Werribee. Eg parts of Laverton which nevertheless has a higher average house price than Werribee. Google Maps

Or this corner of Sunshine / Albion Google Maps

 

Hi guys,

Further to this post, which one is a better suburb in terms of long-term hold for Capital Growth? Werribee or Hoppers Crossing? Or it all depends on the exact location (distance from train and Pacific Werribee?) Does the distance to the train matter a lot like it does in Sydney? Or is 3KM to train station still ok? The markets in both areas are still bit fragmented, some sell at a lower cost while others are sold at a steep price.

Cheers.

 

Depends. From a train commuter's perspective you'd want to be within 10 min walk of a station, which knocks off about 90% of the housing stock in either Werribee or Hoppers. Otherwise you must drive (people complain about lack of parking spots at stations), cycle (need to check whether there's spare spaces at the bike cage) or take the bus (may require crossing busy roads and less frequent than the train).

You will get a seat if you board at Werribee. You won't necessarily if you board at Hoppers. Hoppers is represented by a particularly lazy member of parliament (basically an ethnic branch stack) who hasn't been able to get a critical road/rail intersection at Old Geelong Rd grade separated (despite a large government program for this). Whereas Werribee's local member is more active and a senior minister.

Your tenants (if they have jobs) will either probably be blue collar factory or logistics workers at Laverton North or white collar in the CBD. Driving to the former is closer for Hoppers than Werribee.

People like being near the Plaza and there's a golden triangle including both parts of Hoppers and Werribee which are close. These are also within 2km of either station. Another area I regard as very good is the south side of Werribee 'south of Synnot') where you can walk to the station and main street for a similar range of cafes and shops you'd get in an inner suburb or old country town. It's also nearer the freeway. Parts are near the river. The sewage farm is on the south side but oddly houses nearer there are dearer than many places further.

Lifestyle areas include big blocks in parts of Hoppers. Or parts of Werribee near the river. Both are likely to be more owner occupiers. But there's cheap areas on the east bank of the Werribee River that are quite near the station with housing commission type homes (off Market Rd). Take your chances with tenants but it may do well long term due to handy location.

Areas out towards Wyndham Vale are a lot further from shopping (particularly the Plaza) and don't have much of a school choice. There's a mix of old 1970s houses and newer towards Manor Lakes. Westleigh Gardens looks nice but not conveniently located. Ditto for new developments around Black Forest Rd.

 

Thanks @Spiderman. This explains the price discrepancies across different areas in the 2 suburbs.

 

@Barny they are some sick paint skills! Haha

Personally haven't looked much in the area but Weribee is definitely penciled in as a big part of future Melbourne. Anyone with a long term buy and hold strategy would do well in the long run no doubt.

 

@Spiderman How do I send a personal message here? Would like to further ask some questions.

Cheers!

 

@Gwynneth click his highlighted name (@Spiderman) and a new window will pop up. click "start a conversation"

 

Thanks @Jerry!

 

Is Myrtle street in Werribee considered as part of the Birdcage?