hi all, I'm based in Sydney. I'm looking to invest in QLD Moreton Bay region. Currently looking at some open lots in Murrumba Downs. Using a buyers agent to get a builder and build on it. Budget: 500-550K Strategy: Mix of Capital Gain in the long run and Cash Flow in near future. Looking to target neutral or positive cashflow. This will be my first property buying only for investment sake. Looking to invest in QLD as few reports are predicting Brisbase to appreciate in the near future. I'm a little bit nervous about investing in a city I've not seen. I'm checking the usual things - Flood Zone, bushfire ratings, schools, stations and transport options to Brisbase/Ipswitch and Sunshine coast. What do you guys thinks and what else I should be checking? Thanks for all your time and I've already learnt a fair bit on the site. Cheers Kishore
I know nothing about the areas you've been looking at, but the general consensus about QLD or Brisbane specifically is to buy as close as possible to the city. As such, buy a property with the largest land component you can afford within the 10-15km radius of Brissy's CBD.
Hi Kishore, What's the land size and what are you building on the land? And the expected rent you'll receive?
Thanks for your responses guys. Land Size: ~500square meters Distance from Brisbane CBD: 24KM Nearest Station: Murrumba Downs - 3 Min Drive - 18 Min walk.. Building a house: Haven't got the plans yet. General agreement is we will build a house with enough rent make it neutral to positively geared. We are still deciding on the area at this point to see if it's a good spot to buy.
Thanks Westie. That was my intention too. But some of the strategists are also advising to buy midway between `Sunshine Coast` and `Brisbane CBD` to have two cities to bank on.... What do you think?
Thanks for your responses guys. Land Size: ~500square meters Distance from Brisbane CBD: 24KM Nearest Station: Murrumba Downs - 3 Min Drive - 18 Min walk.. Building a house: Haven't got the plans yet. General agreement is we will build a house with enough rent make it neutral to positively geared. We are still deciding on the area at this point to see if it's a good spot to buy.
I'd keep it simple as. As @Sackie always says, you can't, usually, go wrong with buying 10-15km from Brisbane's CBD. That's for a freestanding house. Not an apartment. Don't buy an apartment, like ever.
Many red flags, personally if I was a new investor the last thing I would be doing was building a house in Moreton bay. Be careful with your due diligence and make sure what you're doing matches your risk profile. Investing in an established house in Moreton bay is one thing, and building a house from scratch is an entirely different thing with many other risks associated.
Areas where my approach would differ from yours : - Location : would look closer to Brisbane CBD. - Buyer Agent : would go for research / education instead. - New Build : would spend more on land less on depreciating house. - Reliance of a "few reports" / "strategists" / "general agreement" : lots of opinions around. I'd suggest you do enough research to form your own opinion - maybe even a couple of trips to Brisbane to confirm things.
Thanks for the reply. - Locations: I will look more into closer suburbs. Do you have any suggestions? - Buyers Agent: The reason I went with buyers agent was to give me better suggestions regarding the properties and the area as I'm a non-local - The Reliance on reports is to use data based approach.. understand that these are opinions - New Build: I'm definitely open to older houses as well. I think the new build was suggested by the agent add the additional benefit of claiming for depreciation. Is depreciation claim benefit worth it?
Be very careful with following these reports - how do you know there is no vested interest? So many of the so called property experts have dubious backgrounds. It is not a regulated space so any huckster can get money from both the person buying the report and the council/developer promoting the area. I'd argue you get the benefits of neither one with this approach. I don't think anyone chooses to live in moreton bay over the sunshine coast, and the few big money jobs in brisbane are likely closer to the cbd. My advice is to go and look around the area, catch the train in peak hour and try driving to the cbd. That might change your mind. Sure the new uni campus sounds impressive, but is it going to attract anyone to the area or just kids finishing high school who will live at home while studying? And if so is renting to 4 random students your target market?
Definitely a 2 speed market atm... credit access is still stagnating some of the lse areas of mbrc and for that budget some of the southern most areas are in play...but not for much longer as they are selling and growing fast towards $600k. Not advice but look at the land locked in demand areas with high oo rates and higher disposible incomes. Those seem to be the ones less constrained by credit access due to higher incomes and still have decent price to income ratios.
I agree living between two cities theory doesn't really stack up. Surely a couple would prefer to live in the city they both work in with a short commute than commute over an hour in opposite directions. Plenty of people choose to live in Moreton Bay over the Sunshine Coast. I know people (in high paying jobs) that commute from Bribie Island to the CBD. Now that's a bit too far for me but southern Moreton Bay is a reasonable commute, the trains are busy at peak hour so plenty do it. The new uni will bring more to the area then "4 random students" as tenants...
Between the two towns is like being between two distant train stations- not that useful. Amenity should be basically on your doorstep. I like the idea of a new build to potentialy capture some profit and get depreciation benefits. But it comes with extra buying risks and extra time and effort, so far more likely to overpay on what turns out to be a lower cap growth area - not recommended for inexperienced - which I include myself for new builds. That said the location is not super remote, nearby Mango Hill and Northlakes broke price growth records I think 10 years ago (though maybe thats because they were coming from swamps )
Agent likely receives a higher commission for recommending a new build. Depreciation benefit is not a reason to invest IMO
These people are looking after themselves, in most cases at least. The best strategists are on this forum, period.
The idea looks something I wouldn’t even consider if the goal is yield an gain in the long run. For your money you can achieve far better in QLD. Just consider buy old and renovate rather build.
