New Canberra Investor

Hi all! I'm based in Canberra, thinking about some property investment, probably in Canberra. I've been looking at this forum over the last few weeks and am really impressed with the info available.

I have heaps of questions about what to buy, tax structures, possible advantages of rentvesting, property managers etc. A lot of the answers seem to be already addressed on the forum, but I also look forward to getting some feedback from everyone about my specific questions (and hopefully providing some ideas of my own for others).

 

Hey! Welcome aboard!

You are right.. Most of the questions you have in mind will most likely been asked and answered already. Just do a quick search. But feel free to ask your questions here as well. Note that the advices you will get will be general in nature and unless you employ the service of the professionals here, you won't get any specific advises tailored to your situation.

 

Hi, welcome aboard.

 

Most of the questions you have would have been discussed in one situation or other. It is best to search by the topic or key word and perhaps follow one or two forumers who you might relate to in terms of being a fellow traveler. Try to be open, contribute and receive. Most forumers believe in the capitalist, entrepreneurial environment but there are others who stir the pot to see what the other side think and do their research for their assignment. You will see a dramatic range of opinions from high school students to retirees!

Best wishes on your travel!

 

Welcome aboard Michael - always good to see another Canberra member on the forum

Are you looking at any particular parts of Canberra at the moment?

If you need a recommendation for a local PM, accountant, etc just let me know.

Cheers

Jamie

 

Hi Michael, welcome aboard.
I reckon you might have a brother or someone with a similar name on here

 

Thanks everyone, I'm looking forward to getting involved

Jamie, I'm looking at Woden and Inner South, although that's mostly for convenience rather than thinking they're the best areas. Gungahlin and Molonglo are the only areas not on my list. I already have a tiny unit in Downer, which I'm hoping will go well assuming the light rail actually goes ahead.

 

Downer will be fine long term - already experienced a big jump in the last 12 months.

Woden area is great - nice and central. Starting to get a bit pricey but still represents decent value - and if it's a long term buy and hold you'll be fine.

Cheers

Jamie

 

I bought in Phillip a few months ago. Happy with the purchase, no regrets, good area, close to hospital, parks, walking distance to town centre.

One of those purchases you hope to be able to hold forever.... as long as land tax doesn't ratchet up

 

Parton Model genius.

 

welcome...and yes good to see another canberran...keep us updated on your progress


good luck with land tax marty..im sure plenty more gouging to come in the medium term

 

I'm a bit worried about yield in the Woden/southside area (which is what I know the best) - rents seem to be picking up from a year ago but I'm often still seeing under 4%, which is pretty hard to take against other opportunities interstate... anyone else feeling that heat?

 

yeh the numbers post rates and land tax are bad..given there are plenty of other suitable markets imo you are better off buying elsewhere with no land tax..

 

I'm mostly looking at small 1BR or studio apartments in Woden at the moment, a number of which are yielding (gross) 7-8%. It's true that body corporate, land tax etc take a pretty substantial proportion of the rent on these small apartments, but at current interest they're still fairly close to cash flow neutral even if you imagine borrowing 100%. My own PPOR in Woden (fairly standard 4BR home) seems to have gone up in value quite a lot in the last 12-18 months, based on comparable sales, and I guess its gross rental yield would be something like 3.8%, which doesn't seem very attractive.

 

I can't imagine yields for houses being reasonable in North Canb, South Canb or Woden - under, perhaps well under, 4% if buying now.
I suspect there's still some possibilities in parts of Weston Creek (Rivett being the usual suspect at the low end of the area).
Belco and Tuggers are so big there's sure to be some options for higher yields in houses, but I'm talking 5-6% not 9%.
I'm having trouble believing the Gunghalin figures in the "Top 10 yielding suburbs" lists (or the "top way to make people read the ads on my website" lists ) - if Gunghalin really did have 314159% CG last year (can't be bothered looking up the lists), then there's certainly little chance of getting in now for a yield play. Conversely, if yield is still around, then the CG figures are rather suspect . Surely not....

 

i guess that is one advantage of apartments, land tax and rates are a fair bit lower...still..im sure there are better investments out there

 

But then you've got body corporate....don't get me started about body corp! I've got a townhouse in Gunghalin that costs $3.5k p.a for body corp - I have no idea where the money goes.

Cheers

Jamie