VIC Novice Suburb Selection Advice

My name is Leo, first time poster, long time reader. I have been working towards purchasing my first investment property around April 2021, I'm confident I will have saved the necessary deposit & purchase costs & buffers necessary by that time.
I have narrowed down my list of potential Melbourne suburbs to about 20 and I am struggling now to filter it down to a final 5. Would love to know your rankings of these suburbs for my current situation or any suggestions you may have.

My current situation:
- Budget $600k-650k depending on lender.
- Looking for land ownership in Melbourne Metro (house, townhouse, unit not apartment).
- Seeking capital growth, not fussed on yield as I am confident on my financial and repayment capabilities in a negatively geared property.
- Want a strong growth property to launch my portfolio from.
- Minimum 2BR dwellings, open to more if within budget.
- Not interested in rural or outside Melbourne Metro due to population growth and employment opportunities.

My current list of suburbs:
- South Kingsville, West Footscray, Maidstone, Keilor East, Gowanbrae.
- Pascoe Vale, Coburg North, Oak Park, Heidelberg Heights, Watsonia, St helena, eltham.
- Forrest Hill, Nunawading, Vermont, Ringwood, Heathmont.
- Cheltenham, Carrum, Chelsea, edithvale, heatherton.

I completely understand I am priced out of a lot of these suburbs, but this is my list of suburbs I see growing expadentially long term which I could somewhat afford now.
Feel free to recommend suburbs I may have left out.

Thansk Heaps guys.

 

Cheltenham, Nuna, Vermont and Mitcham all pretty good. Ringa isn't too bad and has seen plenty of recent growth, you could look into Wantirna/ Scoresby.

I believe Heidelberg West is experiencing significant regentrification too.

I'd avoid the Western suburbs personally.

 

I was gonna give you a direct answer on your question but I really only know the facts on 2 suburbs you have listed.
I had Watsonia as my #1 suburb in Melbourne last year for CG however it's since gone up by 50k so there would definitely be better now I reckon.
You can scrap West Footscray from your list. I wouldn't bother cause there's a reason why there's such a big difference in price between West and Footscray.

You should also consider Seaford on the beach side of the freeway.

 

I'd agree with Seaford. You should take a look at Mornington too.

Lol @Vick B, the western suburbs have made me so much money. Nothing wrong at all, plenty of d-bags live in the E and SE too.

@leo3192, with IP you should think like an investor, not like an OO. I strongly recommend Geelong and surrounds. There are opportunities to make money and then some. Widen your net, open your vision.

 

Lmao, you really think after the Western suburbs caused this 2nd lock down along with all the crime statistics there's still plenty of growth out there? Place is an absolute dump.

 

What an ignorant BS comment! Oh, I forgot Dandy, Noble Park, Springvale, Franga, Heidy Heights, Ringwood, Bayswater, Boronia etc are an absolute dream to live in. Absolutely no crims there, yep.

Looking for the ignore button.

 

Looks like at ths budget for those areas you can only go for townies or villa units.

So based on that its inner west and bayside for me. Look to be strongest for scarcity and rents by far.

West foots is experiencing a huge influx of DINKS and alternative crowd ala brunswick due to great food and bars but its not cheap anymore unless you push towards tottenham station which is not as great. But rental demand is very strong vs supply. Alot of govt spending in inner west too, new hospital, airport rail metro tunnel etc.

Bayside you've got the beach and some decent schools. Just becareful of govt housing areas / industrial areas and ex swamp land.

All the other areas dont really offer anything special unless you go for one in a high demand school zone.

Happy hunting!

 

The west is a dump...generally, but there are good areas. You just have to be more discriminating. As said certain parts of Footscray and Williamstown/seaford make for nice living. Altona, Newport and the suburb around scienceworks aren’t bad either (funky smell though). Point cook, boring but safe.

Laverton, north west areas are disaster zones. Look when I last went to Laverton I couldn’t even get a coffee near the station shopping strip.

 

Do you currently have a different suburb ranked at #1 for CG ? Would be interesting to find out which suburbs you currently see beating the metro average.

 

Thanks for your comment, yes I agree that as an IP the demographic doesn’t overly concern me as long as my returns are strong and steady. However finding a suitable renter to keep the property safe and well managed must also be considered in these rough suburbs.

I actually live in cheltenham, and am scared that I am biased as I live in the area. But I find Cheltenham to be a terrific investment suburb as it appeals to so many different types of buyers, has ridiculous amounts of amenneties and I read it will eventually be a stop in the train line which is built to run from tullamarine airport out to certain large suburb hubs.

I’d love your opinion on Cheltenham, I have found 2BR units with car for around 550-650 relatively close to train station and shopping Centre.

 

Sorry to clarify, I meant which suburbs would be at top of mind if you had to predict future capital growth (10yr+) . Not which suburb has produced the most recent capital growth.

 

What makes you choose Melbourne? I'd imagine Brisbane would be closer to a stronger growth uptick cycle than Melbourne, and especially at that price point and timeframe.

 

3 main reasons being
1. Melbourne has the strongest population growth of all states, mostly made up of overseas migration (migration is filtered to mostly professionals and in demand workers who are likely to earn well).
2. Brisbane has been 'about to boom' for over 10 years, I do agree it looks the most likely to grow quickly next. However, I don't necessarily see it happening in the next 5 years which gives me time to study the area a lot further while work towards my next purchase (possibly in brisbane).
3. To buy interstate I would need professional assistance, which I'm not keen on paying for given the reviews I have seen from people who have sought buyer agent's services.

 

With overseas population growth being cut off for the foreseeable future and the knock-on effects to the Melbourne economy that will have a significant impact employment to attract overseas migration, how bullish are you counting on this growth driver to outperform other cities that aren't deeply affected as Melbourne or Sydney for that matter?

 

Dandenong has always always been a dump. Ringwood is absolutely fine these days. Boronia, Bayswater FTG etc have all been dragged up by Wantirna and Scoresby which was dragged up by Glenny. Frankston is a short drive away from the Peninsula and there are plenty of great investment opportunities there. I would love to see places like Tarneit, Truganina, Point Cook, St Albans, Plumpton, Melton, Brooklyn, Hoppers Crossing, Taylors Lakes out perform any Eastern Suburb apart from Dandy. A McMansion in Williams Landing, now there's the real dream.