NSW Port Stephens

Anyone on the ground up there? How is the market travelling at the moment? I spoke to an agent there who mentioned the market is very good but you would expect them to say that He said they are getting a lot of Sydney investors and retirees looking to do the sea change.

I have an IP in the area I am contemplating flicking that I have held since 2003 with not much growth so now might be the best time for a while.

 

I love the place for holidaying, probably been there at least a dozen times, mostly around Nelson bay and surrounding suburbs.
Always check out the property prices but can never see any value at all to invest there.
Doesn't seem like much has changed over time, very seasonal and have seen quite a few neglected development blocks.
I don't know the stats of infrastructure plans for the area, but seems like no growth at all.

That winery place at Bobs Farm was going off when I was there a few weeks back, it was so good.

 

Either can I. The property I purchased there is the first one I ever bought, seemed like a good idea to buy at the tail end of a boom somewhere we went on holidays every year. I was young and dumb.

I have noticed prices edging up there over the last year or so though but nothing like Sydney. Last boom it went crackers, prices more than doubled in the space of a couple of years.

 

AirBnB candidate?

 

Mine isn't in a holiday spot and besides my yield on this one is already very good. Around 8%

 

What price range are you looking at? Salamander Bay?

 

Mid 400's

 

Anything under $550k seems to be gone in no time as long as it has good bones. It seems like a lot of the low income bracket is getting pushed out to the Terrace.

 

Check realestate.com, still some cheapies up there.

I was at Nels Bay the other weekend and most accommodation was booked out. Never seen it this busy for a February.

 

Probably landed on the game fishing comp. everything books out then.

 

I'm about to list my mates mums house at Anna bay its a 4/3/2 she paid $389,000 in 2003 next door is an identical property sold in December 2015 for $409,000 in much better condition.

 

We holiday up there every Xmas for 2 weeks. I think the market up there is at its peak for now. I have noticed a lot of houses are holiday homes and retirees. I would like to retire up there. It gets very busy around the holiday period.

 

That sounds pretty cheap for a 4/3/2 in Anna Bay unless it's a townhouse. Townhouses don't seem overly popular at the moment.

We paid $470 for our 4/2/1 in Anna Bay last year. Couldn't find anything suitable for under $450 so had to stretch the budget a bit.

My inlaws bought in old salamander in '02 for $250, recently sold for $550 odd. It really depends on which suburb. Anna Bay still has a bit of a stigma attached to it.

 

We built a 4,2,2 house on 800 m2 in Boat Harbour Castaways Estate in 1995 as a long term rental IP. We still hold this property. Shortly after we built a 3,2,2 close to the beach at Corlette. We sold this one in Dec 2014 after waiting for a very slow market cycle to crest at the top, or as close as possible. Thereafter we built various new and bought various existing IPs closer to Newcastle, Lake Macquarie & Central Coast, totalling 9 properties. S we are still active investors in the Port Stephens region.

As general comments, the Port Stephens / Nelson Bay region is a market separate to Newcastle and surrounding regions. With a relatively small population, being approx. 68,000 in the Port Stephens LGA, but only approx. 25,000 in and the suburbs surrounding Nelson Bay, heavily dependent on tourism and the holiday market like many other coastal holiday towns. I have monitored residential sales over this period to assess CG for our IPs, and while the early 2000’s showed modest growth, I wasn’t game to sell our Corlette property until 2014, once CG increased on the back of the rising Sydney market.

There has certainly been continued growth up to now, but owners in this region need to be patient, and satisfied with long term CG averages of 2% - 3%, then to monitor the cycle and to be prepared to sell when satisfied with the potential sale outcome. Waiting for the Nelson Bay market to change can be a bit like watching cricket.

I hope this helps.

Retiree

 

@ Vacant- I am not too familiar with the area. Curious about why Anna Bay has a stigma.

Does the area suffer from aircraft noise?

I read about water contamination up there not long ago.

 

It used to house a lot of druggies/dealers and fairly unsavory types. 10 years ago you'd bump into some rough folks and knew the houses to avoid. 5 years ago I rented in the area and it was fine. Haven't had a problem since we moved back 9 months ago. We lived in Medowie for 4 years or so and that had far more problems than we've had in Anna Bay.

Plenty of young families around and retirees walking their dogs. Pretty nice beachside suburb now, druggies have been priced out of the rental market and the dealers have followed I guess.

No problems with aircraft noise or water contamination. That's closer to the RAAF base in Williamtown.

 

Yeah its a freestanding town house on top of the hill with a communal pool. I was surprised at the comparable's for it i though, i thought it was going to be worth a lot more.

 

Good time to sell while it's still warm and the Wider Newcastle area is near the top of the Property market.

 

If you don't mind me asking, what are the BC fees like? They seem like nice houses.

 

Over a $1000 a quarter because of the pool