VIC PPOR - 600K budget for family of four

Hey guys,

We are a couple in our mid 30s who migrated to Australia 3 years back (Asians) and currently living in Sydney.
Since we have been priced out of the Sydney market, decided to buy a house in Melbourne. Both us can take ask a transfer in our organizations so relocation is not a problem for us.

Budget is 600K ,might stretch a bit by another 20/30K.Things we are looking at:

1. 4 bed, 2 bath,1 carpark and a backyard
2. Proximity to good schools (My elder one will start in couple of years, younger one has still 4 years to go)
3. Child care
4. Near train station - not a deal breaker but nice to have as we both will work in Docklands/CBD and will be catching train to work

Not planning to sell this property although if there is appreciation, may well look to buy an IP.

We visited Melbourne during Christmas and drove around the areas in West like Tarneit,Williams Landing,Point Cook etc.Although the entry point for property is low, these areas did not meet our requirement of good school and child care.

Went to St Albans and Sunshine as well but the general perception of these burbs was not very good from family point of view so for now not thinking about them.

What else do you recommend? We are planning to revisit again in Feb so may drive around these areas and see how it goes

Cheers

 

@RedHat Most Asians look to buy school wise (Balwyn, McKinnon, Box Hill, Doncaster, Glen Waverley). But with a 600K price range it would only get you apartments. There will be no back yard or possibly just a courtyard and 2 bedrooms only.

For a 4 X 2 X 1 Carpark with backyard - and if you like the Asian community (point cook I believe would be your best bet for 600K easily would get you a close to brand new house). with even some change to spare There is featherbrook P9 School in yellow, a lot of professionals (Indians, Malaysians, Chinese, Singaporeans, Indonesians, Vietnamese are among the residents of this estate). Child care is just around the corner from the feathrbook oval. It really depends which community you feel more affiliated to due to the restaurants and shops

 

Hmmm, since you're tried the Western suburbs like Point Cook, Tarneit, Williams Landing, Sunshine and St Albans.
Try driving around the Northern and North Western suburbs like Glenroy, East Keilor (Houses and townhouses)
Oak Park, Pascoe Vale (Townhouses)
Reservoir (houses and townhouses)
Gladstone Park (houses)
Catholic church, Catholic schools, shopping centre for all the above

Glenroy, Oak Park, Pascoe Vale, Reservoir has train station

East Keilor and Gladstone Park, no train station but family oriented suburb

To get to the city from these suburbs is relatively easy by rail or road system
and there are services like doctors, shopping centres, schools, chemist, child care

 

Mill Park starts around that price, I dont have first hand experience with the schools around there but know people in child councelling and they speak well of it. Also consider townhouses in Greensborough. If you are totally priced out and the 4x2 + backyard is super important, Lalor next door will give you that but you will be sacrificing neighbourhood quality. Saying that, i personaly think Lalor has a lot of potential and its probably where i would be putting my money

 

What about Springvale?

Vibrant Asian (predominately Chinese/Vietnamese) community and priced very affordably.

 

Yes, I agree. Mill Park, Greensborough, Springvale are possibilities
Also Bundoora and KIngsbury which has schools and is near La Trobe Uni

 

Springvale looks to be the next boom suburb. Great transport and local shopping options

 

I think the OP is already priced out of East/South/Southeast unfortunately. I'm not very familiar with Northern surburbs but for Westside I think hoppers crossing and Werribee will be good options, there is a good private school called Heathdale, not sure about public school.
For point cook only if you can buy near Williams landing station (northern part of PC) so you can walk to the station. Otherwise don't bother,40 minutes just to get on the freeway, I kid you not. westbourne grammar is near point cook, but it is also a private school.
Have you considered Adelaide? Your criteria can easily be meet if you relocate there and you probably can live within 10k of CBD.

 

From that list, my money would be on Reservoir but for $600K, he would be hard pressed to purchase a house, more town house if anything. Reservoir is probably one of the last suburbs in my non professional opinion that would boom if the OP was looking to buy something, live in it and ride the increase in value but not short selling.

Preston has boomed and has a lot of Mainland Chinese investment/investors, so I guess the former bridesmaid suburb of Reservoir will benefit from the spill over effect. These days it's all about access to CBD, transport, schools, universities, pretty much in that order, Reservoir ticks all the mentioned boxes. You also have Northland SC if that's your thing. La Trobe, RMIT Bundoora is just around the corner - pretty much a stone's throw away....Melb Uni and RMIT CBD are accessible by train/car if they prefer that.

The downside? Reservoir still has a somewhat darker area - still has the crime/drug/lower socio economic status issues. Surround suburbs are also pretty much the same and an issue but given that I think it's a positive as they will gentrify one day and I guess that's how you will gain the most benefit financially vs buying something that's already exxy.

FWIW I purchased in early 2013 in Chadstone as a PPOR (moved in 2014) pretty much the same distance, demographics - Ashwood, Ashburton and parts of Chaddy were all public housing, still is, but has boomed since. Honestly I rate Reservoir higher than Chaddy in terms of potential.

 

Clayton South, Blackburn and Springvale South worth a look.

 

Clayton South has a massive tip next to it (perpetual smell), Springvale and Springvale South is probably a bit too far from the CBD to really benefit from a boom ~ 23KMs.

 

that is what I think so too (parts of reservoir is so similar to ashwood/chadstone in terms public housing). look at the similarities, ex-housing comm houses in Ashwood going for 1 mil, and similarly in reservoir at 600-800K

Both have malls (chadstone and northland)
Both have universities (Monash and Latrobe, RMIT)
Reservoir demographics are slowly changing similar to chadstone 5-7 years ago Asian buyers buying up ex-housing commission houses and tearing down to build townhouses). I lived in chadstone maybe 7 years ago and to be honest both suburbs are pretty much similar though Chadstone is much bigger and monash is a more prestigious uni

The only negative I can think is access routes from reservoir to CBD (to get to eastern it takes a while driving there). and st georges rd or high st with its trams will only take much longer.

 

I think Reservoir now is what Chadstone was in the late 2000s, you still have a few "non desirables" of society still there but they'll slowly disappear. When I first purchased in Chaddy, half the street still had those asbestos filled public houses! Most are now townhouses or McMansions. Prices in Reservoir now also reflect what it was in Chaddy back then. You can probably nab something between $750-$800K in Reservoir now on the city side of the tracks and within 1km from the town centre!

Chadstone also has Holmesglen Tafe buttressing right next to the station but that's more of a TAFE than Uni. There is a distance between Chaddy and Monash...If this state government manages to bury the level crossing at Reservoir station, I think it'll be another $50-$100K in price. The downside I guess to Chaddy also is that it has no real town so to speak of.

If you compare recent sales, Springvale seems more expensive than Reservoir and probably is less value than Reservoir.

 

I know I attended Monash Uni in clayton and caufiled and lived in the area in the 2000s as it was the halfway mark btw two of campuses. Went to the fitness first next to the tafe and hoyts cinemas when torrents weren't that popular back in the day. Just look at this 42 Power St, Ashwood. This house also backs onto a train line and really not that great a spot . I already have owned in Chaddy in the past but sold out, and also around the bundoora, kingsbury, reza area.

But seeing chadstone / ashwood now (ex-housing commission) - how the demographics changed the suburb over the years. New money coming into the suburb

Sold 2009 - 42 Power Avenue, Ashwood, Vic 3147 - Property Details - 490K
Sold 2015 - 42 Power Avenue, Ashwood, Vic 3147 - Property Details - 1.06 Mil
Sold 2016 - 1/42 Power Avenue, Ashwood, Vic 3147 - Property Details (1 unit sold 1.18 mil)

 

Have a look at Altona Meadows. A suburb that tends to get overlooked. I'm not sure about the school zoning as I don't have kids myself yet but it's closer to CBD than Point Cook & Williams Landing. Also has easy access to freeway and close to three train stations (Laverton, Aircraft, Williams Landing). They're currently upgrading a lot of stuff around the area and only 10mins to Altona Beach and 10mins to the newly expanded Pacific Werribee. $600k will get you 4 bedder with decent backyard easily.

 

What defines a good school anyway? I went to high school in the mid to late 90s - one of the worst performing schools in the Western suburbs. I achieved a relatively high school if that was the criteria to measure success in (I think 93 from memory), the thing was, I thought at the time I was much better off in that school that say if I went to a pressure boiler like a Melbourne Boys Balwyn High or Glen Waverley High. Back in 1999, there were no school zones and I had Asian and Indian friends who attended Balwyn High but lived in Yarraville. There was one friend who lived way out in Sunshine who attended Balwyn High - his folks went to the trouble dropping him off every single day and picking him up every single day.

These so called "good schools" are nothing more than pressure cookers who constantly emphasise and aim for high test marks and scores. Looking back, the school I went to had excellent teachers and very experience, majority of the Year 12 teachers were from Melbourne University. The trouble was the students themselves - they weren't very interested in the academic side of things. When it came to exam time back them, the majority of the teachers made themselves available for after hours tuition/assistance! (either personal tuition or small classes for those interested) I could probably never have access to that at other more prestigious schools.

 

Yeah I agree with you about schools and being pressure cookers - I went to a school in Mt Eliza where else all my cousins went to Balwyn High School. However with the Balwyn High Shool and GWSC or Mckinnon etc - people pay massive dollars to be in the zone for properties. It is part and parcel of why these suburbs are very expensive