VIC PPoR Surrey Hills guide

Hello everyone

I moved down from Sydney about 6 months ago and renting an apartment in Kew. Would love some advice and feedback for a PPoR


My girlfriend drove me though Surrey Hills and Mont Albert Road. LOVED IT!!!! I would like to live there. Good transport with trams and trains

My budget is 1.2m and something we can move in without major reno. Freestanding house not an option but would a semi / duplex be possible in my price range?

I would love feedback on which parts of Surrey Hills are ideal/ desirable. Once lockdown is over I will start calling REAs

I've been researching and keeping eye out for sales last 6 months
• 4 Wharton Street, Surrey Hills
Sold 4 Wharton Street, Surrey Hills VIC 3127 on 30 Apr 2020 - 2016204740 | Domain
Something like this seems to tick a lot of boxes. Is there anyway to check what this went for? Domain and REA both say undisclosed

What's the go in Melbourne with price undisclosed. Means they are trying to say price lower than they expected?
• 2/26 Faversham Road, Canterbury
Sold 2/26 Faversham Road, Canterbury VIC 3126 on 22 Apr 2020 - 2016144163 | Domain went for 923k. It's a villa but ideal otherwise. How much premium would a semi bring?

I dont want townhouses or villas, I dont want to be constrained by strata. Im researching past sales to get an understanding, Is there anyway to check whether a duplex or semi dettached has Strata?

 

Great area but fundamentals are the same, be 500m to 1.5km from public transport and major supermarket., Remember to look at the location not the suburb as there are parts of Mont Albert I would prefer over Surrey Hills (Elgar rd side and opposite Wattle park area)

Public transport = Chatham, Surrey Hills, Mont Albert train stations and 109 tram (on Whitehorse rd)
Supermarket = Balwyn Woolies, Coles Local (smaller format but acceptable) near Surrey Hills station

You can't go wrong anywhere is Surrey Hills 500m North (any more too far from station) or South of Mont albert rd (too close to train line).

WIth your budget it it will be quite restricted even for Mont Albert which is a bit cheaper but still along Mont Albert Rd.

https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-unit-vic-mont+albert-132828350
https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-townhouse-vic-surrey+hills-133161446

Don;t think these are good investments, At 1.2 Mil School zoning is really important and Canterbury Girls Secondary school is good however Camberwell High is not rated as highly as other public schools in area e.g. Balwyn and Box HIll High school

Yeah Marshall White do dominate the listings in the area and they rarely disclose price, maybe they see it as their IP (it becomes public knowledge at settlement) and gives them an edge when pitching for business

As an investment on that budget I would look elsewhere, a liveable house on good land in Box HIll South in Box HIll HIgh school zone would be a lot better

 

Great choice! one of the best areas in inner Melbourne. But as Kaibo suggested some streets are much better than others.. with some of the best branching off the golden mile of mont albert road.

Duplex wise you'll struggle to find much in your budget unless you go for main roads such as Whitehorse or move further down towards Canterbury or Warrigul which doesnt have the same feel as north of the train tracks.

Also check a common issue of water seepage along the joint walls.. a pain in the butt if so.

A detached townie could be possible. Stick with a block of two (battle axe style) or those with own frontage if you want to avoid a strata. More likely to find these near mont albert primary. I also saw one go for in your range right next to chatham station a year or so ago but these are as rare as hens teeth.

But even then small stratas or three or four are generally quite dormant (just share gardening and building insurance).

There may be more stock in your budget closer to belmore rd village area. 302 bus goes direct to cbd.

 

1.14M from onthehouse.com.au

Yes could either be low result or high and they don’t want other vendors getting too excited.
Could also be a privacy request from a party to the contract.

Don’t know the area pricing but I’d say given the timing of April 2020 in lockdown 1.0 it’s likely a low result and a good buy by someone.
Again just from date purchased.

 

https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-vic-surrey+hills-129394150

4A which was renovated and extended sold for 1.9M September 2018, seemed a high price while a new duplex 4 bed and 3 bath with double garage as opposed to a single carport on a better street sold for 1.998M end of 2019

https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-townhouse-vic-surrey+hills-132181734

 

Thanks Kaibo and I might drive around Surrey Hills at lunch time and explore more. Luckily it's within 5 kms

Good point. One other thing I noticed was rental yield is not that great here Food for thought about schools, I had left this completely out of mind

Looks like Box Hill is a big precinct here, reminds me of Chatswood / Parramatta of Sydney. Personal preference, I would rent longer in that case and save more money to buy in the area we want. Given COVID my view is prices won't be going up anytime soon, so savings rate > property price growth rate.

Thanks Craig!!! $1.14m seems reasonable and within budget. If I can find something similar to this, we would take it. Driving around Surrey Hills, I've seen handful of houses go up at the back to add extra bedroom so 2 bedder probably not a deal killer right now

Could there be something wrong with the place or not a great street? Kaibo seems low based on the what the place next door went for $1.9m!!! On the other hand, 3 bedroom semi for $1.9m seems high in 2018 when prices were soft

What am I missing

 

The rental yields are terrible in SH! Not looking as an investment but as a factor. I am wondering is everyone looking for capital gains in Sh?

 

Not miuch development potential as most of North West corner is NRZ (good to be a resident). Just a damn good place to live for families (except the price)

1 k.m. to Balwyn Woolworths strip strops, learn to ride bike park, Post office tennis court, library and Maccas
1 k.m. to Train station
500 m to 109 tram for kids to get to school
3 k.m. from Camberwell Junction and Box Hill (different directions)
10 k.m. to City and living off iconic Mont Albert Rd

Actually 10 k.m. is a sweet spot as when getting a bit closer to city the traffic is substantially worse and most shopping trips are local supermarket or on occasions Camberwell or Box Hill

Just a really good family vibe with long term residents (people don't usually move away from here) and nearly all Owner occupiers (it matters)

Yield would be no different to other comparable neighbourhood with good land content e.g. Kew, Canterbury, Hawthorn East

 

i grew up in surrey hills in the block between warrigal, elgar, riversdale, and canterbury. It was a very nice place as a kid, extremely safe, no rat run streets, heaps of park land, tram to the city or train (15-20 minute walk to the station for us), bus to box hill central or maybe 30 minute walk.

I never thought of it as prestige although now its certainly not cheap.

I accidentally lived there as a 24 year old a block down from corner warrigal and riversdale, not super interesting however massive house with 4 mates meant that taxis to hawthorn or city were not bad, hell with uber x it would be a $30 trip now.

 

You are right yield is on par with surrounding eastern areas. If you look at much further out to areas say Wantirna, homes often go for $1.4m up there with much less amenities on offer so prices aint too far of whack.

The traffic also never seems to get busy around there. Very easy to get from A to B. It literally feels like you are living in a small village atmosphere yet so close to the city.

There are benefits of lower density zoning too especially for those planning to live there for yonks. It limits new supply and you dont need to worry about streets being crammed with cars, or townies/multi storey tower built next door covering you in darkness and peaking into your backyard.

I find most developments in the area are usually very tasteful and rarely cookie cutter