ACT Quaenbeyan - Is it a good location to buy a 2 bed Unit

Hi Guys,

Quaenbeyan East - Is it a good location to buy a 2 bed Unit at around $200,000 as of now ?

In general, is quaenbeyan a good location from the economy and standards perspective ?

Thank you

 

Queanbeyan is so close to Canberra that is is really part of the ACT economy, however is located in NSW of course. The positives are:
- Its like an outer suburb of Canberra but a bit cheaper than the Canberra outer suburbs
- It is a town in itself so has it's own economy plus it's part of the wider ACT economy
- No land tax until you reach a threshold (unlike Canberra which hits every investor hard, as there is no threshold)
- Population growth in the Canberra/Queanbeyan area is high (2.2% last year) and the ACT economy is solid long term (60000 public servant jobs, well paid). Stable economy in general.
Negatives:
- Queanbeyan is a lower socio demographic, particularly for those cheaper units. Could have tenant issues
- ACT/Queanbeyan housing market has just had a good growth cycle for houses (not apartments) and that cycle is over and it's now come off it's peak slightly.
- Units have not grown in the whole region and not forecast to grow in the next few years
- Some of those areas where the cheaper units are can be pretty rough - I wouldn't buy there without going there to have a look. Some are fine but in areas like Queanbeyan, Logan, Werribee I want to be there on the ground to check it out.

A house in Queanbeyan/Googong might do well in the long term, but its a poor time to buy right now, at the end of a good growth cycle
Units I wouldn't buy for capital growth for the short or long term and not in Queanbeyan. If I was to buy a unit I would target Kingston or Braddon as yields are high, or on the light rail line (with a couple of mins walk of a stop in Franklin/Harrison/Gungahlin, but even with those I wouldn't be expecting much capital growth over the next 5 years.

 

Nice comparison Todd. Queanbeyan is quite different than Canberra suburbs although it is only 10 kms away from Canberra boundary.

But one thing which Qbn has which no Canberra suburb provides is that beginner investor can break into the market with just 130k for 1 bed unit and 180-220K for 2 bed unit. Canberra land being leasehold, puts so many things in government hands e.g. they might change a simple building rule like retaining wall over 30cm needs an approval. Or those who have put a sail above 25 square meters need an approval. It suddenly makes you non-compliant and when you go to sell your unit, you are in the red.

Variables and risks to investors are more in Canberra because of highly regulated leasehold ownership. I think net profit (incomings - outgoings) will be same no matter you buy in Canberra or Queanbeyan. I agree that Canberra attracts good tenants and Qbn can attract low socio demography.

 

I agree with the sentiment of the posters above. Overall I'd say
1) better opportunities elsewhere in the country for that price range
2) lower SES

 

While discussing the topic of purchasing in Queanbeyan - can someone highlight the main difference in the buying process between ACT and QBN. As far as I can understand in ACT it is heavily regulated that you need to have all the reports done and every anomaly in the building like layout changes, extensions, surrounding developments and are shown to the buyer to make an informed decision.

How about Qbn?

Do they also have the same level of rigour in their sales contracts or there are pitfalls that the buyers need to be aware of (e.g. seller legally not obiliged to call out things which can bite the buyers later).

I am noticing there where compliant houses are selling in ACT within a week, their Qbn counterparts stay on markets for months and sell for much lower than the advertised price.

 

In the ACT, the vendor presents a building and pest inspection with the contract and then this is reimbursed at settlement.

Im actually in Queanbeyan for work today, first things you notice:
higher trackpants/abandoned cars/P-platers-with-prams per capita than the ACT