NSW Recommendations <$550K in Sydney(ish)? PPOR

Discussion in 'Where to Buy' started by trustnoone, 10th Apr, 2021.

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  1. trustnoone

    trustnoone Well-Known Member

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    Hi all, looking for a place under the $550K mark, preferably around $500K. Would love to be <15 minutes walk to station and groceries (groceries not as important as I can do delivery). But I'm trying to get as close as possible to Central (in case work from home changes).

    Current thoughts right now are Toongabbie, Blacktown or Merrylands.

    A key part though (which I'm internally wrestling with), a lot of people are looking entirely on investment. While it will be great for that, part of me does feel that "as long as I have a nice place to live, close enough to the station and groceries" even if it doesn't rise in price, I still am happy to just live there (and actually paying towards my first place!). Still though, if there is a chance it go's up to, thats even better!

    Current thoughts which could be very wrong (and in some cases I kind of hope I am):
    Toongabbie: [apartment] C18/35 Toongabbie Road, Toongabbie NSW 2146 | Domain
    • Pro: Absolutely love this place, close to station/groceries. Easyish (though not major station) to get to parra and central for shopping and new so I get the $10k grant (helps on deposit) and well new just is pretty.
    • Con: New means over priced and likely 5 years time something will happen. And from what I see online Toongabbie doesn't have the best growth. I also see other housing construction which likely means apartment prices going down more?
    Blacktown: [townhouse] 25-27 Fifth Avenue, Blacktown NSW 2148 | Domain
    • Pro: Town House means better stability in price and I think Blacktown is growing? It also looks nice and is brick!
    • Cons: Far away from Central which is a bit of a shame, I feel like if I start getting too far from the shopping centre then I may as well not live near one and go cheaper. I also always saw myself sitting on a balcony lol.
    Merrylands: [apartment] a few various ones:
    • Pro: I hear a lot of nice development starting up near there, and great for growth. It also have great shopping stuff near by from what I hear.
    • Cons: For some reason a lot of my Sydney friends have a very bad view of the suburb and I worry that "thought" will just be stuck in some peoples heads when trying to sell. ALSO its surprisingly not as cheap as it was months ago unless my search filters are off I think others are seeing it as a great centre for growth that it starting to level out a bit?

    Would love to hear others thoughts, I'm so new to this and fairly early in my search that any advice probably will help. Thanks!
     
  2. Trainee

    Trainee Well-Known Member

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    your first place is unlikely to be your last place. When you have a family.... if it goes up it will be a lot easier to upgrade. Buying ppor doesnt mean you dont aim for growth. You likely dont have the time or money to afford a ppor that doesnt grow if you want to invest for retirement.

    A lot easier to invest if you can use equity as well.
     
    Last edited: 10th Apr, 2021
  3. Trainee

    Trainee Well-Known Member

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    so......
     
  4. Henry C

    Henry C Member

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    Hi @trustnoone,

    You can do significantly better for an apartment <$550K in terms of proximity to station, groceries, Central and from an investment perspective whether it be growth or desirability of future tenants.

    In no particular order, I recommend checking out these suburbs for their respective reasons:
    • Kogarah
      • 18 min train to Central
      • Groceries, eateries and two supermarkets right at the station
      • Also close to the airport, Rockdale Plaza and the Brighton-Le-Sands beach and restaurants strip
    • Campsie/Belmore
      • 23 min train to Central
      • Large variety of groceries and restaurants on the main strip with Campsie Centre not far from the station
      • Station will be upgraded to Sydney Metro by 2024 shaving up to 5 mins on a trip to Central
    • Homebush West
      • 23 min train to Central
      • Small Asian groceries and restaurants on one side of Flemington station and the enormous Paddy's Markets Flemington on the other side. You could not see more groceries on a Saturday anywhere in Sydney than here.
      • Very central location in the entire Sydney with 17 min train to Parramatta
    • West Ryde
      • 29 min train to Central
      • Plenty of groceries and restaurants with West Ryde Marketplace being the shopping centre here
      • Possibly the more affluent demographic out of the lot but you may be a tad priced out with your budget
    Note that I am talking about 2 bedroom, older, red/orange brick, walk-up units in small blocks of 6-12 with a budget of $500-550K. Not only may they be better built than newer apartments, they are often in better locations and almost always have better capital growth due to the higher land content they sit on. And because they are smaller blocks and better located, developers may target them.

    Consider how long you intend to live in this property and what you want to do with it after? If you want to keep the apartment as an investment, maybe you want to ask yourself...if I was a renter, would I want to live closer to Sydney CBD (Kogarah, Campsie, Homebush West, West Ryde) or twice as far in Toongabbie, Blacktown and Merrylands?

    Lastly, go take a train to each of these suburbs on the weekend for lunch and see for yourself whether you like them. Searching those suburbs on the search function in the top right corner also helps.

    Keep us posted on how you go.

    Cheers,
    Henry
     
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  5. datto

    datto Well-Known Member

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    Get some land with a house while you still can. I can only think of Mt Druitt.
     
  6. Sannie

    Sannie Well-Known Member

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    When you have no problem buying an apartment , did you look into any of the cheapies in parramatta which may tick your boxes?

    **I haven’t looked at the prices recently, just guessing something or the other would come up time and then.
     
  7. Zeehan

    Zeehan Well-Known Member

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    Very generous response, Henry.
     
  8. Scott No Mates

    Scott No Mates Well-Known Member

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    Very true, many areas offer these types of 1960's -1970's units 3/38-40 Ferguson Avenue, Wiley Park NSW 2195 | Domain

    This one is a little newer & close to Wiley Park Station 13/299 Lakemba Street, Wiley Park NSW 2195 | Domain

    Or a new one a little further from the station Punchbowl NSW 2196 - 2 beds apartment for Sale, $519,000 - 2016885187 | Domain

    Note that the train line is being converted to a frequent Metro service direct to Central.

    However, there are plenty of sub-$500k older 2/1/1 units in the area should the OP be open to it (close to Campsie), Woolies nearby etc.
     
    Last edited: 12th Apr, 2021
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  9. skater

    skater Well-Known Member

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  10. datto

    datto Well-Known Member

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    That’s cheap!
     
  11. skater

    skater Well-Known Member

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    I know.
     
  12. thunderstrike888

    thunderstrike888 Well-Known Member

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    As above get some land and free standing house. Above example is probably the best your going to get. Wouldn't be surprised if it sold for over asking as most houses are these days.

    Soon nothing in Sydney is going to be under $650k for a free standing house no matter what suburb you look in. Get in now!!!!

    Rent where you want to live and invest in land and houses.
     
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  13. Scott No Mates

    Scott No Mates Well-Known Member

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  14. skater

    skater Well-Known Member

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    A bit of patch & paint & you're done.
     
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  15. thunderstrike888

    thunderstrike888 Well-Known Member

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    That house is like the easiest renovation project anyone could take on. 2 weeks smash it out and it will be up for rent. If someone is willing to do most the work I think < $5k completely done.

    Paint, blinds, new taps & showerhead, probably new toilet. Easy peasy that one.
     
  16. Scott No Mates

    Scott No Mates Well-Known Member

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    Exactly.
     
  17. Gockie

    Gockie Life is good ☺️ Premium Member

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    Go for the house on land as the others have been talking about!
     
  18. Never giveup

    Never giveup Well-Known Member

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    I am not fan of Units/Apartment but if new airport has direct train line to St marys then is it worth buying a unit near station ?
     
  19. skater

    skater Well-Known Member

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    It depends....

    Is that all you can afford, and you want to get into the market?
    Have you done your research, and have determined that St Mary's is for you?
    Is the yield comfortable for you?
    Are you buying an older unit or looking to something new & off the plan?
     
  20. Never giveup

    Never giveup Well-Known Member

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    No research and DD yet as not commited at this stage but something like this that is no high rise-
    7/6 Putland Street, St Marys, NSW 2760 https://www.realestate.com.au/property-apartment-nsw-st+marys-137828042