NSW Sydney PPOR for $1.2ish

Need a bit of help deciding where to look for a place to live in Sydney.

The dream was always to find something, in need of a good reno, close to family in the northern beaches/upper north shore areas. However $1.2 mill doesn't go too far in these areas so I'm trying open the search up.

I know the rest of Sydney well, but not from a good/bad place to live perspective. So just after some anecdotal advice.
What other areas would you be looking at in my shoes?

Looking for preferably for a house but possibly a townhouse
Transport options and commute time to city for work is a priority.
Good schools nearby is obviously a plus but not a huge deal at this point in time

 

There are a lot of options. How long a commute to the city can you live with? Whats the minimum number of bedrooms? How new?

 

i was on the same boat,
i know this is not applicable,
i only bought at the start of december,

if you dont mind townhouse with strata, Ryde was an area that we could buy something at 1.2m prior (or same radius from the city on all direction apart from east.

south west probably cheapest and you get most for your money. if u dont mind being there aka bexley, beverlyhills, lakemba, etc etc

most important is the commute, how long you can accept to be in communte each way, and you narrow down your search grid very quickly

 

I guess around 45 - an hour door to door would be good. I have a bigger issue with the complexity of the transport e.g. having to get a bus and two different trains rather then a 10-15 minute walk and one train straight through.

Looking for minimum 3 beds, 4 would be good but I have no interest in a mini mansion with 5 beds 4 living spaces and 5 bathrooms. Something reasonably small and easy to maintain.

Not too bothered by age as long as it's been built well and its something I can work with. Not afraid of a fixer upper.

Ryde is definitely somewhere I have been looking at although it seems a bit exxy, hopefully some more stock comes out in the next few months and some stuff pops up in the surrounding suburbs.

As for the South west it's probably the area I know the least about, so definitely look for some advice about those suburbs.

 

You could have easily bought in North Epping early to mid 2019. Now prices have climbed back up...

 

Upper north shore feasible near hornsby say asquith, mount colah but difficult below hornsby say wahroonga, waitara etc.

 

Yeah the rebound has been quite sharp.
I was actually having a browse during the downturn so I only have myself to blame.

I was more focused on the beaches though where there was very limited stock available. Still though with the benefit of hindsight there was a few gems that slipped through.

Can only look ahead now though...

 

Thanks for this suggestion I'll definitely be keeping an eye out in these areas as more properties become available.

They seem like nice quiet and safe suburbs, just not sure how I'd go finding a place close to the station in the price range. There are parts of Mt Colah that are a 10-15 minute drive to the station and then an hour train ride from there.

 

tbh, its not for everyone the south west, take a few weeks look around have a good look
its process of elimination, the more you see the more you know what you want,
problem is it becomes more expensive.

i started in june, bought in december,

hey its not like we are buy a phone every year right ? its not that easy.

 

I have researched for more than 4 months last year and purchased last Nov in Asquith. You can easily get walking distance to station unless you want 1000sqm flat land.

East side of both suburbs expensive say 100-200K more than west but west side definitely you will get in your 1.2m budget.

 

I had a bit of a short scout around there the other week. Hornsby looked livable. Waitara came across as a bit of a lifeless satellite suburb to Hornsby. The bits of Wharoonga I drove through looked like it was getting expensive and north-shore-ish.