VIC Thomastown/Lalor or Footscray/Sunshine?

I’m a first home buyer looking to buy a 2br unit in Thomastown or Lalor as PPOR. Budget is 350K. Is this a wise decision or is it better to consider 1br flats in Footscray West/Sunshine?

There seems to be much more supply of affordable flats in the inner west, and I understand that there’s more infrastructure and facilities in these suburbs. However most of these properties don’t have any private outdoor spaces which is important to me.

Also the hip/trendy areas of Preston, Thornbury and Northcote (suburbs where I socialize), as well as La Trobe Uni, are easily accessed from Thomastown. IMO it makes sense to buy in a suburb close to where my social life is, even if this suburb is further from the CBD than its western counterpart.

My investor friends have advised me to forget “middle ring” suburbs and buy a 1br apartment in the inner north, but I don’t want to live in a shoebox. I’d rather travel an extra 15min on the train for a bigger property. IMO size trumps location but I know that’s an unpopular opinion.

Thoughts?

 

PPoR's are driven by needs and emotions from what I can gather. Do you need a 2 bedder or a 1 bedder. Are/will schools be more important as times goes by? Generally, you should look for a property with the biggest land component you can afford. Older 2/3 bedder walkup units will usually experience more CG than newer 1 bedder shoeboxes.

 

Whichever location you decide to purchase your apartment in, I suggest you also consider the status of the apartment building wrt non-compliant cladding. Noting the State Govt haven't publicly spelt out the details of their compensation plan, you may want to have at least considered the consequences if a block has non-compliant cladding.

From recent experience of looking at properties in some of the areas you have mentioned, its a huge issue. Whilst the higher risks are for >3-storey residential blocks, it is impossible to determine if a block is affected simply by looking at it.

 

Can you look at Reservoir? There seems to be a lot of new 2 bedder unit/townhouses recently, pushing the older stock price down.