Need your opinion guys, no crystal ball talk required. My BIL's looking to purchase an IP. Budget's no greater than $360k. Option 1. House in Thomson. 2x1x1. Solid construction. Small house, large rectangular block. Next to no reno required. Minutes from Geelong's beaches. 5-7min walk to a primary school, TAFE etc Option 2. House in Melton West. 4x2x2. Solid construction. Large house, very irregular corner block. Some cosmetic reno required - paint, carpet, shower, maybe some lighting too. 2-3min walk to primary and secondary schools, large leisure center, 3-5min drive to Woodgrove shopping center. His criteria is good solid growth (he's aware of the recent boom etc etc) and easily rent-able house. I think Option 2 would be easily rent-able for families given the amenities and 4 bedrooms whereas Option 1 would likely experience more growth over time. What do ya'll think? Thank you for your opinions.
Out of those choices, definitely option 2. The days of buying a house in suburban Melb in the mid 300's are numbered. Melton is pretty much the only place you can do this now. It won't stay like that for long. Although having said that, your BIL shouldn't be expecting a massive boom either. We're currently at the tail end of a long growth period.
I would select option 1 myself. Thomson is super close to Geelong CBD and presents excellent value compared to anywhere else a similar distance to Geelong CBD. And it’s on a better block too.
Option 2 is better with the amount of infrastructure being built in the area. It is only 35 minutes away from Melb CBD, 20 minutes away from the Airport. With new estates being built in Rockbank and Melton. New blocks of land around those areas costs $200k - $300k so new houses are going and already $400k +. You don't have the traffic gridlock situation as in point cook as there is only 1 exit, where as in Melton you have Western Fwy all the way through to Westgate Bridge with the new Westgate Tunnel being built, or you can go through towards the M8 way through Caroline Springs. You can also travel through to Geelong as well. This gives more options for Renters as they can work locally or towards the City or even the airport. Geelong on the other hand means you are only renting to people in the area, and a commute to the city is 1 plus hours.
A commute to the city from Thomson is 3 minutes. It’s a commute to a secondary larger city that takes an hour
Thomson also has a nearby neighbor just a kilometre away that has houses in and around the $600K mark. If you stuck a pin in the middle of Geelong's CBD and drew a like three kilometres around, all the nearest suburbs like Geelong West, Drumcondra, South Geelong, East Geelong are very expensive. Whereas Thomson may still offer a glimmer of hope in the 300K's for a (old) house on a regular sized block. Investor swoops at 27 Callander St, Thomson, three-bedroom brick house, wild weather, indoor auction pressure cooker, Maxwell Collins, Eugene Carroll 35 Winstanley Road, Thomson VIC 3219 - House For Sale | Domain But certainly rent-wise the newer 4-2-2 in Melton will be easier to have occupied i guess. Depends on how long one wants to hold the property.
I would probably go for Thomson, based on the following reasons: 1. Employment opportunities & proximity to CBD - Geelong's employment opportunity in CBD is improving day by day and Thomson being so close to Geelong CBD will be a very attractive option for people who work in Geelong CBD. As @G TOWN mentioned, it's a very short distance to commute to work. Whereas I think Melton people will have to commute to Melbourne CBD as the main source of employment hub, and that can take 30+ minutes. 2. Land scarcity - there's no more land at Thomson or surrounding burbs, whereas there are still plenty of land available to build around Melton West. So land scarcity-wise, Thomson has advantage. Over time it's land that increases in value, and having too much land available to build means it may take a while for land to increase in value. Without knowing the specific details such as locations/photos of actual house condition it is quite difficult to make a call which one is better than the other as you almost have to assess it at the house vs house level, so I can only comment in a general sense. Though by the sounds of it both are pretty good options long term Cheers, David
So the BIL went to 35 Winstanley Rd, Thomson's auction today hoping to snap it up. It was quoted at $299k to $335. Ended up going for $412k, way over his budget. That's a whopping $77k or 23% over. The agency has been reported for underquoting. I have had a similar experience with Buxton in the past, twice now.
From memory I've also experienced the same from them in the past. How come they keep getting away with it? I know in NSW there are laws now enforced with underquoting, is there nothing yet in VIC? Cheers, David
Yeah we have laws, some agencies were fined: Only a matter of time before this mob gets the stick too. Such a huge waste of time this has been.
Lived in Thomson for 20 years I have also tried with Buxton they under quote heaps of there listings to draw people in I looked at one in St Albans park listed $330.000 sold for $420.000.
Melton- is still good value, as you cant really buy anything in the west for under 500k, Melton didnt go anywhere for a decade then in 1 year a massive boom, i brought just before it took off in early 2017 3x2x2 320k now valued at 420k, that wont happen again for a very long time i presume