WA Thoughts on Parkwood/Lynwood/Willetton?

Hi guys,

I'm keen to hear people's thoughts on Parkwood, Lynwood and Willetton (and possibly surrounds) as investment grade suburbs with above average capital growth potential and developable blocks. They are in my price range and I've seen a couple of sites but my knowledge of the areas' fundamentals is patchy at best.

 

I know @Colin Rice , @thatbum , @sanj and @Phase2 have mentioned in the past. Any updated thoughts?

 

Some quick thoughts off the top of my head:
PROS

• Good school zones (Willeton, Lynwood, Rossmoyne);
• Access to jobs in canning vale;
• Pretty good provision of parks/open space;
• Planned Metronet Thornlie-Cockburn connection means possible new train stations (and new development) at Nicholson Rd and Ranford Rd;
• Major upgrades planned at nearby Westfield Carousel.

CONS

• Not as close to CBD or other major centres (Joondalup, Freo) as other areas I am interested in (Bayswater, East Vic Park, Padbury and surrounds);
• Most houses aren't within walking distance to shops and other amenities;
• No other obvious catalysts for gentrification/capital growth (that I know of yet).

Please add to these and/or disagree with what I've said!

 

I think there's quite a big difference between Lynwood/Parkwood areas and Willetton/Rossmoyne areas, and they really aren't comparable at all.

The latter is the catchment for those quality high schools that are especially in demand, particularly with asian families I find.

The former I personally think are a bit overrated generally and I'd be surprised if they performed better than other suburbs in that price bracket in the future.

 

I'm an ex local - I've lived in all the suburbs (Rossmoyne, Willetton, Ferndale, Bull Creek, Leeming, Riverton and Parkwood).

Reality is that Lynwood, Ferndale, Langford could be equalised to Nollamara, Westminster, Balga. Of course money can be made in any demographic but they are demographic with a * that might lead to dodgier tenants. I wouldn't be classifying Lynwood high as a popular school in the same breath as Willetton/Rossmoyne

The other suburbs are a cut above but I'm mainly talking PPOR grade cut above which doesn't always tally to CG/Investment gains. There probably is a nice middle ground in Willetton, Riverton, Shelley which also have a fairly good proximity to Curtin Uni.

If you throw Curtin Uni in the mix then consider some of the parts of Manning in the reasonably priced part (north of Manning Rd)

 

BTW If you measure suburbs like Bull Creek, Leeming and Willetton as distance to CBD they are closer than a lot of suburbs people consider close in the NOR.

 

Difference with Lynnwood is that it's on the border of cannington which will be unrecognisable in a decade and which is just down the road from Vic park which is also down the road from the eastern end of the CBD and Belmont park, all of which is going to see billions of dollars of development


It will be an example of proper planning leading to good outcomes whereas nollanara and balga is the sort of example of broad Ill thought out redevelopment that authorities are using as examples of what to avoid when working on new town planning schemes all over Perth and as a result I think demographically will be superior to nollamara etc within a decade

Re the query, it again comes down to budget. A 500-600 budget would likely lead to better outcomes in an area like Lynwood over willetton

 

More than willetton imo there were some great buys in salter point in 2016/7 and some good ones in Manning too but in both cases a bit more cash needed than Lynwood etc

 

I would throw Queens Park in the mix, especially the part that is close to Cannington.

 

Personally I prefer Lynwood as the dero element is lower, and I'm speaking as someone who has a bucket load of thuggish ruggish friends who went to lynwood high. Queens park seems to have less long term families in the area helping temper the boganity vs lynwood

 

I agree, in terms of ammenity and proper planning over a decade there will be some winners there. I don't know if feasibility stacks up today but @theperthurbanist is now on a roll doing feasibilities and will enjoy doing some more

 

Not too familiar with Lynwood but Queens Park changed quite a bit with small new estates and owner occupiers moving in. Still bogan areas around like most suburbs.

 

Yeah but to me it's like nollamara where haphazard planning and redevelopment means that the area will improve but not as much as it would have ifndone properly

 

Thanks for the responses so far guys.

Which suburbs in that price bracket do you prefer @thatbum ?

 

Hmm, I had heard good things recently about Lynwood Senior High. Do you guys go off stats/ratings (Myschool website? Naplan?) or general reputation (which is a lot harder to quantify and research) @thatbum @Westminster ?

 

FYI it is mainly Parkwood I'm interested in at present (as there are a couple of sites I am looking at right now).

I am trying to form a picture of whether it would be better to invest in the area closer to the Riverton Shopping Centre (close to shops being the main attraction, but also closer to bus route, river, school) or down towards the golf course (closer to planned Nicholson Rd train station/hub, access and/or views of golf course, close to Roe Hwy access, canning vale employment).

Would others agree that closer to the centre would probably be more premium at present, but closer to the new train station may benefit from more of an uplift in the future? How much emphasis would you guys place on a 'planned' train station 2km away?

 

Details of Metronet Thornlie-Cockburn Link:

• Included in the State Budget is $536 million to extend the Thornlie Line to Cockburn Station on the Mandurah Line, including two new stations at Nicholson Road and Ranford Road.
• Nicholson Road Station provides an opportunity for the development of an integrated, transit oriented centre for the Huntingdale, Langford and Canning Vale communities, through a mix of housing, employment and convenience retail.
• 25-27 minutes to Perth CBD.
• The Project Definition Plan will be finalised in the first half of 2018. Construction is planned to start in 2019.

Metronet > Projects > Thornlie-Cockburn Link

 

Are all other things equal between the sites otherwise? Because to be honest, this sort of stuff is a bit further down the list on factors for me in importance compared to other things specific to each site.

For example, the size and shape of the lot, the potential construction costs and end product being developed, etc etc.

In other words, go for the best project that makes you the most profit, rather than the fluffy "this area might be slightly better in the future" factors.

 

Even you plan to hold for 20 years? *which I may or may not do.

Always interesting to hear others’ opinions, and you are the second person to say that to me this week (deal > location). I am definitely a ‘start with a good area; then find a good deal’ not ‘find a good deal; then see if the area is good enough’ sort of person, though my strategy has always historically been develop-to-hold long term so capital growth prospects matter a lot. Always happy to be convinced otherwise though.

 

Its alright to have your personal preferences on these sort of things - I'm not necessarily adamant that mine is the only way.

My personal views are that growth prospects are just a long educated guess at best, and a complete dartboard at other times - so why not focus your energy/DD and effort on the things (and numbers) you can control right now.

I don't like starting with an area first, because I find it artificially limiting in terms of what sites you can find. Even if you find the "best" site in an area you want to focus on - well is that really a good project if you can easily get better numbers on a comparable project somewhere else?