VIC Thoughts on these Corio / Norlane Properties

hi guys, been reading extensively on Geelong regions and wanted to get your thoughts on these two properties. @Dave3214 and @David Shih would love to hear your thoughts:

587 Thompson Road Norlane Vic 3214 - House for Sale #125776666 - realestate.com.au

40 Canadian Parade Corio Vic 3214 - House for Sale #125835858 - realestate.com.au

and specifically this which im seriously considering, west of thomsons road. Rental of $320/week, can pick it up for $330k:
4 Barcelona Street Norlane Vic 3214 - House for Sale #125794762 - realestate.com.au

 

My investor clients are flocking to Norlane and not touching Corio.

 

Word!

 

Thommo Rd, it's in a handy spot but it is a busy road, that's the only thing against it i'd suggest. It's quite close to my place in fact, just a couple of hundred metres away from Dunloe Ave.

36 Dunloe, a 2-1-1 on a similar sized block but probably an older and less impressive house sold for $283K, which is the cheapest price in Dunloe for a while. But other places like 538 Thompson Rd sold for $355K a few months ago, and a couple of older houses that needed work done on them at 490 and 492 Thompson Rd sold for cheaper prices some time earlier.

This link might be quite interesting, showing sold prices for Norlane over a fair period of time.

Norlane - Property Sold Prices

40 Canadian Pde, just over the road from Corio Village, and in a good spot as far as commuting either to Melbourne or Geelong. It's an attractive price...$239-$259K, almost land value, there's a half block for sale nearby that's selling for about $159k!

11A Granault Parade Corio Vic 3214 - Residential Land for Sale #201771226 - realestate.com.au

11 Granault Parade, half size block just around the corner for $159K....well the whole block for $239k-259k sounds good on that basis. That's about as cheap anything is here now....and it's now slightly below the Norlane median, and below Corio's even if the house might need a litle work.

4 Barcelona, it's in a nice street, and you're one turn off the ring road there, with no traffic lights until Wurundjeri Way! It's the standard European style 70's type house which is similar to those in Bell Park or Bell Post HiIl, and it will be interesting to see what that will go for at auction. Might even pop along myself to see, it's not far from my place as well. If it's under $300K then it's not bad buying. Depending on how much above $300K it goes for, it then starts to reach prices that are around the mark for parts of Newcomb and Thomson, which are closer to Geelong's CBD. But i can say that living in Dunloe for over 7 years, i've had no issues here insofar as crime or unpleasantness.

 

Thanks @Dave3214 .. very helpful insights as always. Much appreciated.

I liked 587 Thomson's Road as it's s bigger block decent house, with scope to subdivide in future just not sure how much of a negative the main road will be.

Barcelona is 580squares but looking st the block and house placement not real room to subdivide. It's more a case of a nicer street, hold and hope the price goes up. Agent reckons 330k will buy it now before auction.. you think that's too high @Dave3214 given other sales west of Thomson's road area?

 

Norlane West? The houses nearer to the station looks horrible to me but prices are very tempting. I reckon if one pops up near the north shore station, that would be very popular with the future plan looking to turn that area around the station to mixed use.

 

The Barcelona St one look very pretty and I really like the floor plans. I wouldn't pay $330k for it even for the "brick premium" but who knows, it could be OO paradise there and you could go the CG play.

No comments on the others as I generally prefer something within 1.2km from the station as I believe this maximises the number of potential tenants that would be interested in it.

 

Hey mate, whats your thoughts on the Geelong Grammar School? Does it have a good reputation there in Geelong and would you send your kids there?

 

Ask Prince Charles and Rupert Murdoch.

 

What about Gordon Tafe, where i did year 12 after dropping out of High School in regional NSW...?

 

Can I ask a local, what is the empty land between the Princes Hwy and Corio Station? Is there a pathway directly across? Is it future commercial land?

 

It has a great reputation....But you'd need a Sydney property to afford the fees! It's upwards of $30K a year i think for tuition, so not too many locals would be able to even contemplate that as an option. It's funny in a way, as when i drove taxis, regularly we'd take kids to and from the school to Corio Village, a nice mix of the social sets there. But in all seriousness, there was never any issues at all, no problems whatsoever when they'd do their shopping and hanging out.

Not sure proximity to North Shore station is the be all and end all for getting tenants, as i'd envisage many would still be working in Geelong anyway, and the city is small enough to drive anywhere without too much hassle traffic wise. It would be handy for Melbourne commuting, but strangely enough many such commuters prefer the suburbs further from Melbourne, such as the new estates South of the Barwon River, or even along the coast. It's a bit of a Geelong paradox, but i am hoping as time goes by the shorter commute the Northern suburbs offers, and the absence of the congested traffic that now bedevils some of the new estates around Armstrong Creek getting into Geelong might change that perception.

 

The Canadian Parade, Corio property - it has a power line out the front on. Is this an issue for potential development in future or any other barrier which would negate the value?

 

re powerline? isn't that normal? Unless it is a very high voltage powerline, i can't see how it will negate property value.

 

That's a normal power pole - it won't matter in the grand scheme of things.

This is more what you want to avoid:

These are the huge power poles just to the right of Matthews Rd in Corio.

Back to your original post. @Dave3214 has already given an extensive analysis of the properties you've pointed out. I'll add a couple more things from investment angle:

587 Thompson:
Like others said on a main road so will always have location issue which is not something money can solve. If you can get it for a cheap price then can consider. Apart from that photo of house looks fine - not much work required. The block looks neat - potential ripe for an easy front & back subdivision!

40 Canadian:
From memory this property has been on market since last week so may potentially already under contract or in negotiation. Location and again the block is what I like about this property, but expect to do a fair chunk of work on the house itself before you can get a decent rent.

4 Barcelona:
330K is too much - median price in Norlane is only about 250K so you'll be paying lots of profit to the current owner! Also not sure how you got rental as $320/week? On the page it says *potential* rental income $280-300/week...and you might want to check with a couple of PMs as well just to get a feel of the possible rent you can get for this place. But to me the number doesn't add up as an investment, plus I would avoid buying anything shiny and new because someone has done the hard work getting the cosmetic reno done and now they will want their profit share.

Good luck with your hunting!

 

Wow could get houses there on 600spm-900sqm blocks for 150k only 2 years ago (Norlane).

Prices in Melbourne have gone crazy everywhere. Except for Hastings and Warburton East. Almost bought a block in Cockatoo a year ago for 110k. Can't find anything there under 250k now. The block also might've only sold for 75k (it was ridiculously steep/unfeasible) but I never chased it up. 13sqm pole house at the time on the same street (same size block) sold for 340k

 

Yep spoke to the agent yesterday this one's under offer and went for over the price range. According to the agents most houses in that area are selling within a week and over asking.

Another example: This one is under offer for 320k

10 Ovens Court Corio Vic 3214 10 Ovens Court Corio Vic 3214 - House for Sale #125819902 - realestate.com.au

 

Also James Packer

 

Or was it Kerry?

 

Starting to sound like all the current value is being absorbed at those prices.