Hi, I am thinking to buy a unit in West Footscray but I am a little bit concerned by the supply in this area. I read that there are a lot of high rise buildings approved in Footscray and I was wondering if it will provide an oversupply for the neighbourhood suburbs. Does anyone have some data for the ratio supply/demand for West Footscray? Would also appreciate your local knowledge about this area.
Hi Julia, West Footscray is one of the suburbs I have also been keeping an eye on in Melbourne for units due to its proximity to the CBD, however I am still unsure hopefully some other PC members can shed some light Regarding the supply /demand it currently sits at 55 (50 where supply=demand) and has been trending down for the last 6 months.
Footscray market is moving fast. Personally, I would not buy a apartment there unless close to the Maribyrnong river. New buildings are planned in and around Footscray. Others can shed light on it The growth rate data for units in Footscray, Maribyrnong can be deceptive. If you could afford 450K for a 2 bed room and you definitely want an apartment, I would consider South Kensington, Flemington or Newmarket. If your are targeting a single level villa unit, avoid main roads and look for one with a parking spot.
@Julia why buy a unit in footscray? it has been negative growth for units in that area for a while go further in sunshine or braybrook for larger blocks for the money you pay in footscray.
I would be staying well clear of Units and Townhouses in Melbourne at the moment. They seem to be going up absolutely everywhere in the inner and middle ring suburbs. I think oversupply is going to be an issue sooner rather than later.
just have to be selective. friend of mine bought landed unit in 4 in camberwell 600K, did minor reno and flipped it for 900K in a space of 3-4 months. camberwell houses and even townhouses command 1.2-3 mil prices - so there is really a gap in house and landed unit prices. Hence someone who wanted to be in the area with some land content was happy to settle for 900K as oppose to 1.2 mil. Understanding the median in the area is important to realize your gain. if you buy too high above the median, you either getting a lower return on investment or cutting yourself short on valuations. in south melbourne, middle park, albert, carlton (blue chip suburbs) majority of places are all townhouses. Even point cook are selling townhouses for like 330-350K.
There are townhouses in Taylors Lakes, Taylors Hill, Caroline Springs, etc too. These places are 25kms+ from the CBD and they get terrible capital growth on the Townhouses. Can't understand why you would buy a townhouse there for an investment (and people do). You make a fair point about knowing the particular suburb, my knowledge of Camberwell is zero, so I would never have seen that opportunity.
for places you have just mentioned - these would be better utilized as home and land packages on landed property 400-550sqm as the way to go. If it was south melbourne townhouses was 1 million about 3-4 years ago. now is about 1.75 million. i would only go for units that make returns higher than the average (west footscrap apartments - no) however cbd apartment the return can basically outweigh any capital growth if done properly. there are people making 40K on the side positive per year on leasing alone.
Townhouses in Footscray are a good choice if they are freestanding and on their own block, not in a complex. I've seem some recent results where these sell quite well. They're rarer but out there. For example - Sold Price for 19A Liverpool Street Footscray Vic 3011
