Hi It appears people on propertychat have a great deal of knowledge of the geelong property market. I currently have one property in whittington (wilsons rd) and in corio both purchased between 2012-2013.. both rented out to long term tenants. At the moment we are playing with the idea of buying a family home in the more desirable suburbs like highton/newtown or in places like perth or adelaide for 800-900k plus. Not sure if the market will keep going up in whittington and corio and if the price correction will occur resulting in price drops. Feels like there may be another 2 more yrs to go in terms of growth.. but at the same time worried about if this means places like highton and desirable places in perth And adelaise will also jump up in the next two yrs hence we miss out getting a Spacious family home in a nice Suburb with desirable schools. This has been the case for manifold heights, where we were keen to purchase and now everything seems to go around a million plus. Some ppl advised us to keep renting and hold on and hopefully be in a financial situation to subdivide wilsons rd (just under 800 sqm) but it appears like wilsons rd is not that appealing compared to the quiet pockets like regents and townsends. It would be great if anyone who knows the geelong market to share their insight to our dilemma . Thanks for reading!
If you bought into Geelong back in 12/13, then you would've made quite a bit of CG in the last 24 months. Are the properties looking after themselves now? i.e. rent covers all outgoings If they are, then the next question would be how much can you still borrow for your PPOR assuming you continue to hold these 2 IPs. Your mortgage broker would be able to advise you on this. And while you're at it, you can also check how much you can borrow should you get rid of these 2 IPs so you have 2 options (or more) to play with and can simulate what the repayments would be like in each scenario. That way you have budget for next PPOR, repayments and then assess in terms of your comfortability. The other factor to consider is deposit for your next family home. Let's say you want to contribute 20% deposit for the next family home at $800K, that's about $160K you'll need. Plus stamp duty etc which will take you around $200K. If you haven't got the cash required then yes you may need to sell one of the IP to realize profit and contribute towards the cash shortfall in order to make that purchase. No one has crystal ball on how long Geelong will continue to grow, but I believe with all the current indicators of job growth, Avalon Airport turning international, regional rail connections project etc...it won't let you down if you continue to hold it for long term. Cheers, David
Thank you for your time and your thoughtful post David. I've enjoyed reading your posts on propertychat. Yes re: geelong, Ive been looking at houses for a family from sydney last weekend and realised that belmont is going for some st albans vic house price at the moment
Yes, but I think Belmont will always be a desirable location for owner occ/families. Belmont primary being in the top 10% of the state presents very attractive proposition for young families who seek decent education. Plus proximity to Geelong CBD for employment, access to hospitals, arterial links, High Street retail/cafe...I believe there's a reason why this suburb is at it's current price and will do relatively well long term. Definitely a good family suburb to live in. Funnily enough if you look carefully Belmont prices haven't actually gone up that much in the last 12 months - only around 10% which is below Geelong's average. Whereas the lower priced markets like Corio/Newcomb has shot up around 30% in the equivalent time frame because of affordability. If the family is moving from Sydney then I'm sure they'll be pleasantly surprised at what Belmont has on offer with it's current price Cheers, David
I would be fairly wary, lots has changed in the last year and I feel we will see overall drop in markets for areas such as this, should notice in next year, so don't expect the same growth you have seen since 2010
Geelong has a great deal going for it from a commercial and geographical perspective. As mentioned by @David Shih , the Avalon airport will be responsible for significant job growth. For instance, it is simply not possible to have an international flight offering without customs staff, federal police, baggage handlers etc. Then of course there is job growth in other areas as head offices start to migrate to the area. Road and rail infrastructure is present (and a daily commuter ferry to Melbourne), as are several hospitals and medical facilities. Then of course there are several beaches, which are great for quality of life. One such beach is quite literally in the CBD and folks head to it during the lunch hour for a bit of a swim or kayak. Lovely.
