troioitroi

We are living in London and looking for jobs in Melbourne. We bought a 3-bedroom house in the suburbs of London a few years ago at £245,000.

May I ask how expensive the houses in Melbourne compared to London? If you want to buy a 3-bedroom house in Melbourne, how much can it be?

My sincere thanks,

sr71

Anywhere from $300k to $millions

Buzzy--Bee

Hi, we also came from London to Melbourne. A lot depends on what part of Melbourne you want to live in, or can afford. A 3 bed in Frankston, by the beach but 50kms from the city, could cost around $350,000. A 3 bed near the city could well cost $1.5 - 2 million or more.

BB

troioitroi

Thank you so much for your prompt replies.

May I ask which websites one should use to find a house in Melbourne? In the UK, as you know, Rightmove is one of the most popular sites.

Regards,

Buzzy--Bee

www.realestate.com.au

www.domain.com.au

If you tell me which area you live in London, I could advise you of a comparable type area in Melbourne.

BB

troioitroi

@Buzzy-Bee: Thanks a lot for your kindness.

We are living in the Havering borough.

Regards,

ozzieeagle

Out Hornchurch way ? So thats a fair way out, you should be able to compare places like Frankston as Buzzy said. You should get like for like on your figure... IE: A decent 3 bed for circa 400 to 460 K.

Basically anywhere in zone 1 your looking at 550 plus... Zone 2 gets a fair bit cheaper. The premium areas from a price point of view are around the tram network.

Havering flummoxed me a bit, and left me slightly embarrassed as I call myself a Londoner and wasn't sure where it was. Although I knew it wasn't anywhere in the old "ILEA" Left me wondering if it was called something different pre 1980 ? left this old Lewisham boy confused thats for sure

troioitroi

Thanks a lot. ozzieeagle. I've just looked at houses in Frankston, and some houses are really lovely.

Is there a website to look for good primary/secondary schools, in order to combine with house info from realestate.com.au?

My sincere thanks,

sr71

That's not a statement you hear very often

I mean Melbourne doesn't really have any really crappy areas like some places in London, but Frankston is a long way out and has a reputation for being a bit of a redneck area.

Personally I'd choose the West over Frankston, so Werribee, Tarneit, Point Cook, Laverton, Altona Lakes, Wyndham Vale, Hoppers Crossing etc.

NickyC

I think it used to be called Essex..

My OH is from the Havering area. When he lived there it was in Essex. Now it looks like it's morphed into being a Borough of London.

Buzzy--Bee

...perpetuated by people who don't live there and don't know the area....

Parts of Frankston are really very nice, eg anywhere in South Frankston, Frankston Heights, the areas around Tower Road, Kars Street etc.

Gould Street is multi-million dollar beachfront property.

BB

sr71

Thought we were discussing $350k houses?

At least I'm honest about a suburb, even Sunshine has nice pockets.

Anyway, my point is I'd rather live 20-25km out on the West, rather than 55km out on the South-East, especially if commuting to the city. Despite the bad reputation of the Westgate I can be in the city in 20 mins at the weekends or off-peak, and the Werribee line trains take 28 mins from Williams Landing to Southern Cross. (or if you want to save money Laverton is still Zone 1)

ozzieeagle

Good call re Sunshine, if I were to advise a migrating family member where to buy, so as to realise some potential decent capital growth in a close in area it would be one of those decent Sunshine pockets now. (Tip for OP do a google road map tour around Cornwall st down to Parsons and Matthews)

Dont know anything about the schools there though.

Footscray, my previous future gem, is now too expensive.

Hmmm just realised that housing culture shock could rear it's head here.... Melburnians for the most part would see a character filled older weatherboard on a well kept, mature tree lined street, far more desirable and superior to a new build on a fringe housing estate. Which is one of the myriad of reasons, why it's best to rent and get a feel for Melbourne/Aus first.

sr71

Taking out the property price appreciation arguments, traditionally Melbournians have been particularly anal about property and where you live. Particularly the east/west divide.

Now of course that is disappearing fast due to affordability and overcrowding in the traditional areas.

Having lived in an older weatherboard place, I have no intention of ever doing that again. The general dampness, coldness in winter and hotness in summer mean that new build are much nicer to live in.

ozzieeagle

Did my Victorian WB up... from top to bottom, tons of insulation, lots of double glazing, you name it, it's been done, cost me 230K in reno costs !

Peed off that I ran out of money for 100 pct self sufficient solar power and water tanks though, which was meant to be a given when I started.... and a new car and a decent holiday... It was meant to cost less than 150K. At least I can walk to an almost endless choice of everything I want though. We have a stupid number of Kebab shops it must be said here in Coburg though.