james the cat

We are in the process of selling our house and will be off to Sydney in July/August. We will realistically be able to afford a house for no more than AU$400,000, will we have to live in a slum, or 50miles away from sydney, or both, as I have been led to believe.
What are the decent area's to start looking in - I would appreciate any help as I don't know any of the suburbs.

Cuddles

Hi we were recommended the Central coast. Its about an hours drive away so not too far. We have looking at areas like Avoca Beach, Terrigal, Gosford. Have been told they are lovely but do not have first hand experience of them ourselves. Hope this helps a little.

Carruss

Have you tried any of the real estate sites just to see what you can afford etc?

This one is quite popular throughout Oz although they do seem to take pictures in a strange way......not really making the most of the properties etc.

http://www.ljhooker.com.au/

Merlot

Can be a long commute to Sydney if you are working, average 2 hours each way everyday

Grayling

Also
$400.000 will not get you anything more than an average property on the Central coast from what I have seen.

Good luck

G

Merlot

When I first moved there that sort of money would get a very desirable place Mind still that ruddy commute!

hayleyhails

I know sydney is expensive but i visited in dec/jan and stayed with my friends family, their son bought a house in matraville 3 bed garden garage etc... for $450,000

He was going to look at Cronulla, bit cheaper and has amazing beach loads of facilities and is an up and coming area. It is about 40 mins drive into th city centre. If you look in that area a bit back from the shore you should find something reasonable in your budget.

hope this helps

hayley

Grayling

It was a lot less when I first went.

Prices have certainly changed

G

Merlot

The investor/first time buyer places in Point Clare were around $150,000 to 180,000 in April 2001, now they seem to be more $320,000 upwards.

M

atlantatoaus

Hi
We were thinking the same thing.I was appalled at the prices in sydney I do not understand how Average aussies ever buy houses when salaries are so low
Anyways my 2 cents on this is if you do want to live in sydney why dont you look at buying a apartment?It would be much much cheaper and within city limits
regards
Priya

Merlot

Good thought if you enjoy apartment living, we did in our first 4 years in Sydney but once we had moved up the Coast and had space and houses, it is hard to go back.

But yes, a possible to get on the housing ladder but these apartments are sometimes over priced for what you get.

Then the neighbours . . . . :scared:

M

Cuddles

We are mainly going to Sydney because of my husbands company. We also need to be quite near Westmead hospital as my son needs ongoing treatment for clubfoot. We looked into this area but it seemed really expensive. We will not have the need to comute to Sydney itself as my husband will be based from home so thats not too bad for us. The trip to the hospital is only once or twice a year and we travel an hour now. Any other recomendations would be great if central coast is that far out.

Nicky & Dave

We researched property prices when we were over in Sydney in Feb, and our impressions were that we would be looking at paying an average price of $450k for a 3 bed detached with about 750/1000 sqm, and prices rose the closer to the city centre we looked.

We focused mainly on the Northern suburbs like Asquith/Berowra, which has good rail links and are only about an 45min commute into central Sydney. We're looking at these areas mainly because we already have family out there, but also we like the area - close to the bush, good schools etc.

I found some info on the web - I'll try to find it and send it through to you.

Regards,
Nicky

Grayling

Priya

It is not just Sydney.

My son lives in Adelaide (traditionally a cheaper town to live) and prices there have now got to levels that most local people can not comprehend.

There will be cheaper suburbs everywhere but, overall, prices are as bad as they are here.

Unless, of course, you have a BIG wadge of money to take with you.

Sign of the times

G

bondipom

Matraville is good for plane spotting and I guess a good location if you visit Long Bay jail. Renovators delights around there will start at around $450,000. Don't expect much though. Some land has just been released near Maroubra. Starting prices for the land are $900,000 a plot.

Cronulla is a lot more than a 40 minute drive to the city at rush hour. It is however the only beach burb with a railway. www.whereis.com.au times are way to optimistic as are some commute times stated on this site.