Are Australian Houses worth the money regardless of boom or bust?
 

Regardless of house prices hitting the roof.

Do you think Australian houses are worth the money anyway?

I have recently been dragged around a number of properties in WA around Victoria Park and Bentley.

Real estate agents have called the properties “in need of updating” having gone in and been greeted by what can only be described as compulsive liar.

Who has told me it’s a great location! It just needs a bit of work has had lots of interest! Yada Yada.

I say a liar, as he has been the same bloke at the last three houses and regardless of one being next door to an electrical substation he says the same thing each time.

My question is as most occupiers have done little or nothing to the property in some cases for upwards of 40 years but due to press speculation demand the highest premium price for their property is it really value for money?

The houses have all been around $500,000 and have had original kitchens, bathrooms and on the whole been 3bed 1 bathroom. Also in the UK why do we expect the finish of the house to be desirable as well as location and other features yet in Australia it seems to be purely based on the amount of space on the plot?

If I was paying that in the uk which is now roughly £314,000 I would expect a pretty decent home, not a home I would need to completely gut before moving in.

Who is at fault real estate for not telling the owners it’s a mess or owners for demanding crazy prices for a pretty poor example of a house?

Re: Are Australian Houses worth the money regardless of boom or bust?
 

Absolutely agree with you. As long as there are silly folks willing to pay silly prices for silly houses they will keep asking those prices and getting them. Yes, it's frightening when you convert those dollars into pounds and see what that would be in the UK. Of course, those who pay those prices still believe they can double their purchase price in a few years. That's what keeps the wheel turning.

Re: Are Australian Houses worth the money regardless of boom or bust?
 

Its all about the land, not the value of the house on it. We viewed a lot that were $600K+ with the incoming line 'knock down and rebuild'!!

Re: Are Australian Houses worth the money regardless of boom or bust?
 

To be honest and in my opinion a big fat NO.

At current levels I doubt I'd like to sink a lot of my capital in an illiquid investment here.

Re: Are Australian Houses worth the money regardless of boom or bust?
 

Must be the land here as quite often it is cheaper to knock down and rebuild rather than renovate which is what happened to some friends of ours.

When we were looking at second hand houses quite often everything needed a new kitchen and bathroom. Even houses which were only 5 years old the kitchens needed updating and some of the colours .....well! So we totted it up and decided to build which will come out at the same price without the rennos.

Just as a comparison we are building a 3 bed,2 bath, 2 living, not a huge block but in a good area and even at the current exchange rate (we exchanged at 1.80) it's more or less the same price now as a 3 bed house (no ensuite, 1 lounge) we had in the UK in Horley, Surrey a few years ago - so basically just swapping! So unfortunately none of the gains that would have been made years ago.

To be honest I don't think it seems to bother some Aussies that the kitchen is retro 70's and there is pine cladding on the walls! We saw one house that should have been preserved as a museum piece!

Re: Are Australian Houses worth the money regardless of boom or bust?
 

NO!!!!!!!!

Rental properties are even worse! Kitchen's and Bathroom's seem to be the biggest shockers. Like walking into a time warp sometimes. Brown tiles, Green tiles, dark wood veneer doors, red, blue and yellow worktops, camp style cookers. Bathrooms that have seen 50 years of use. Polyester ceiling tiles. Paisley wallpapers. and psychedelic patterned carpets.

Marketed as 'Original'. For this pleasure, in the lower north shore of Sydney you would expect to pay $650 upwards per week for 3 bed depending on size of garden.

Re: Are Australian Houses worth the money regardless of boom or bust?
 

i havent heard anything about major leaky / rot issues in oz???

in nz best assume you are buying land. unless you can afford substantial older property in great condition or older state housing same assume the whole thing may need knockdown/ rebuilding - kinda wrecks nz house values a bit when you add that fixing rotten costs 3x building new (on average). your basic 15 yr old $600nzd suburban house on 400sqm could easily set you back $1mil+. if the gods are smiling on you you might get a well built $600,000 house for $700,000 lol

Re: Are Australian Houses worth the money regardless of boom or bust?
 

It depends on the house, and the location.

There isn't a single yes or no answer that covers them all.

In my Australia, they are building fantastic finished homes on 400sm in some areas. So it isn't the amount of space on the plot, but the desirable finish of the house and the location, so totally the opposite of your experiences in your part of Australia.

Re: Are Australian Houses worth the money regardless of boom or bust?
 

3 years ago we paid $315,000 for a modest house on a perfect 3 and a half acres out near Tamborine.

In short, yes.

Re: Are Australian Houses worth the money regardless of boom or bust?
 

Prices are what they are.

Re: Are Australian Houses worth the money regardless of boom or bust?
 

Spent the weekend with friends just outside Hervey Bay. 5 acres newly built house to their spec, took a bit of time to plan and do but all for around $380,000. Fantastic and not an opportunity you would have in the UK

Re: Are Australian Houses worth the money regardless of boom or bust?
 

Its the same in the UK and England. No different. The estate will always exaggerate or be econimic with the truth. Its ultimately up to you to decide the houses worth and what you are prepared to pay.

Welcome to the reality of buying a house. :rolleyes:

The when you come to sell a house you will want to get the maximum for it and extoll vitues that buyers will maybe not agree with.

Re: Are Australian Houses worth the money regardless of boom or bust?
 

A real estate agent lies, and you're surprised by this?

:confused:

Re: Are Australian Houses worth the money regardless of boom or bust?
 

I think you have to take the "house prices hitting the roof" into consideration. Even though it seems like a lot of money you might still be looking at the bottom end of the market where the unrenovated homes are (where you're looking in any case)

"Also in the UK why do we expect the finish of the house to be desirable as well as location and other features yet in Australia it seems to be purely based on the amount of space on the plot?"

Not true...in Australia many people care about the finish of the place. Sometimes at the bottom of the market though the plot may seem to be the only thing with much value.

Re: Are Australian Houses worth the money regardless of boom or bust?
 

Its all relative. We are just looking at a $2m site of which the renovation will be about $4.5m.

Of course if you are looking at a $200k renovation its abit overboard:sneaky: