steen1976

Have been keeping an eye on Domain over the last few months at places to rent just so we know what sort of stuff is available and for what price. Eastern suburbs mainly and in particular Maroubra as it is very handy for my wife's work and good bus transport into the CBD for me.

Someone mentioned Milsons Point today so I checked that out and Kirribili etc too. Now for pretty much the same price as what we're looking at in Maroubra ($600-650pw) we can get a similar unit in these areas that have direct Harbour/Bridge/Opera House views and a few minutes from the city.

How can prices in Maroubra (a decent area but nothing special) be similar to a place with these views?

Is it because of Maroubra's beach? Or is Kirribili/Milsons point (never actually been there myself) not a good area despite the views and proximity to the city?

I would love to have these views but it would mean my wife travelling for 3hrs a day for work so it's not going to happen but just found it a little strange as I was expecting prices of £800pw really.

Beoz

We found that rental prices between really popular areas and not so popular areas only vary by a couple of hundred dollars a week. Therefore i chose to spend a little more foran easy life

luker

i just pine for the good old days of cheap rents in the manchester shanty towns haha

Syedney

You need to also factor in other aspects which may contribute to the negativity of a place like Milsons Point/Kirribilli.
From having lived in North Sydney for few months, I can tell you that the living cost there is exorbitant. Not many essentials shops there but what there is tends be isolated ones. At week-ends and public hols, the place is almost bare. That's because 2/3 of the area is made up of businesses.
You also have the issue of parking. It's almost impossible to find a parking spot that you didn't have to pay for it!
The only reason we stayed there for a while is because my old company paid for it while we were settling in. On the plus side, there is the Luna Park, the easy commute into the City and to Bondi beach!

spottydog

I've regularly seen adverts saying "in a block with views of X" which normally means the flat they are renting has no views. Location shots (i.e. walk down to the end of the road and take a great picture) are also quite usual.

You would really need to wander around flats in both areas to compare, I would expect you will find the difference is the size and quality of the fitout.

Kooky.

Spent our first two years here renting in McMahons Point. Be very surprised if you get a room with a view for $650.

Our old whalers' cottage had no view, was tiny, in dire need of a lick of paint, a recurring termite problem and, with a tiled floor, no insulation, no double-glazing, an absolute ice box in winter. No air-con either, so the opposite in summer

On-street parking a nightmare, not helped by a number of small businesses, creatives, etc. We were often parked 2 streets away. Try that with torrential rain and your groceries. Can't imagine the other side of the railway tracks (Milsons, Kirribilli) being any easier unless your place comes with parking.

Still love the area and miss walks down to the boardwalk (although it is dead on a weekend and you have to drive almost everywhere - or take the train, but there always seemed to be a lot of weekend trackwork) but could not afford to buy there. We moved south and have a split-level apartment roughly three times the size (with pool, gym, cafe, shop...) that would rent out for not much more. No harbour view, but then we didn't have that anyway

steen1976

I guess parking and amenities could be a good reason for it. Probably no Coles etc close by so that would be a big hassle.

There are some with definite views for around that price or a little more but I saw some that the agent had photoshopped a view onto the picture of the living room. As well of course as the photoshopping of the rooms themselves. How they are allowed to get away with such misrepresentation is beyond me.

IvanM

It is excess new supply in those areas. The Bra also has a crime problem with some rough public housing estates.

Kooky.

There's an IGA in Greenwood Plaza at North Sydney, as well as a grocer, butcher, fishmonger, etc., but all come at a price. We used to go to Woolies in Neutral Bay for household items and storecupboard essentials. Oh and there is a new grocer down Blues Point Road, I noticed the other week. (We still go down there for the BEST gluten-free pizza, if we are passing.)

I know what you mean about the view one down our street was for sale for over a year (maybe still is, we left) and claimed to have harbour views. The photo was incredibly zoomed in and must have been taken from standing on a chair at an upstairs window.