Yes I can see the pros and cons of that too. We'd hoped to be mortgage free in NZ but have in fact ended up with a bigger mortgage than we had in the Uk just to buy something we wanted in a good location. Ok, I fully accept that you have to spend money to make money and I'm hoping that the return on our investment has paid off.

One of the (myriad of) reasons for us wanting to move to Brisbane is to get better value for money and to reduce mortgage payments by at least half. It's good to see that it is supposed to be a buyer's market out there and that prices seem to be a good deal cheaper. Lower interest rates are looking attractive too

Despite what others say, nothing at all, I really like it here. I've got a very swift commute into the city, yet live in a pleasant, leafy suburb with a small village yet cosmopolitan feel to it. I live equi-distant between two stations on two different rail lines, so transport is very easy too.

It's a 10 minute walk from King street, but it's not in my face. There are planty of different restaurants and bars to choose from, and a massive blend of people from just about everywhere. There is virtually no violence, street gangs and hoons in cars. The area isn't dominated by any one particular cultural or ethnic group. Shops stay open late, and you can get a great range of food and groceries within a short walk of my house. I would happily buy in Erko if something came along at the right price.

It is a place for young people though - I can understand why 40 somethings with kids wouldn't want to live there - it's more orientated to singles/professional couples without kids who have lots of disposable income to spaz on dining out most nights, going for drinks with friends etc.

S

another site that hasn't been mentioned yet is cracker
doubtless the likes of domain, realestate, homehound and justlisted cover 95%+ of the market but cracker seems to have private listings for sales and rentals

I used Cracker when I was looking for a place to live initially. It was quite good, though I did eventually get the feeling that there were quite a few time wasters advertising there...

S

I give Erskineville a thumbs up too Some great pubs, real character, community feeling and not too far (but far enough) from the hub bub of Newtown.

How do I refine the search so I don't get every house for sale in Sydney listed?

I wondered that too... also they just seem to direct you to a link to the property on Domain!!

put the suburb name in the search box