Sydney House Prices
Jul 10th 2005, 11:06 pm
#1
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Location: The Premier State
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Sydney House Prices
We have been househunting for a while now in south Sydney and overall we find the advertised prices way over the top. We moved from the SE of the UK so have a reasonable (60%) deposit and we are both employed on above average wages, but what we feel we can reasonably afford you get very little for. In yesterdays Sun-Herald financial section David Koch reckoned that prices were maybe 50% over the top, got to say I agree with him.
Went to view a 3 bed house that was up for $699,000, personally I would have put it more at $450 - 500,000 as it was quite small and next to no garden. In comparison we would say that houses are more expensive here than the SE UK for what you actually get, $699k is more than our house in the UK sold for but it was no where near the same size / quality.
So do the agents advertise at way above what they realistically expect to get, eg + 30%? Or does everyone have massive mortgages, and if so how do they afford them? Like I said we are on good money, but there is no way I would saddle myself with a $500,000+ mortgage, we were aiming at $250k which was the same as our UK mortgage.
We did do some research before we came down, but website pictures do not really give you a good impression of the size of the house. Seriously looking at renting for a year now and hoping the prices continue to realign themselves, or start going in with offers way below the advertsied price when we find something we like. Just wondering what your experiences of your house buying prices were in comparison to the advertised price.
Went to view a 3 bed house that was up for $699,000, personally I would have put it more at $450 - 500,000 as it was quite small and next to no garden. In comparison we would say that houses are more expensive here than the SE UK for what you actually get, $699k is more than our house in the UK sold for but it was no where near the same size / quality.
So do the agents advertise at way above what they realistically expect to get, eg + 30%? Or does everyone have massive mortgages, and if so how do they afford them? Like I said we are on good money, but there is no way I would saddle myself with a $500,000+ mortgage, we were aiming at $250k which was the same as our UK mortgage.
We did do some research before we came down, but website pictures do not really give you a good impression of the size of the house. Seriously looking at renting for a year now and hoping the prices continue to realign themselves, or start going in with offers way below the advertsied price when we find something we like. Just wondering what your experiences of your house buying prices were in comparison to the advertised price.
Jul 10th 2005, 11:18 pm
#2
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 11,149
Re: Sydney House Prices
Originally Posted by SnapOff
We have been househunting for a while now in south Sydney and overall we find the advertised prices way over the top. We moved from the SE of the UK so have a reasonable (60%) deposit and we are both employed on above average wages, but what we feel we can reasonably afford you get very little for. In yesterdays Sun-Herald financial section David Koch reckoned that prices were maybe 50% over the top, got to say I agree with him.
Went to view a 3 bed house that was up for $699,000, personally I would have put it more at $450 - 500,000 as it was quite small and next to no garden. In comparison we would say that houses are more expensive here than the SE UK for what you actually get, $699k is more than our house in the UK sold for but it was no where near the same size / quality.
So do the agents advertise at way above what they realistically expect to get, eg + 30%? Or does everyone have massive mortgages, and if so how do they afford them? Like I said we are on good money, but there is no way I would saddle myself with a $500,000+ mortgage, we were aiming at $250k which was the same as our UK mortgage.
We did do some research before we came down, but website pictures do not really give you a good impression of the size of the house. Seriously looking at renting for a year now and hoping the prices continue to realign themselves, or start going in with offers way below the advertsied price when we find something we like. Just wondering what your experiences of your house buying prices were in comparison to the advertised price.
Went to view a 3 bed house that was up for $699,000, personally I would have put it more at $450 - 500,000 as it was quite small and next to no garden. In comparison we would say that houses are more expensive here than the SE UK for what you actually get, $699k is more than our house in the UK sold for but it was no where near the same size / quality.
So do the agents advertise at way above what they realistically expect to get, eg + 30%? Or does everyone have massive mortgages, and if so how do they afford them? Like I said we are on good money, but there is no way I would saddle myself with a $500,000+ mortgage, we were aiming at $250k which was the same as our UK mortgage.
We did do some research before we came down, but website pictures do not really give you a good impression of the size of the house. Seriously looking at renting for a year now and hoping the prices continue to realign themselves, or start going in with offers way below the advertsied price when we find something we like. Just wondering what your experiences of your house buying prices were in comparison to the advertised price.
Jul 10th 2005, 11:28 pm
#3
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Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 4,432
Re: Sydney House Prices
Originally Posted by SnapOff
We have been househunting for a while now in south Sydney and overall we find the advertised prices way over the top. We moved from the SE of the UK so have a reasonable (60%) deposit and we are both employed on above average wages, but what we feel we can reasonably afford you get very little for. In yesterdays Sun-Herald financial section David Koch reckoned that prices were maybe 50% over the top, got to say I agree with him.
Went to view a 3 bed house that was up for $699,000, personally I would have put it more at $450 - 500,000 as it was quite small and next to no garden. In comparison we would say that houses are more expensive here than the SE UK for what you actually get, $699k is more than our house in the UK sold for but it was no where near the same size / quality.
So do the agents advertise at way above what they realistically expect to get, eg + 30%? Or does everyone have massive mortgages, and if so how do they afford them? Like I said we are on good money, but there is no way I would saddle myself with a $500,000+ mortgage, we were aiming at $250k which was the same as our UK mortgage.
We did do some research before we came down, but website pictures do not really give you a good impression of the size of the house. Seriously looking at renting for a year now and hoping the prices continue to realign themselves, or start going in with offers way below the advertsied price when we find something we like. Just wondering what your experiences of your house buying prices were in comparison to the advertised price.
Went to view a 3 bed house that was up for $699,000, personally I would have put it more at $450 - 500,000 as it was quite small and next to no garden. In comparison we would say that houses are more expensive here than the SE UK for what you actually get, $699k is more than our house in the UK sold for but it was no where near the same size / quality.
So do the agents advertise at way above what they realistically expect to get, eg + 30%? Or does everyone have massive mortgages, and if so how do they afford them? Like I said we are on good money, but there is no way I would saddle myself with a $500,000+ mortgage, we were aiming at $250k which was the same as our UK mortgage.
We did do some research before we came down, but website pictures do not really give you a good impression of the size of the house. Seriously looking at renting for a year now and hoping the prices continue to realign themselves, or start going in with offers way below the advertsied price when we find something we like. Just wondering what your experiences of your house buying prices were in comparison to the advertised price.
Jul 11th 2005, 1:07 am
#4
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Posts: n/a
Re: Sydney House Prices
Originally Posted by Megalania
For a bit of fun and maybe a rare piece of luck, try offering what you consider a reasonable price on all the properties you would wish to live in, regardless of the asking price.
I think he made about 40 different house offers in one day once
Jul 11th 2005, 6:49 am
#5
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Thread Starter
Joined: Feb 2004
Location: The Premier State
Posts: 42
Re: Sydney House Prices
Bondipom,
It is the "Shire" that we have been looking in, Gymea, Sylvania, Como etc and over the river in Oatley and Lugarno etc.
We will have our house sale in the UK completed this week so will be in a position to go in and offer what we consider to be reasonable prices. Overall I think a lot of people have bought when the boom was at its most fervant, and now they want to escape with their return in pocket, so can't blame them for trying, but I don't think the market is there to support their plans.
We went to an auction expecting the bidding to start at $600K, but they went straight in at $800k. Of the 5-6 registered bidders only 1 put in a bid, whilst others just appeared to smile ruefully and walk away. Needless to say the house is still for sale so a deal was not struck afterwards.
Still can't see how the average person can afford 1mill + property having read some of the reports in the papers as the buyers do not seem to be the city high fliers type and have "normal" jobs.
It is the "Shire" that we have been looking in, Gymea, Sylvania, Como etc and over the river in Oatley and Lugarno etc.
We will have our house sale in the UK completed this week so will be in a position to go in and offer what we consider to be reasonable prices. Overall I think a lot of people have bought when the boom was at its most fervant, and now they want to escape with their return in pocket, so can't blame them for trying, but I don't think the market is there to support their plans.
We went to an auction expecting the bidding to start at $600K, but they went straight in at $800k. Of the 5-6 registered bidders only 1 put in a bid, whilst others just appeared to smile ruefully and walk away. Needless to say the house is still for sale so a deal was not struck afterwards.
Still can't see how the average person can afford 1mill + property having read some of the reports in the papers as the buyers do not seem to be the city high fliers type and have "normal" jobs.
Jul 11th 2005, 7:22 am
#6
Just Joined
Joined: May 2005
Location: Zurich, Switzerland
Posts: 22
Re: Sydney House Prices
Very interesting question.
I guess what we are seeing at the moment is that basically the market has realised that house prices in Sydney are way too high...a result of the weak stock and bond markets in the past years. On the other side, sellers don't have the pressure to sell at the moment, stay put and hope for better times...
Probabely the best advice for migrants is to rent for a while. First because you really should take your time to get a feeling for where you want to live and make a big investment and second, who knows, maybe the pressure on the sellers will increase and they have to sell at lower prices...
In the end, it is all a gamble...
I guess what we are seeing at the moment is that basically the market has realised that house prices in Sydney are way too high...a result of the weak stock and bond markets in the past years. On the other side, sellers don't have the pressure to sell at the moment, stay put and hope for better times...
Probabely the best advice for migrants is to rent for a while. First because you really should take your time to get a feeling for where you want to live and make a big investment and second, who knows, maybe the pressure on the sellers will increase and they have to sell at lower prices...
In the end, it is all a gamble...
Jul 11th 2005, 8:57 am
#7
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Joined: Mar 2004
Location: Sydney
Posts: 1,628
Re: Sydney House Prices
We didn't feel prices were too bad when we had a look on our validation trip.
We looked closely at house prices in Balmain, Mosman and the Shire.
In Balmain we could get a little 2 bed house for $600 to 700k (about the same price and size as our current house on the East Lnodon/Essex Border but not 16 miles from the city centre).
In Mosman/Cremorne we could get a 2/3 bed flat for $700 to $800k (felt more like west London but you wouldn't find a flat that big for that price within Central West London).
In the Shire we can get a 4/5 bed house for $600 to $700k which is no further out of Sydney that we are out of Central London now (and an equivalent house would cost closer to £1 million in our area of London).
I keep an eye on the sold prices and it seems that many places aren't selling but those that do were originally priced slightly cheaper than similar properties and have sold near asking price.
Friends managed to get $100k off a $700k house by ensuring the agent knew they liked it but could not afford to go above what they had initally advised they could afford.
We looked closely at house prices in Balmain, Mosman and the Shire.
In Balmain we could get a little 2 bed house for $600 to 700k (about the same price and size as our current house on the East Lnodon/Essex Border but not 16 miles from the city centre).
In Mosman/Cremorne we could get a 2/3 bed flat for $700 to $800k (felt more like west London but you wouldn't find a flat that big for that price within Central West London).
In the Shire we can get a 4/5 bed house for $600 to $700k which is no further out of Sydney that we are out of Central London now (and an equivalent house would cost closer to £1 million in our area of London).
I keep an eye on the sold prices and it seems that many places aren't selling but those that do were originally priced slightly cheaper than similar properties and have sold near asking price.
Friends managed to get $100k off a $700k house by ensuring the agent knew they liked it but could not afford to go above what they had initally advised they could afford.
Jul 11th 2005, 9:19 am
#8
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 11,149
Re: Sydney House Prices
Originally Posted by SnapOff
Bondipom,
It is the "Shire" that we have been looking in, Gymea, Sylvania, Como etc and over the river in Oatley and Lugarno etc.
We will have our house sale in the UK completed this week so will be in a position to go in and offer what we consider to be reasonable prices. Overall I think a lot of people have bought when the boom was at its most fervant, and now they want to escape with their return in pocket, so can't blame them for trying, but I don't think the market is there to support their plans.
We went to an auction expecting the bidding to start at $600K, but they went straight in at $800k. Of the 5-6 registered bidders only 1 put in a bid, whilst others just appeared to smile ruefully and walk away. Needless to say the house is still for sale so a deal was not struck afterwards.
Still can't see how the average person can afford 1mill + property having read some of the reports in the papers as the buyers do not seem to be the city high fliers type and have "normal" jobs.
It is the "Shire" that we have been looking in, Gymea, Sylvania, Como etc and over the river in Oatley and Lugarno etc.
We will have our house sale in the UK completed this week so will be in a position to go in and offer what we consider to be reasonable prices. Overall I think a lot of people have bought when the boom was at its most fervant, and now they want to escape with their return in pocket, so can't blame them for trying, but I don't think the market is there to support their plans.
We went to an auction expecting the bidding to start at $600K, but they went straight in at $800k. Of the 5-6 registered bidders only 1 put in a bid, whilst others just appeared to smile ruefully and walk away. Needless to say the house is still for sale so a deal was not struck afterwards.
Still can't see how the average person can afford 1mill + property having read some of the reports in the papers as the buyers do not seem to be the city high fliers type and have "normal" jobs.
Jul 11th 2005, 11:19 am
#9
Sydneysider and lovin it!
Joined: Nov 2002
Location: Sydney - Eastern Subs
Posts: 225
Re: Sydney House Prices
Looking to buy in 'The junction'. Put an offer in $250k below asking price -rejected, went to auction and managed to be the highest bidder - $200k below asking price, vendor not negotiating. A few weeks later they are starting to drop what they want! Fingers crossed but we still ahve not sold in the UK yet.................
D
D
Jul 11th 2005, 11:21 am
#10
Is it the weekend yet?
Joined: Feb 2005
Location: Thirroul, NSW
Posts: 1,619
Re: Sydney House Prices
The house prices in Sydney have been concerning me greatly over the last few months since deciding to go. We have a largeish 2 bed terrace in Reading, and if we hadn't decided to move to Oz, we would have moved to a bigger house here.
We were looking to spend about £200k here, roughly about $450k in Oz, but in the areas we want to live in we will be lucky to get a run down shack! We are also looking at living in the shire, but looking at what we can afford, we would end up out in Engadine just to get a decent sized place, that it much further out of the city than we want.
I was looking at house prices a couple of years ago and they seemed reasonable and worth what you pay, but now its just crazy. Looking on a website the other day, a fibro 3 bed in Gymea with small garden and pokey kitchen, about $500k. Am I being unreasonable, or is that just shocking?
The way things are, we will probably end up renting for a while. We have good earning potential, but I really dont want to have a huge mortgage, regardless of being able to afford it.
We were looking to spend about £200k here, roughly about $450k in Oz, but in the areas we want to live in we will be lucky to get a run down shack! We are also looking at living in the shire, but looking at what we can afford, we would end up out in Engadine just to get a decent sized place, that it much further out of the city than we want.
I was looking at house prices a couple of years ago and they seemed reasonable and worth what you pay, but now its just crazy. Looking on a website the other day, a fibro 3 bed in Gymea with small garden and pokey kitchen, about $500k. Am I being unreasonable, or is that just shocking?
The way things are, we will probably end up renting for a while. We have good earning potential, but I really dont want to have a huge mortgage, regardless of being able to afford it.
Jul 11th 2005, 12:23 pm
#11
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Thread Starter
Joined: Feb 2004
Location: The Premier State
Posts: 42
Re: Sydney House Prices
Anastasia,
Exactly what we are finding at the momment, do not want to go from a 3 bed detached in the UK to a rundown fibro or small place in Sydney for roughly exactly the UK price. As for finding a good 4 /5 bedder for $600-700 in the shire, nothing we have found as yet unless you want to live on the Princess Highway. Don't forget to add on approx $25 -30 000 in stamp duty on top of these prices as well. True if you go to Engadine, Woronora Heights, Barden Ridge, Alfords Point etc, but they are all out of it a bit to say the least, plus a few other factors that have put us off a couple of places on some advice from locals. The search / wait continues....
Exactly what we are finding at the momment, do not want to go from a 3 bed detached in the UK to a rundown fibro or small place in Sydney for roughly exactly the UK price. As for finding a good 4 /5 bedder for $600-700 in the shire, nothing we have found as yet unless you want to live on the Princess Highway. Don't forget to add on approx $25 -30 000 in stamp duty on top of these prices as well. True if you go to Engadine, Woronora Heights, Barden Ridge, Alfords Point etc, but they are all out of it a bit to say the least, plus a few other factors that have put us off a couple of places on some advice from locals. The search / wait continues....
Jul 11th 2005, 12:29 pm
#12
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 622
Re: Sydney House Prices
Originally Posted by SnapOff
Anastasia,
Exactly what we are finding at the momment, do not want to go from a 3 bed detached in the UK to a rundown fibro or small place in Sydney for roughly exactly the UK price. As for finding a good 4 /5 bedder for $600-700 in the shire, nothing we have found as yet unless you want to live on the Princess Highway. Don't forget to add on approx $25 -30 000 in stamp duty on top of these prices as well. True if you go to Engadine, Woronora Heights, Barden Ridge, Alfords Point etc, but they are all out of it a bit to say the least, plus a few other factors that have put us off a couple of places on some advice from locals. The search / wait continues....
Exactly what we are finding at the momment, do not want to go from a 3 bed detached in the UK to a rundown fibro or small place in Sydney for roughly exactly the UK price. As for finding a good 4 /5 bedder for $600-700 in the shire, nothing we have found as yet unless you want to live on the Princess Highway. Don't forget to add on approx $25 -30 000 in stamp duty on top of these prices as well. True if you go to Engadine, Woronora Heights, Barden Ridge, Alfords Point etc, but they are all out of it a bit to say the least, plus a few other factors that have put us off a couple of places on some advice from locals. The search / wait continues....
Thats a lot of stamp duty!
I thought you didnt pay any up to $500,000?
Jul 11th 2005, 1:12 pm
#13
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Sydney House Prices
Originally Posted by Flutterscutter
Thats a lot of stamp duty!
I thought you didnt pay any up to $500,000?
I thought you didnt pay any up to $500,000?
550k = $11,245
600k = $22,490
650k = $24,740
Second time buyers pay:
500k = $17,990
550k = $20,240
600k = $22,490
650k = $24,740
NSW only
http://www.osr.nsw.gov.au/portal/pag...schema=OSRPTLT
Jul 11th 2005, 11:05 pm
#14
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 11,149
Re: Sydney House Prices
Originally Posted by Flutterscutter
Thats a lot of stamp duty!
I thought you didnt pay any up to $500,000?
I thought you didnt pay any up to $500,000?
Jul 12th 2005, 4:12 am
#15
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Joined: Sep 2003
Location: Maroubra
Posts: 753
Re: Sydney House Prices
Originally Posted by Anastasia Beaverhausen
The house prices in Sydney have been concerning me greatly over the last few months since deciding to go. We have a largeish 2 bed terrace in Reading, and if we hadn't decided to move to Oz, we would have moved to a bigger house here.
We were looking to spend about £200k here, roughly about $450k in Oz, but in the areas we want to live in we will be lucky to get a run down shack! We are also looking at living in the shire, but looking at what we can afford, we would end up out in Engadine just to get a decent sized place, that it much further out of the city than we want.
I was looking at house prices a couple of years ago and they seemed reasonable and worth what you pay, but now its just crazy. Looking on a website the other day, a fibro 3 bed in Gymea with small garden and pokey kitchen, about $500k. Am I being unreasonable, or is that just shocking?
The way things are, we will probably end up renting for a while. We have good earning potential, but I really dont want to have a huge mortgage, regardless of being able to afford it.
We were looking to spend about £200k here, roughly about $450k in Oz, but in the areas we want to live in we will be lucky to get a run down shack! We are also looking at living in the shire, but looking at what we can afford, we would end up out in Engadine just to get a decent sized place, that it much further out of the city than we want.
I was looking at house prices a couple of years ago and they seemed reasonable and worth what you pay, but now its just crazy. Looking on a website the other day, a fibro 3 bed in Gymea with small garden and pokey kitchen, about $500k. Am I being unreasonable, or is that just shocking?
The way things are, we will probably end up renting for a while. We have good earning potential, but I really dont want to have a huge mortgage, regardless of being able to afford it.
I'm assuming London-Reading is about 50 miles (centre to centre). So why not start by getting the compasses out and drawing an arc about 80kms from the Opera house and see if you can't get something in your price range there. I suspect you will be able to. It'll be called Penrith. A comparison geographically between Engadine and Reading is also perhaps not wide of the mark.
what you need to bear in mind when looking at the house prices is that many of the people in the market purchased their 800k house when it was worth 200k, and hence have a 600k buffer + whatever they want to use for a mortgage. They might only be earning small wages, but their in built equity was spurring the market along. Now of course the market also needed money from external sources.
The market has now reached a point where those with equity and those bringing in external money are a bit windy on what the actual value of the bricks and mortar is. Thats leading to a fall.
