coriuk

We are looking to move about this time next year. Have just had our place vauled at 220K, probably looking at around 230K by the time we move. wondering what that will get us in the Hills are of Sydney. (castle hill i think) Are sydney prices still increasing or ahas it stabilised.

Pollyana

Are you talking $ or £ ?

Red_V_Roger

As I understand - some of Sydney is negative.

I know some areas of the UK are the exception, but as you'll see from a thread running on here at the moment, the UK housing market generally is bad

See also http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7037962.stm

Centurion

You lucky woman you still have a pound sign on your keyboard lol.

But if it was a figure in Aussie Dollars, I have a nice shoe box my Converse sneakers came in I could let the OP have for a mere 200k

on a mission

Certain areas are bad, mainly the ones that are ridiculously priced.

I moved to a less diserable area, as I knew prices would grow there and remain as they are reasonably priced for the average joe.

Funny thing is, many people are moving here no, and the town is regenerating...and guess what property prices are rising again

NickyC

Prices are still rising in this area (eastern suburbs).

Prices are falling in some of the far western suburbs. Unfortunately these are not areas that you're likely to want to live in....

coriuk

I am living in London. So am talking £. I dont think the UK housing market is bad over all (depends on your perspective, as first time buyer it is not good, but as a seller who is leaving the country it is good). So we are going to have approx £225K in our pockets to buy with. Am looking at the Hills area of sydney, I think we are looking up we could stretch up to $600k (with a small mortgage) So general consensus of sydney house prices is stable ? falling? increasing?

Jacque

I feel somewhat qualified to answer this, though I can only comment on the areas I know and buy for clients in ie: North Shore, Northern and Northwest (inc Hills) regions of Sydney. Sydney appears to be still very much a segmented market, with areas such as the south-west and far west (Penrith, Blacktown etc) still in decline with prices still recovering from their highs of the 02-04 boom. In some cases, dramatic price falls have taken place (up to 30%), and no doubt the most severe of these were from desperate vendors who had to sell their over-committed and overpriced homes from dire circumstances. Not a nice position for anyone to find themselves in, that's for sure.

However, the North Shore and parts of the Northern districts (Hornsby, northern beaches) are definitely out of the bottom and in recovery phase. Some suburbs of the Hills are included in this, and well priced homes are now selling in shorter periods of time than this time last year. I just recently sold my own PPOR here in the Hills and not only got full asking price but was overwhelmed with the amount of enquiries generally. And my house was at the upper end of the market for my suburb (high $600K's)

Short answer, if you're buying a PPOR and intend to keep it for the medium to long term (7rys+) then don't sweat too much on the timing of your purchase- it's more important that you buy the right home for you at the right price and don't overpay. Know your prices, the recent comparable sales and don't get taken in by the selling agents speak- especially not being a local! Another option is to hire a good indpendent buyers agent who brings the benefit of local knowledge and negotiation experience to the table- I say this not to push my own barrow but simply to let you know that there are alternatives to doing it all on your own.

$600K will get you a decent house in a no. of nice suburbs in the Hills- look in Castle Hill, Baulkham Hills, Winston Hills, Northmead (parts of- not all this area is desirable for families, in my opinion) Kellyville, Rouse Hill, Glenwood, Glenhaven, Cherrybrook, Dural..... lots of options! It really depends on your needs ie: transport, schools, likes/dislikes etc

My feeling, based on what's currently happening, is that the Hills area is going to be certainly recovering well in 2008 and I wouldn't be surprised to see the start of a real upswing which will see median prices climb steadily over into the next cycle. Freestanding homes under $600K on decent blocks of land (700sqm+) are getting hard to come by in Sydney, anywhere within the 40km ring of the CBD and in "reputable" areas. Most of the suburbs in the Hills qualify and they are also still affordable for young families and first home buyers. Unit and townhouse prices begin in the low $300K's.

Hope this info helps

coriuk

Thanks for you reply Jacque. So long as the London market doesnt slow down too much, we should be ok.
I dont the hills area that well, but it seems to be a good area for families for what i have heard. We will be looking at Castle Hill i think, we want to be close to facilities, and transport.

Tom Sawyer

Not so sure about Jacque's reply. Yes the Sydney market is pretty fragmented and most of it is in recovery mode. However I know someone in the finance / economics sector and they are expecting interest rates to keep rising for a while yet, and it will have a major impact in some areas. With the economy showing no signs of slowing down yet it will take a number of rises to have any major impact on an overall basis. Still good news if you are a buyer I suppose.
By the way not all areas of the south west are "bad". We live in the Camden / Macarthur area and is a great, quiet family area.

drew

Hi coriuk,

We are in a similar position – we have about £200k equity to take out of our UK house and are considering the hills area in Sydney. A few years back we lived in Schofields with friends for several months while travelling (not too far from Castle Hill). From the research I have done you can get a reasonable 4 bed place for 600K in the Baulkham Hills area. The commute to CBD was not too bad from schofields either, which is further out. It took about an hour and at the time cost only $30 for a week pass!

Friends have told us there has been a lot of development in that area (Rouse Hill). Check out www.thenewrousehill.com.au

Not sure what the schools are like in that area. I know our friends send their daughter private so that may be saying something. Does anybody else know about the schooling in the Baulkham Hills region is like?

Jacque

Hi Drew

Variety of high quality schooling in the Hills area, including public, selective, catholic and private independent schools, spread across some 6 suburbs. Check out this site for more info www.hillsweb.com.au and also www.education.net.au for more listings of schools.

The Hills really is a great place to live with our "resident" celebrities including the likes of Gerry Harvey, Delta Goodrem and Lleyton Hewitt- all people who value their privacy and like to enjoy the greenery and wide open spaces as well!