Buzzy--Bee

Hmmm

I earn a good wage here in the UK. I can support my family on it and although I can't go out and buy a Ferrari or 6 weeks in the Seychelles, I don't have to worry about not being able to afford the day to day bills.

And that's where I think a lot of us are coming from.

We want a better lifestyle, or certainly not a worse one than we have in the UK. If we had to worry about the day to day cost of living that would not be a better lifestyle, it would be worse.

It doesn't matter how close you are to a beach, or mountains, or whatever blows your skirt up, if you can't afford to live day to day without worry about whether you can afford the basics, the quality of life is irrelevant.

You can't eat the scenery.

Cheers

Buzzy

BadgeIsBack

all good stuff Breezy, if you can afford to get out of the wage spiral but not be looking for the next cent then you're on to a good thing I reckon.

NKSK version 2

Of course. But everyone knows (or can find out) what the exchange rate is. People also know (or again can find out from this forum) that the cost of living is similar to the UK.
So to a very great extent you have a good idea if you can survive or not. Marginal salaries (and I consider my starting wage as marginal) - fine you can understand the hesitancy but those salary figures that are way above (50-100% above) the average? Are people really concerned that they might not be able to afford the day to day cost of living on those kind of salaries?

The only way to really sort through the subjectivity of lifestyle costs is to work out your everyday living costs to survive in the UK. As a rule of thumb they will be the same here in Australia. Then note down what you would like to do which would make your quality of life as you want it. Jetskiing, holidays in Fiji etc etc and then post and ask if anyone has any ideas of prices.
Then do the sums - will you have enough or not?

HiddenPaw

Perhaps TNQR should wear a BADGE to identify his current location?

Vash the Stampede

The only criterion you have listed above which would exclude properties under $300,000, is "close to the beach and/or river." But that's a luxury item anyway, so we can safely ignore it. It's a "want", not a "need."

Living in the Adelaide Hills would put me half an hour from the city. I think that's fair enough - particularly since I probably wouldn't be working in the city anyway. Suburbs like Adlgate, Stirling, Bridgewater and Belair are all in the Adelaide Hills - and highly sought after, too. Yet they are no more than about 30-35 minutes from Adelaide city.

$700,000 is more than double the price of the average property in Perth, and about 14 times the average Australian salary of around $50,0000 (source.) I would think that this counts as high in anyone's book.

Let's put it another way.

The average price for a fully detached house in England and Wales is £307,766 (source.) Now let's double that figure and add a bit (as you have done with Perth.) This gives us £715,532 - which is about 31 times the average UK salary of £22,411 (source.)

Still convinced that this is not a lot of money?

"In the majority of suburbs"? No, that's a gross exaggeration. Think about it; if $700k properties were fould in the majority of suburbs, the average price for WA would be a lot higher than $300k!

But this is not actually the case.

Take a look at the suburb profiles here. I don't see a lot of $700k properties there, do you? In fact, I see a lot of suburbs with an average price of $300k - and those are city suburbs, too. No more than half an hour from Perth at most.

Perhaps not in WA, no.

My criteria for a home are as follows:

• Big enough for myself, the missus and a sprog or two.
  
  
• Pleasant scenery (lots of grass and trees, etc.)
  
  
• Peaceful and quiet.
  
  
• Low crime rate.
  
  
• Handy for shops and schools.
  
  
• Convenient for work.
  
  
• $300,000 or less.

I think that's a pretty reasonable list, don't you? And I can tick all of those boxes with an Adelaide Hills property.

Oh really? That "Perth profiles" site shows otherwise, as does my own personal experience with the Perth property market.

[quote]Unfortunately your just not being realistic about the property market here[quote]

Hmmm, let's see...

I was born and raised in Perth. In 2001 I bought a house in Midland (6056) for $91,000 - 2 bed, one bath on a quarter acre block, fully renovated with electronic reticulation, polished jarrah floorboards, security screens on the windows, a brand new kitchen and bathroom, a brand new block paved driveway with a brand new carport, and an air conditioner in the master bedroom.

It was just under 30 minutes from the city - which was irrelevant to me anyway, since I worked 15-20 minutes away in Cloverdale (6105.) I sold it in 2003 and made a 40% profit.

So yes, I think I am being perfectly realistic.

Need or want?

There's a world of difference between those two terms - but in my experience, too many people conflate them.

steve99

Not correct, proximity to the City where most people will have to work is going to govern the cost, one of numerous examples , Subiaco, about 3KM from the City not on the beach or river, no chance of a house under $500K... Also surerly Schooling must play a part for families deciding where to end up ?? are the schools that bad here that they have no effect on their local housing markets?

Sorry have no understanding of whats where in Adelaide, Is that a rush hour commuting time into the CBD? I always here people over here saying so and so is only a 25 min drive into the city, generally you can double that at 8 in the morning and 5 at night.


No its not a lot of money, its approx £300K, which as you pointed out is the average price in the UK, It shows that if someone was swapping UK for OZ they would roughly be looking at swapping a UK property valued at around £300K and would be getting an OZ one for around $700K.

No because there are suburbs packed full of cheap units selling for under the average, they artificually drag the average down, also due to sprawling nature there are suburbs which are obviously cheaper because they are no where near the city and arent true reflections of propertys you would want to live in.
Thats the whole point the average is a load of ....... its not a true realistic figure for property's/areas you would want to move across the world to end up living in....


Thats great for you, but it doesnt mean it will suit everyone....
Mine would be about the same but would include within a 20 min commute of work (rush hour not sunday afternoon) within 10mins of the beach, good transport links into the city and other "popular" areas. Good consistent growth and as guaranteed as possible to be a good long term investment.
Nothing unreasonable to expect when your deciding to move across the world for a "better" life.



Sorry but you've completely lost me as to how this experiece from 5 years ago has any relevance on the market today, when were talking about people coming into Perth and not being able to buy decent property at anywhere near the average Perth price.
The fact that you bought before the market took off is great, the only problem is you should of held on to it as you would of made a lot more than 40%.

It comes down to interpretation, personal choice and everyone being different.
Just because something works for one person doesnt mean it does for everyone else.
Wherever you end up living you choose that property/location because you want it, not because you need it.

BadgeIsBack

pah! ;-) foiled again

BadgeIsBack

Steve, I think alot of people are moving around the world and settling for a property which they later regret on! They don't notice 'problems' as they are disguised with sun and big houses. By the time you buy a new car, etc, many migrants won't be able to afford a $700 home, or at least they would rather hold money back for a reserve or for start-up costs.

My own view :I know Perth is going through a boom, but I don't think it will last forever, even the govt is saying that, and some people are paying too much.

I think Vash has points like, people confuse needs with wants.

steve99

I'm sure there are heaps of people that have moved around the world and made the wrong decision (for any number of reasons), I know if I hadnt of done the research I had done, had realistic expectations of what it does really cost here and then got lucky and made a quick decision on the property I live in I would be gutted now.
I dont doubt that what Vash has chosen to live in is anything other than what he wants, but he comes across as pretty narrow minded as he expects everyone to only want the same as he does, and implies people are foolish for wanting anything above "average" and should just make do...

I dont think anyone should just settle for the average and plod along, you only get your life once, seize the opportunity and make a go of it, I would hate to look back on my life and think it was average, completely pointless in my view.

I was also trying to point out is that if you see the average house price for Perth as being $300K and expect to arrive here and find something for that money in an area I would expect most people who have decided to leave everything behind and move across the globe for, for that money most are going to be pretty dissapointed and it could potentially be a disaster for them.

Sure Perth is going through a boom and yes im sure it will slow down or stop, but at the moment there no sign of it happening, so why wouldnt you jump on board and benefit from it??? rather than sit around waiting for something that may never happen.
I agree people are probably paying to much for certain propertys, in my view its for places that are further and further away from the city.
What ever the future holds I cant see there being any significant price drops, and if you buy in the right suburbs your only ever going to be heading in one direction.

Needs and wants are all down to personal interpretation, there is no right/wrong answer to this discussion.
Everyone is different, everyone's entitled to an opinion, everyone should respect everyone else's view/opinion.
Steve