Regional Victorian towns dominate list of mainland hotspots under $300,000, but Melbourne off the menu
The regional Victorian towns of Bendigo, Ballarat and Geelong – not the suburbs of Melbourne – are where property investors should be looking to acquire mainland investment properties priced under the affordable $300,000 mark.
There are 56 locations with median prices under $300,000, with exactly half of these in Victoria, analysis of Smart Investor magazine top 601 suburbs list reveals.
The 601 hotspots are based on those suburbs where dwelling prices appreciated the most over the 12 months to December 2011.
There are 17 sub-$3000,000 hotspots in NSW, six in South Australia, three in Queensland and two in the Northern Territory.
Out of the 28 Victorian hotspots, there are none close to Melbourne, with the nearest being the outlying suburb of Melton, 35 kilometres west of the CBD and neighbouring Kurunjang.
However, the list features four suburbs in Bendigo (California Gully, Eaglehawk, White Hills and North Bendigo), two in Geelong (Norlane and Whittington) and two in Ballarat (Soldiers Hill and Ballarat East).
All three regional towns are already establishing reputations as hotspot locations.
Property Observer earlier reported that Bendigo has one of the tightest rental markets, solid recent house price appreciation and good transport connections to Melbourne
Hotspotting.com.au’s Terry Ryder picked Ballarat as the state’s star performer of 2011 and says Geelong is a good long-term prospect for investors because it is “considerably cheaper than Melbourne”.
“A strong regional centre within commuting distance of Melbourne, Ballarat had a strong year while much of Melbourne was struggling. A number of Ballarat suburbs recorded double-digit growth in median house prices. The city’s prospects are set to get stronger, with the Regional Rail Link, multiple wind farms and a new cancer centre coming up,” says Ryder.
Ryder also picked Melton as the rising star of the Victorian market of 2012, due to its affordability, good transport connections and urban renewal developments.
Victoria hotspots under $300,000
Suburb | Median price | 12 month growth to Dec 2011 | 12 month forecast | Gross rental yield | |
Moe houses | $160,000 | 6.7% | 1% | $190 | 6.7% |
Morwell houses | $165,000 | 6.5% | 2% | $180 | 6.8% |
Red Cliffs houses | $173,500 | 6.1% | 4% | $180 | 7.9% |
Maryborough houses | $185,000 | 13.5% | 4% | $230 | 6.5% |
Norlane houses (Geelong) | $203,000 | 4.1% | 2% | $230 | 6.1% |
Horsham houses | $214,000 | 8.4% | 4% | $225 | 6.4% |
Long Gully houses | $220,000 | 7.3% | 3% | $250 | 5.7% |
California Gully houses (Bendigo) | $227,500 | 9.6% | 2% | $260 | 6.1% |
Creswick houses | $222,800 | 4.2% | 2% | $240 | 5.2% |
Hamilton houses | $235,000 | 8.8% | 3% | $250 | 5.8% |
North Bendigo houses | $230,000 | 5.7% | 3% | $270 | 5.7% |
Eaglehawk houses (Bendigo) | $234,000 | 4.1% | 2% | $270 | 6.2% |
Ballarat East houses | $237,000 | 4.8% | 2% | $255 | 5.6% |
Irymple houses | $237,500 | 8% | 2% | $225 | 5.5% |
Whittington houses (Geelong) | $249,500 | 7.1% | 2% | $260 | 5.7% |
Portland houses | $250,000 | 12.4% | 4% | $230 | 5.2% |
Melton houses (outer Melbourne) | $260,000 | 4% | 1% | $260 | 4.9% |
Traralgon houses | $265,000 | 4.7% | 2% | $280 | 5.5% |
Wodonga houses | $265,000 | 4.4% | 2% | $270 | 5.4% |
Longwarry houses | $271,000 | 4.1% | 1% | $270 | 5.8% |
White Hills houses (Bendigo) | $274,250 | 12.4% | 3% | $275 | 6.1% |
Sale houses | $278,500 | 6.7% | 2% | $278 | 5.3% |
Soldiers Hill houses (Ballarat) | $285,000 | 9.6% | 2% | $255 | 5% |
Mount Clear houses (Ballarat) | $286,000 | 9% | 2% | $285 | 5.7% |
Drouin houses | $284,000 | 7.9% | 2% | $290 | 5.3% |
Black Hill houses (Ballarat) | $290,000 | 9.4% | 2% | $260 | 5.3% |
Warragul houses | $295,000 | 5.7% | 2% | $270 | 4.9% |
Kurunjang houses (outer Melbourne) | $297,000 | 4.1% | 1% | $355 | 4.9% |
NSW hotspots under $300,000
Suburb | Median price | 12 month growth to Dec 2011 | 12 month forecast | Gross rental yield | |
Broken Hill houses | $127,500 | 18.1% | 4% | $200 | 7.5% |
Glenn Innes houses | $199,000 | 10.6% | 3% | $200 | 6.2% |
Ashmont houses | $203,000 | 25%+ | 2% | $250 | 6.3% |
Corowa houses | $206,000 | 6.5% | 2% | $235 | 5.7% |
West Kempsey houses | $215,000 | 7% | 1% | $250 | 6.5% |
Bathurst units | $221,000 | 14.8% | 3% | $200 | 5.9% |
Moree houses | $231,500 | 22.6% | 3% | $230 | 6.9% |
Young houses | $235,000 | 9.3% | 4% | $230 | 6% |
Lakemba units | $256,000 | 6.7% | 4% | $320 | 6.6% |
Kurri Kurri houses | $257,500 | 12% | 4% | $290 | 6.3% |
Cabramatta units | $258,000 | 12.1% | 2% | $280 | 5.7% |
Fairfield units | $260,000 | 8.3% | 4% | $315 | 6.4% |
Gunnedah houses | $269,000 | 9.8% | 2% | $285 | 6.3% |
Goulburn houses | $269,500 | 7.8% | 3% | $270 | 5.8% |
Wiley Park units | $270,000 | 7.8% | 4% | $315 | 6.4% |
Nowra houses | $275,000 | 7.4% | 1% | $280 | 5.8% |
Berkeley houses | $299,000 | 6.8% | 4% | $315 | 5.6% |
Queensland hotspots under $300,000
Suburb | Median price | 12 month growth to Dec 2011 | 12 month forecast | Gross rental yield | |
Bundaberg Nth houses | $269,500 | 3.7% | 3% | $265 | 5.7% |
Warwick houses | $259,000 | 3.2% | 3% | $260 | 5.4% |
Ayr houses | $260,000 | 2.8% | 3% | $260 | 5.2% |
SA hotspots under $300,000
Suburb | Median price | 12 month growth to Dec 2011 | 12 month forecast | Gross rental yield | |
Renmark houses | $180,000 | 5.9% | 3% | $185 | 5.4% |
Loxton houses | $208,500 | 5.8% | 2% | $200 | 5% |
Wallaroo houses | $242,500 | 1% | 4% | $250 | 5.2% |
Ceduna houses | $265,000 | 12.8% | 3% | $270 | 6.8% |
Mawson Lakes units | $290,000 | 4.1% | 2% | $310 | 5.4% |
MunnoParaWest | $294,500 | 0.5% | 4% plus | $285 | 5.2% |
Northern Territory hotspots under $300,000
Suburb | Median price | 12 month growth to Dec 2011 | 12 month forecast | Gross rental yield | |
Bellamack houses | $196,500 | 8% | 4% plus | $605 | 15.3% |
Tennant Creek houses | $230,000 | 24.3% | 1% | n/a | n/a |
Source: Smart Investor
Note: Property Observer excluded those suburbs priced under $300,000 that did not demonstrate capital growth over 2011 and also those that are not forecast to appreciate over 2012.