What Does $1M Buy You in Sydney These Days?

axloz on 09/08/2019 - 12:14

It seems the apparent market decline in Sydney has not really had any effect. When I look on realestate.com.au or domain.com.au for properties suitable for a young family (ie, 2br or 3br house or townhouse) within 10kms of the city I'm really not seeing much up for sale..
I'm not seeing many actual houses under $1M, just a few semi's and beat-to-hell 'renovator delights'.
Townhouses start to appear around the Ryde or Canterbury areas.
Otherwise its all apartments.

Anyone else here looking and feeling rather depressed by this? A million bucks doesn't go very far any more it seems! Or are there just too many doctors and lawyers living in Sydney?

Home & Garden

Comments

  • Stimps on 09/08/2019 - 20:03
    +2

    There would be atleast a billion people in the world that if you asked them to move here naked, homeless and broke. They would do it…. Without question.

    Yep, and they are on the way too, another 3.4 million by 2050.

    • chriise on 09/08/2019 - 21:01
      +3

      Hopefully they are packing some clothes…

  • suti on 09/08/2019 - 20:30
    +4

    for those saying sydney is cheap for international standards, check out the prices of property 40km from the cbds of sydney (liverpool), new york (staten island), and london (watford)…

    • fantombloo on 10/08/2019 - 01:40
      +3

      So true. Expensive stuff is to be expected in big cities, but here in aus it's all expensive. A million dollars for a nice house in a barren outer suburb of Sydney - ridiculous when you can get the same thing 45min from NYC in a picturesque street in a leafy suburb for half that.

    • Stimps on 10/08/2019 - 08:51
      +3

      They’re not going to look because they don’t want to know. They would prefer to look at cities 3-4 times the population of Sydney like Hong Kong or New York and it must be within 10km of the city so it’s impossible to compare. Helps them sleep at night with their mega mortgage.

  • Trying2SaveABuck on 09/08/2019 - 22:02
    +1

    You could put it in bank shares get about 7% pa return which is about 70k with that you could rent most nice places in the Sydney CBD

    • axloz on 10/08/2019 - 16:58
      +1

      I've thought about playing the invest+rent game instead, but when you start to dissect how Australia's tax laws are structured for individuals, it all sways heavily toward the nuclear family mentality - where each family has kids, and owns their own home. As we progress (have progressed..) the model is now also about families owning more than one property, which eventually helps pay for our retirements..

      So it can be done, but its a riskier road, and is harder from the outset as the lending criteria are also different..

      • [Deactivated] on 11/08/2019 - 12:29

        Obviously Ontheshred has no idea what he is talking about. The capital gains tax saving on primary residence completely destroys any argument about investing in anything else. Especially at 7% (and he's dreaming if he thinks he's going to get 7% long term).

  • ribze1 on 09/08/2019 - 22:07
    +4

    Can't believe all of the people defending the insane house prices in Sydney.

    How is a 2-3 bedder within 10kms of the CBD for under a mil being unreasonable in the grand scheme of things. Not like he said beach side/harbour side.
    Add to that, alot of houses in the inner west are fairly small.

    • Trying2SaveABuck on 09/08/2019 - 22:25

      It depends on you perspective to the average person 1 million is a LOT of money but others a million isnt a lot of money.

      If you earn 80k a year mentality compared to the bloke earning 5-6 million a year mentality

    • Ononono on 10/08/2019 - 01:33

      Compared to other places it is really not too bad. If you wanna live in a top tier city and within 10km then you should expect to live in an apartment.

    • Nebargains on 11/08/2019 - 15:58

      Because there is only so much land and everyone wants to live close to the city.

      These inner city suburbs will always be expensive.

      • ribze1 on 11/08/2019 - 18:10

        Yes of course, but prices as a whole are too high irrespective. $1m should buy what he wants.

        • [Deactivated] on 11/08/2019 - 21:37
          +1

          Simple demand supply law. OP can borrow $1m to buy a house, and 'wants' in Double Bay NSW but many other people can offer $3m for the same house (often with borrowing the same amout but have had equity from previous house). Then what do you do?

  • luffyex2010 on 09/08/2019 - 23:14
    +4

    …it's Sydney, magnet of the rich.

    It's a low tech city compared to the other top city in its tier.

    Population ^, ∆ of inequality of wealth ^

    This supply and demand chain will be going on unless there is a reset event like wwiii to change it.

    Fast forward 3o years later OzNeoBargain ,my grandchild Luffyex2050 will upload his self augmented reality to inform members on how to have a faster route to own a unit via a queue jump but only now the unit price is $3 mil for a 2 bedder in the Neo Sydney CBD.

    …can't wait to play cyber punk 2077

    • axloz on 10/08/2019 - 16:51

      haha, great post. I think the key to maintaining sanity in the sydney property game is to have a good sense of humour!

  • WhoGiveAShxt on 09/08/2019 - 23:33

    Don't buy any NEW apartments that were built after 2003. If you are a savvy property investor, Ignore this one.

  • Kranbone on 10/08/2019 - 02:08
    +1

    Lower your expectations, if only for a while.

    CBD and 10KM radius around it is not the be all and end all.

  • silenthillrocks on 10/08/2019 - 09:18

    2 blades of grass 50km from CBD

  • HeWhoKnows on 10/08/2019 - 09:42
    +1

    OP needs to open thier eyes and look a bit further out.

    3 and 4 bedroom townhouses and also houses can be found in the Sydney from around $500,000.

    If you want to be close to the city the PAY THE PRICE!

    Quite a few of these around at $500K or less

    https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-minto-13164…

    https://www.domain.com.au/56-26-32-rance-road-werrington-nsw…

    https://www.domain.com.au/99b-maple-road-north-st-marys-nsw-…

    https://www.domain.com.au/st-marys-nsw-2760-2014432449

    OR CLOSER TO CITY:
    https://www.domain.com.au/6-17-25-campbell-hill-road-chester…

    https://www.domain.com.au/sale/liverpool-nsw-2170/house/3-be…

    https://www.domain.com.au/15-83-queen-street-guildford-nsw-2…

    • whooah1979 on 10/08/2019 - 13:26
      +4

      We’ve worked in nearly all of those suburbs. There is a reason they’re affordable.

    • coffeeinmyveins on 14/08/2019 - 13:59

      st marys
      chester hill
      minto

      LOL there's a reason they're 500k.

      • ihbh on 17/10/2019 - 14:26

        low socio-demographics?

  • nikey2k27 on 10/08/2019 - 09:44
    +6

    Sydney a hole once you move out better your life will become.

    • [Deactivated] on 11/08/2019 - 12:30

      So you're saying he'll be less of an A hole if he moves out of Sydney? Probably true.

  • drfuzzy on 10/08/2019 - 11:46

    A $1m home is less than $32,000 per year in interest payments (at 3.5% with 10% deposit). Principal repayments will add a bit more.
    A $1m home may sound unaffordable but to many families it is affordable.

    • netjock on 10/08/2019 - 17:32
      +4

      With super low interest rates it isn't the interest that kills you, it is the whooping principle!

      It will end up like Japan. Zero interest rates and still 2 generations to pay off an apartment. The apartment investors are just stuck high (price) and dry (no money).

      See how everyone is just borrowing more at low interest rates. There will be the day even when the Chinese are tapped out on debt.

      • Stimps on 10/08/2019 - 18:55
        +1

        Exactly, a big loan today will still be a big loan in 15 years.

  • MoonlapseVertigo on 10/08/2019 - 15:58

    Can get 4bdm 2.5bath in Marsden Park for $800k, it’s not exactly an affluent suburb but not far from the hills and new Sydney metro. Good first home buyer location

    https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-marsden+par…

    Also check out places like box hill and Schofields, space for kids to run around too, 4bdm for under $1M not far from metro and hills district

    https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-box+hill-13…

    • mousie on 10/08/2019 - 16:39

      Richmond road.. blegh

    • echelon6 on 11/08/2019 - 12:17
      +3

      terrible advice

      all those suburbs towards the top left are overpriced and have no intrinsic value

      1m has many better options

      punchbowl, belmore, wiley park, granville, auburn

      • axloz on 12/08/2019 - 11:19

        Yeah, I'm not sold on Marsden park and some of the new subdivisions. They build the houses before they build the infrastructure.. I'll be waiting for 2 years for the next bus, and my NBN will be stuck in the eternal loop of blame between NBN Co and the local provider…
        Heard too many bad stories..

      • SlavOz on 12/08/2019 - 23:24

        Probably no worse area than Punchbowl. It's a shit hole and a bit of a pain to get to and from. Auburn is trashy as hell too but at leadt it's kind of in the direction of the CBD.

        I'd recommend Blacktown instead. Still cheap, and only 65% of it is trashy. Nice family parts of it, plenty of shops and amenities, and really close to the city (40 mins with train). It's underrated

  • mousie on 10/08/2019 - 16:38
    +4

    200,000 mcfeast meals for the OzB community

  • Eeples on 10/08/2019 - 21:05

    Somewhere like Meadowbank, West Ryde, Dundas Valley….. have 3 bedroom units/townhouses, maybe houses under $1mil.
    25 min to central by train, 50min by ferry to Circular quay.

    • axloz on 12/08/2019 - 11:17

      Yep, this is where we've been looking lately. Meadowbank has a lot of apartments going up but its in a decent spot overall.

  • Zachary on 10/08/2019 - 22:11
    +5

    fark if houses are this expensive, i guess ill have to keep living with my parents…

    • axloz on 12/08/2019 - 11:16
      -1

      haha, sadly I don't have that option!

      Hope your parents have lots of smashed avo though, then you can really nail the stereotype :)

      • Zachary on 17/08/2019 - 14:01

        Yeah it's no wonder we have homeless people roaming about in the CBDs…..begging or playing their musical instruments…..

  • WoodYouLikeSomeCash on 10/08/2019 - 23:40

    1 mil should get you a fair lot of grass

  • This Guy on 11/08/2019 - 01:20

    I'm not seeing many actual houses under $1M, just a few semi's

    Because that is most of what is there. In 10 minutes I found semi's for under 1 million less than 4km from Martin Place and less than 4km driving to the CBD. I found multiple recent sales with 'price undisclosed' implying they were sold notably under market value.

    A 2 bedroom semi is usually better than a 2 bedroom townhouse for most family's as townhouses are usually all driveway with a 'yard' big enough for a water tank, a clothes line and a water heater, compared to a semi's generous room for a tent or two (in case you want to lease out some of your vast CBD-ish land to hipsters).

  • echelon6 on 11/08/2019 - 12:15

    nothing special about the 1m number - it's not really a big number these days

    if you'er in Sydney, I'd suggest granville. Strong train line, centrally located, can buy something quite nice for 1m. Who do you think you are holding 1m and expecting a freestanding house within 10km?

    • axloz on 12/08/2019 - 11:29

      haha, I know right? I'll put the cape away and stop wearing my undies on the outside then..

  • DiLs on 11/08/2019 - 14:16
    +4

    2 rare lion king ooshies

    • axloz on 12/08/2019 - 11:28

      I was thinking of investing it in an AMG instead..

  • syousef on 11/08/2019 - 16:40
    +3

    Life long slavery.

  • wimphrel on 11/08/2019 - 18:26

    $1M buys you 'enough' if you aren't fixated with 'as the crow flies' distance to a place you don't really want to be at most of your life anyway (work). My first property was an apartment in Hornsby, and as I weedled off the loan, I traded up to 2x the principal to a $850K house in Winston Hills (2016). M2 Buses can me to the city in 35-40mins (20-30km away from city), which makes no difference when you have a decent data plan.
    I don't really like the CBD at all, but if you're the clubbing type, then I'm sure that's just a phase right? Just rent and still get your foot in the door somewhere more family orientated (assuming you want a family).

    • axloz on 12/08/2019 - 11:28

      I catch your point there, and cheers for sharing your experience!
      I actually like the city, and generally enjoy my work. The city just has a buzz to it that suburbs don't and its all driven by the number of people etc etc.. Not into clubbing etc at all though. That said, if I were to live in the CBD, I'd far prefer an apartment.
      So when I take the $1M budget I can get a 1br apartment in the city (maybe a tiny 2br), or a 2br apartment within 10kms, but anything sized to have family is up over $1M, unless I go further out - Ryde area, Canterbury, etc..

      I just see commuting on packed transport for an hour or more each way as a total waste of time. I know this because I've been doing for years now. I think the resounding sentiment is that I simply need to spend more like $2M on a property.. Thanks Sydney! (insert appropriate mumble-grumble here)

  • [Deactivated] on 11/08/2019 - 18:38

    As a reference, we bought a decent house (1940 built) with 700 sqm block and 17km from Sydney CBD. So called a blue ribbon street (tree lined, no townhouses or units within 5mnts walk) But close to transport (bus and train).

    After looking for months starting in nicer and closer suburbs 10km from CBD and eventually went further and further from CBD. For $950k.

    That was in 2008. Before all the hyperinflation started and before Sydney became so packed full of people everywhere u go.

    Sold for $2m in 2017 to help us upgrade to one within 6km drive of Brisbane CBD

  • funnysht on 12/08/2019 - 09:09

    A one million dollar house

  • reddead2067 on 12/08/2019 - 15:03

    You will have to look further West.

    Someone along public transportation, but a million isn't that much these days.

  • decio60 on 12/08/2019 - 19:41

    I just purchased my 1st property villa in bardwell valley 2 bedroom garage and car space 600k which is reasonable price in this area, we where looking for 2 years before we purchased, depends where you want to live if you want alot of space you have to pay for it.

    Check bexley area also prices coming down there also.

  • Bammers on 12/08/2019 - 20:22

    This just sold in Ryde - I'd hazard a guess spot on the $1mil mark. 850sqm decent sized block… A little old but very livable.

    https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-nsw-ryde-1…

    • axloz on 13/08/2019 - 10:28

      That one looks great actually. I don't mind the older houses like that at all.

  • Dsquall on 12/08/2019 - 20:46

    Auburn, it's a bit of a ghetto and culturally a bit eclectic but it's relatively close to the city (30 minutes from the city and 10 minutes from parra) and has pretty low house prices, medians at around 800k - 1 mil or so for a 4 - 5 bedder. As a previous commentator has suggested there is 'intrinsic value' given the geography. One day it will also be gentrified and house prices will reach parity with surrounding suburbs but till that day you'll probably have to HODL.

    There are some surrounding suburbs that are better from a livability perspective (berala, regents park etc.) and won't break the budget and has pretty good access to public transport.

    In terms of 1mil 3 bedder, they do exist within 10kms of the city. Fivedock, summer hill those sort of places will have smallish 2-3 bedders for maybe a touch over 1 mil, they probably don't have great growth potential and I don't imagine getting around will be much easier given Sydney traffic. Balmain, glebe, rozelle also do have offerings at that price range but quality and size will probably not be great (or even good).

    • loropy9 on 12/08/2019 - 22:57
      +2

      You seriously recommend Auburn? If Auburn started looking good to people, it’s definitely time to move out of this shitty city.

      • Dsquall on 13/08/2019 - 15:44

        It wouldn't be my first choice (or anywhere in my top 20 choices) but when you have a budget, a super expensive city, requirements as to distance to the city and need for a townhouse/house you gotta compromise somewhere.

        Also, in all honesty a lot of the Auburn stigma is due to media spin, it's not as bad as the news makes it out to be. It doesn't have the greatest schools but you can take that spare 500k - 1mil and send your kids to a private school if you wanted.

        • HighAndDry on 14/08/2019 - 11:05

          Also, in all honesty a lot of the Auburn stigma is due to media spin, it's not as bad as the news makes it out to be.

          Eh. I've had a friend robbed twice near the station - once with a knife, once with a gun. It's not all media spin.

          • khell on 15/08/2019 - 23:39

            @HighAndDry: Is Lidcombe any better, being right next door? I moved from Melbourne and have no idea what is actually safer and not as safe, only what I can find on Homely.

  • [Deactivated] on 13/08/2019 - 09:44
    +1

    Large fries at maccas ?

  • pogichinoy on 13/08/2019 - 09:58

    Housing prices are priced at what the market can bear for the moment.

    Adjust your expectations as a house within 10km of the CBD is a privilege considering the population and economic changes in the last few decades from your 'Golden years'.

  • daleyboy79 on 13/08/2019 - 13:00

    One thing ive noticed people tend to neglect in the "how close to the Sydney CBD can i live" arguments is the fact that the CBD is literally on the coastline, so unlike other big cities where the 10km line goes 360deg in all directions, it only goes for 180deg in Sydney… hence making much less land available (then also include Sydney harbour etc etc)

    • Stimps on 13/08/2019 - 16:24

      Aren’t most cities on a coastline?

  • Dubsys on 13/08/2019 - 13:59

    Start looking at jobs in your field elsewhere, a million dollars in Newcastle will buy you a mansion, a million dollars in adelaide will go far. Consider the idea that you could probably find a similar job with similar pay in a city that costs expontentially less to live in.

    • axloz on 14/08/2019 - 14:36

      This is plan B :)

  • Baghern on 13/08/2019 - 13:59

    With the future of Infrastructure being showed to be even more fked, and the NSW Govt only focusing on inner Sydney, prices are just going to keep going up.

  • Cluster on 13/08/2019 - 14:23

    A million dollar property isn't that expensive these days, according to some of the comments above. Well, I'd like to see your average office worker have enough income to service a $0.8M loan, let alone gather the $200k deposit required. Everyone is forced to live in dual income households while paying a fortune for child care. Or… move out of Sydney.

    • wimphrel on 13/08/2019 - 22:05
      +2

      A lot of previous posters were trying to point out: You start by borrowing much less -> e.g. $0.5M, and thus only requiring a $100K deposit to buy a smaller place further away from the city… then as you reduce your debt, you can sell the property and 'upgrade' to today's-$1M home later. And repeat again if you are so inclined to want a $1.5M home, etc.

      Financially -> it's not ideal to blindly save $200K in a savings account over time to 'get that deposit' for their $1M home. The deposit would just be earning a measly 2-3% return in a bank account, whereas you should be diversifying it more into some slightly higher risk investments : e.g. shares or a smaller property.

      Try and find safe (and legal :P) ways to make your deposit grow faster than blindly putting it all into a bank account (even an indexed fund is better). Talk to a financial planner - hell Ozbargain is a free financial planner with puns and dad-jokes thrown in the mix.

      • axloz on 14/08/2019 - 14:39

        Appreciate this comment, you make good sense of the 'building wealth' mentality, rather than simply acquiring it in one hit and letting that one thing appreciate in value..

        Saving 200k is not an easy thing to do but avoiding LMI is certainly ideal.

      • SlavOz on 18/08/2019 - 11:01

        A lot of previous posters were trying to point out: You start by borrowing much less -> e.g. $0.5M, and thus only requiring a $100K deposit to buy a smaller place further away from the city… then as you reduce your debt, you can sell the property and 'upgrade' to today's-$1M home later. And repeat again if you are so inclined to want a $1.5M home, etc.

        Does this really work though?

        There's no guarantee that a $500k property will increase in value by the time you've reduced your debt.

        • axloz on 20/08/2019 - 12:33

          And just as the $500k property increases in value (assuming it does of course), the $1M property is also increasing - I'm not sure exactly how folks do this, but I do certainly see logic in paying down a property rather than paying rent.

  • Archi on 18/10/2019 - 14:48
    +1

    $1m can buy you a 4 bedroom duplex in Revesby
    https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-duplex+semi-deta…

    not quite 10 minutes from city but a 20 minute express train to central, good schools and facilities.

    you could get brand new duplexes in the suburb for similar money

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