- With property prices booming, what can you buy in Melbourne for a budget of $500,000?
- The Property Tribune has scoured listing sites, and found three different offerings
- Far more options for $500K in Melbourne than in Sydney
Earlier this year, we had a look at what $500,000 can buy you in every capital city, and last week we revised this theme, focussing in on Sydney and Brisbane.
Why $500,000? With home loan interest rates hovering around 2%, theoretically, a home buyer could gain a $500,000 (interest only) loan and pay just $200 a week in repayments.
What $500,000 gets you in Melbourne
Despite significant lockdowns disrupting the real estate market a year ago, the Victorian capital is not immune from the housing boom, with house prices increasing albeit not as steeply as experienced by the other capital cities.
Asking prices for houses has risen from just above $1 million in February 2020 to $1.06 million as of this month.
In fact, units have remained fairly subdued. Asking property prices for units in February 2020 were $555,007. Despite a slight rise towards $570,000, as of July it had fallen back to $563,243. Many have argued this was due to an oversupply of apartments in Melbourne, as well as the long term reduction in overseas migrants and international students.
As compared to Sydney, a $500,000 budget – especially in terms of houses – opens up far more options in Melbourne.
1. Two-by-one apartment in Flemington
For auction this Saturday is a two-by-one in Flemington, a suburb famous, of course, as the home of the racecourse where the Melbourne Cup occurs, the race that stops a nation.
One of nine in the complex, the apartment offers two bedrooms, one with an exposed brick feature wall with a central bathroom and separate WC. The kitchen and meals area has been updated which includes new carpets, floors and electric oven. Being in Flemington, the apartment is within walking distance to Pin Oak Crescent’s cafes, restaurants, parks and shopping precinct.
The agent has provided a price guide of $460,000 to $500,000, noting the comparable properties that have sold in the area this year have been within this range.
2. Three-by-one house in St Albans
With a price guide of $500,000 to $550,000, this house on a 576sqm block in St Albans, 17 kilometres northwest of Melbourne’s CBD could be yours.
The brick veneer home consists of three bedrooms, a bathroom with a separate toilet, a central kitchen and meals area, laundry with backyard access and single car garage. A train station and Alfrieda Street Shopping Precinct are just a kilometre away.
According to the price guide, this is below the $620,000 median sale price for houses in the area with comparable properties selling in the vicinity of $502,000 to $545,000 so far this calendar year.
Subject to council approval, the listing mentions the property’s potential for further development, re-development or extension given the ample room at the back.
3. Two-by-one unit in Bayswater North
This property in Bayswater North – about 28 kilometres east of Melbourne CBD – has a price guide of $500,000 to $550,000, just as the St Albans listing (2) above.
The listing for the two-by-one unit is targeted at first-home seekers, downsizers and investors wishing to purchase a property with a simple floorplan in a “quiet” complex.
The lounge is carpeted with an adjacent kitchen. Both the master bedroom and the second bedroom contain a double built-in robe. There is a paved outdoor area in a secure courtyard with a single lock-up garage.
Within walking distance is a range of amenities such as Bayswater Railway Station, Bayswater Village Shopping Centre along with a short drive to the Eastlink freeway.
Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane – $500,000
A quick search on a well-known property listing site, sees the following number of properties listed for sale for $500,000 or less:
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The other 2 articles in the series:
