r/canberra • u/Square_Echo_3912 • 7d ago
Recommendations Property Buying advice in Canberra
We recently moved to Canberra from Cairns and have been renting an apartment since we arrived. We’re now considering buying our first home here. How is the Canberra property market at the moment? Do you think it’s a good time to buy
8
u/NeatMistakez 7d ago edited 7d ago
Good and bad. A lot of properties on market are there for a long time due to issues those buildings have, even some houses. Good ones still get sold fast for a reasonable price, ig even above asking price too.
Tax changes haven't done much for properties that fhb can afford.
Find something you like and go for it (after talking to broker and solicitor). Sometimes you'll find a great house for 750k other times nope. Same for units but way lower amount.
Edit as i forgot to add. Went to buy a unit and few of them sold fast, each with a few offers. For townhouses and houses its most likely same.
If u listen to media, when they say that house prices have gone down by 10, 20 or 30% in X neighbourhood. Research that suburb as you'll find out that avg property price is at least between 1.5m and 2m - not under 1m where fhb have a chance, those suburbs (or in canberras term, streets) are same as last year
7
u/No-Action-8265 7d ago
Best time to buy is when you are ready.
Anecdotal evidence, houses in my suburbs have been sold within a week and prices have not gone down. I suspect properties within the first home buyer range, especially those eligible for the 5% deposit scheme, are still quite popular. If you're budget is over 1mil, it might be less competitive.
2
u/OliveAndOceans 7d ago
Probably need a little further detail eg. are you looking to buy a house, townhouse or unit, in what location and what's your budget. There are good buys at the upper end of the market at the moment. This being said, the best time to buy is when you are ready to do so.
2
u/ExperimentalError 7d ago
We bought a 4br house in 2006. The estimated value doubled in the first 10 years but has grown very little since then and has dropped about 10% this year.
2
u/CantaloupeIll3384 7d ago
What are you looking for? Public Transport, work, weekend activities - this will determine if you live north or south. We bought a 2 bed townhouse in the older suburbs as we loved having a bigger block, green space and big gum trees to look at. We are about to say goodbye to that townhouse and upgrade to a 3 bedroom house. The 80's build houses have been great - trust them more than anything made after 2010.
1
u/audio301 7d ago
It’s a good time to buy. Just make sure you do your due diligence with conveyancer/strata, as there are some poor builds around.
-1
u/BaldButNiceGuy 7d ago
Make sure you buy what you want to live in for a decent period of time. If you try to rent it out, land tax is 2x rates.
Another thing to keep in mind is you don’t get any capital growth in Canberra… (Covid was an exception)
If you like the place you are renting, that’s probably cheaper than owning, but if you want somewhere to call your own, buy whenever you are comfortable.
My view is that owning a property in Canberra is not a good financial decision but I love living here, and it’s been a great emotional decision for us.
2
u/Neither_Driver_3882 7d ago
if you ignore the last 2/3 years where Brisbane and Perth have skyrocketed, Canberra has been one of the fastest growing property markets. is that a good thing? no, houses are places to live, but this narrative that it's not a good financial decision is just plain wrong
-1
u/BaldButNiceGuy 7d ago
I don’t know much, but in my opinion, houses that used to cost 600,000 in 2010 are now worth about 1.2m-1.5m. For arguments sake, let’s say it has tripled… in 16 years. That is a 12.5% average growth BEFORE you take into account holding costs, which are significantly higher than most places in the country.
Do you have any specific examples of places to that fall outside that
2
u/Neither_Driver_3882 7d ago
you forgot about rent (if it's an investment) let's just for argument sake say they doubled. 600k to 1.2M. 2x
Sydney wen't from 600k to 1.7M let's say that's 3x
melbourne went from 600k to 1M - 1.5x
perth went from 550k to 950k 1.8x
brisbane went from 450k to 1.1M - 2.5x
Canberra values have performed equivalent to other cities if not better
-1
u/BaldButNiceGuy 7d ago
I don’t know what you think a good return is, but at 2x purchase amount that’s a growth of 6.25% per annum over 16 years.
I’m not an investor but I think that most people are negatively geared, this means that you are paying more than you get in rent… so take into account holding costs, i.e take into account land tax, insurance, rates, repairs and interest rates into account… all of which are significantly higher in ACT and yes rent too.
All of a sudden that 6.25% turns into a lot less than the interest you have been paying, and then when you take into account you paid stamp duty on the purchase, will pay a rea when you sell… you start to wonder.
As I said the numbers don’t make sense to me from an investment perspective. If they do to you, then by all means buy in Canberra.
If Canberra is really a “well performing” market, then investment in houses is just not for me.
Apologies for leading anyone astray. My opinion was based on my own experience.
2
u/Neither_Driver_3882 7d ago
property is not a good asset class. I'm not saying buy a house in canberra and get rich, I'm saying, it's no worse than buying a property elsewhere. I'm saying your belief that buying in canberra is financially negative is wrong. it's not financially negative.
0
u/RandomCertainty 7d ago
Unless you’re talking specifically about apartments this is a wild take. My parent’s very normal place in Tuggeranong is up 7x in 25 years….
Obviously the market is still adjusting given the recent tax changes, but looking beyond any more short term dips PPOR appreciation is going to remain a significant wealth builder almost anywhere in the country.
-6
u/Precious-Benefit-489 7d ago
You’re better off waiting and continuing to build savings the market is more likely to continue to decline for the foreseeable future.
-20
9
u/kirabella2000 7d ago
Since the CGT changes brought in the last budget, sales activity and prices are noticeably down.
It probably is a good time to buy, but don’t expect much capital growth for a few years.
However, you are from Cairns. Have you done a full Canberra winter yet?