Rising Tide Blog

A few days ago, I got talking to a member of the Rising Tide team about the Sydney property market. She recently relocated from Sydney and she was talking about how property prices there compare with those here in Melbourne.

As an ex-Sydney sider, the main difference she has noticed is that here in Melbourne it’s still possible to buy in suburbs that are relatively close to the CBD for a reasonable price. She used her parents’ house located about an hour and a half from the Sydney CBD as a case in point. Her parents bought the house around 15 years ago for around 700K. Last week the house next door to them sold for 3.5 million. How’s that for asset appreciation!

Comparatively here in Melbourne, it’s still possible to buy in a number of suburbs about an hour’s commute from the city at a reasonable price. The best part? Since Melbourne’s property market tends to follow the same trajectory as Sydney’s (just a couple of years behind), it’s highly likely that the value of property in these areas is going to increase dramatically in the next five to ten years.

I made the decision to move my family out to Woodend around ten years ago and I’ve never looked back. People always ask me, “how do you work in the city and live in Woodend?” For me, it’s a no brainer. It takes me 40 minutes to get in to the city – much the same as it would take me if I lived in Brunswick and caught public transport in to Docklands every day. I also sleep soundly at night knowing that I’m not mortgaged up to my eyeballs and that my boys have a backyard to run around in rather than being cooped up in an inner city apartment.

So provided you’re willing to embrace a commuter lifestyle, what suburbs should you be looking to buy in? Here’s my top pick of commuter suburbs – all conveniently located on the v-line!

Marshall

Average house price: 380K

Average weekly rent: $370

Even though it’s not a particularly trendy suburb, Marshall has the advantage of being located around 10 minutes from Geelong on top of being only an hour and 10 minutes from Melbourne. Marshall is also just only a few minutes drive from the beach and close to an array of both private and public schools.

Woodend

Average house price: 552K

Average weekly rent: $380

The best thing about Woodend is that it feels like a country town even though it’s only a 40 minute drive from the Melbourne CBD. Woodend also boasts all the luxuries that the city has to offer such as trendy cafes, galleries and sporting facilities. The gateway to the Macedon Ranges region, Woodend also offers a number of great schooling options and some cracker bushwalking trails that I like to get out and explore on the weekend.

Nar Nar Goon

Average house price: 348K

Average weekly rent: $320

Aside from the extremely affordable property prices that make this little town very attractive, wouldn’t you love to tell people that you’re from a place with a name like Nar Nar Goon? Just a 50 minute drive from Melbourne and located in Victoria’s stunning Gippsland region, this area is an ideal spot to raise a family while still maintaining a working life in the city.