North Shore Property (Chatswood, Gordon, Pymble, Killara, Linfield)

skyrocket01

Anyone is interested in these surburbs. Recently I have read lots of articles and comments on the price drop in these surburbs. I am thinking of buying a house ( relative good condition with low maintainence cost) in these surburbs. But I cannot find some info, such as which surburb has the best or very good school ( I plan to have kids in 3 years), the relative cheapness or expensiveness of these suburbs, which one is more suitable for Chinese, good transport to CBD (I'm working in CBD), etc.

Welcome any comments.

Many thanks in Advance.

黑山老妖

For primary school: You want to live in Artarmon. Artarmon primary is very famous now.
For high school: Killara high school is a good public co-education high school. You need to live in killara ( and parts of East Lindfield from memory) to be in the catchment area. There is also St. Ives which is for gordon, pymble and st. Ives area. Lindfield will fall into chatswood high school.

hhuang

how mich is your budget?

黑山老妖

For what LZ want, i.e. relative good condition with low maintainence cost house in those areas, be prepare to pay at least $900K+.

skyrocket01

which one has the most convenient transport to city?
Except Chatswood, which one is more  environmental-friendlyto the Chinese? in terms of shopping and restaurant?

skyrocket01

Another question is what other surburbs are comparable in terms of surburb safety, living starndard, good neibourhood, goo education in north and north west surburbs.

Thanks

skyrocket01

My budget is from 600-800K.
I know it is a bit tough to get a good one in these surburbs, but there are still bargins there.

黑山老妖

You have a lot of questions :)

I have some answers but not all.
The most convenient to get to city is probably Artarmon ( closest) and Gordod(trains terminate there so you get seats in the morning and have Gosford express in the afternoon). If you drive then there is no difference.
Which surburb is more Chinese friendly? Maybe Artarmon, Lindfield and Gordon. They have shops and restaurants.
Equivalent in North and Northwest? Probably none. North shore is more expensive for a reason. If I have the money I wouldn't mind living there myself.
Your budget of 600-800k is probably enough for a old house on small land (<600m^2) on lower north shore. But prices are falling so who knows you might get lucky.

skyrocket01

Thanks, I do have a few questions, haha
I am on a short break holiday so I can still chat at this time..... Holiday is great.
I found Gordon is a bit more pricy than pymble, I guess the transport is better..
Any tips on how to choose the house with the best value and condition??

黑山老妖

原帖由 skyrocket01 于 5/12/2008 09:51 发表
Thanks, I do have a few questions, haha
I am on a short break holiday so I can still chat at this time..... Holiday is great.
I found Gordon is a bit more pricy than pymble, I guess the transport is ...

Gordon is pricier than pymble because transport + more shops etc etc.

Sorry no tips for picking a bargain. The only way to find value is to keep looking and inspecting. After a while you will know what a house is worth. And when you see a bargain you will know instantly and grab the opportunity.

阿Ka

i prefer chatswood

angelaleewi99

按照LZ的预算和要求，个人觉得LZ可能还要考虑往north一点，上面列出的这些地区按目前的价格LZ的预算基本没有可能。除非是板房或者离main road很close的。:)

大飞熊

800k在chatswood可能可以考虑离火车站远一点和旧一点的townhouse

skyrocket01

I will inspect more this weekend. I saw one a few weeks ago. It's 800sqaure m2, but it's too old. Last week agent called me and said the owner was willing to sell it under 700K...

黑山老妖

原帖由 skyrocket01 于 5/12/2008 11:18 发表
I will inspect more this weekend. I saw one a few weeks ago. It's 800sqaure m2, but it's too old. Last week agent called me and said the owner was willing to sell it under 700K...

which suburb?

skyrocket01

Gordon. about 15-20mins walk to Gordon Station. It's in the west of the Pacific Highway.

黑山老妖

原帖由 skyrocket01 于 5/12/2008 11:26 发表
Gordon. about 15-20mins walk to Gordon Station. It's in the west of the Pacific Highway.

yes... west side of train line and pacific highway is cheaper. This applies to most lower north shore suburbs actually.
East side is more expensive.

angelaleewi99

以前看到过一个GORDON的房子也是800多平，700K左右，前面看很好，静街，但是它的后花园就对着Pacific Highway，that's why。
如果价格低于market的一定有它的理由的。。。LZ要看看清楚哦

skyrocket01

thanks Angel. I pass that one... It just requires too much effort on the maintenance.
I am looking for any place within walking distance to station or bus stop....
The concern is not many Chinese living in Pymble, Gordon, Turummara, which is a bit hard for parents to get used to it.

黑山老妖

原帖由 skyrocket01 于 5/12/2008 12:10 发表
thanks Angel. I pass that one... It just requires too much effort on the maintenance.
I am looking for any place within walking distance to station or bus stop....
The concern is not many Chinese li ...

You will be surprised how many chinese live there.

skyrocket01

Good to hear~~~~~~
Lao yao, thanks very much for your comment.
Would you please compare epping region, land cove and north shore region?
in terms of transport (specially to CBD),  Chinese shopping, social security.
Thanks

philgu

原帖由 黑山老妖 于 2008-12-5 12:17 发表

You will be surprised how many chinese live there.

You are right.

There is reasonable presence of chinese. The other thing is the locals are pretty friendly to asians. We have neighbours from chinese, koreans backgrounds.

Beaware what u wish for nowadays. Latest notice/update from the council indicates ku-ring-gai has/will re-zone huge amount of medium density residential properties. Six town centres included are lindfield, roseville, pyblem gordon, st ives and turramurra.

There is a large block of apartment under contruction on turramurra ave. I don't like living next to a large block of unit any day. If developer is not interested in buying ur property, u are basically stuffed.

A reasonable distance to the station nowadays is a must.

BTW, ur buget is a bit low if u want to buy on the east side though the price has come down a bit. But even now rarely good block comes to the market cheaply.

philgu

hehe, also three kids are a lot of private school fees.

skyrocket01

Hmm, Thanks Philgu.
It would be hard to persade my wife to have three kids.
2 is enough. I do not know much about the child policy here. I wonder why evey couple either has no kids or has three kids.....
I was told by some agent my budget was low. I will keep inspecting within a larger range. That's why I keep my option open. Epping region, land cove and also north shore.

黑山老妖

原帖由 skyrocket01 于 5/12/2008 13:21 发表
Good to hear~~~~~~
Lao yao, thanks very much for your comment.
Would you please compare epping region, land cove and north shore region?
in terms of transport (specially to CBD),  Chinese shopping, social security.
Thanks

North shore is the middle class sanctuary in Sydney. Leafy and nice surrounding. Very safe, if not the safest area in Sydney. Most residents are elderly, middle management or white collar professionals. Shopping is done mostly at super market. Things are a bit more expensive on north shore. Chatswood/Willoughby and Hornsby are where you will be buying your chinese groceries. Unless you want to go to eastwood/ashfield for cheaper prices. A lot of Chinese people live in north shore suburbs, particularly Chatswood. Transport wise train is the best option. Driving over/under the harbour is a problem in peak hours. Lane cove bus is horrendous in peak hours. Look at the queues at bus stops. I don't want to know... If you want to live in Lane Cove, get a car.

Epping/Eastwood are also leafy but more units. A lot of MQ uni students, young couples. Lots of chinese, korean and indians live in the area. Buying chinese groceries at eastwood is convenient. Prices are very good usually, unless you want to go to Ashfield or Campsie. For Epping, east side (hornsby council) of the train line is also better than west side (parramatta council). Country link stops at Epping and Eastwood(less frequent). Forget about taking bus to city, too far.

skyrocket01

Thanks. That's very helpful.

sweeet

The house price is not rocketing anymore on north shore but still high. AFAIK most of the unworried old residents here are not in a hurry as to cut the price and sell their properties, say within 3 or 4 months. I got a neighbour who has listed his small house for 7 months but never bothered to lower his ask price. He even changed agencies.:) The other day I happened to have a glimpse of the For Sale board in the back yard of another neighbour, who seems has given up the selling after a failed auction in October. (and I know her expectation was around 3.3 m). So, assuming these are happenning across the upper north shore, lz has to lift your budget, I guess around 1M,  to get a well located house within walking distance to railway but not just next to pacific hwy

some personal feelings to add: whenever I drive up from city, I feel relaxed only after I passed Roseville. "well, finally get rid of damn chatswood..... ", hehe, chatswood always has too much traffic. chatswood is only good if you need a place to hang out with your gangs....

[ 本帖最后由 sweeet 于 2008-12-5 14:46 编辑 ]

黑山老妖

原帖由 sweeet 于 5/12/2008 14:26 发表
The house price is not rocketing anymore on north shore but still high. AFAIK most of the unworried old residents here are not in a hurry as to cut the price and sell their properties, say within 3 or ...

There are always elderlies want to sell up and go to nursing home. So there is always a possibility.

黑山老妖

原帖由 sweeet 于 5/12/2008 14:26 发表
some personal feelings to add: whenever I drive up from city, I feel relaxed only after I passed Roseville. "well, finally get rid of damn chatswood..... ", hehe, chatswood always has too much traffic. chatswood is only good if you need a place to hang out with your gangs....

Agree with you on this. Chatswood is the traffic black spot.

skyrocket01

I agree. Pacific Highway is the worst road in sydney....
no right turn and full of traffic...
Let's hope for a 30% drop in the coming months, which is predicted by someone repected.
hundreds of macq bankers are out of job, surely it will have some impact on pricy property market.
Job cut is across all major banks and financial companies, as I know. Most of the time the layoff starts from middle management who might lives in North Shore area.... Just finger cross I still keep my job ( I'm too mean?).