July 24, 2018
There is lots to think about when choosing your new home. Brick or timber. Backyard space. House size. Number of bathrooms. You get the picture.
But how important is location?
House prices
The location of your next home will naturally determine how much you will spend. Inner-city Melbourne and Sydney are ranked in the highest housing bracket. You’ll tend to get more for your money in suburban and regional areas.
Do your research online, and talk to your local real estate agent about market trends. Factors that may influence price growth in your area include proposed infrastructure developments, supply, and demand of houses and units, and expected population growth. While forecasting is never accurate, you can use your research to make calculated decisions.
Once you’ve assessed your budget, and narrowed down your location options accordingly, you’ll have to consider other practical issues about the location of your new home.
School zoning
Planning a family, or growing kids? If you are, school zoning may well influence your buying decision.
Each public school has a designated catchment area. You can look up the school catchment zone on your state or territory government website. CoreLogic also provides a service for obtaining information about local schools, like travel distance and catchment zoning.
Once you’ve identified primary and high schools in your local area, determine how far the school is from your prospective home, and transport options.
Transport
With an expanding population and residential growth expected in suburban and regional areas, it’s no wonder the 2018 Federal Budget has allocated so much to transport infrastructure.
“This budget includes $24.5bn in funding for new major transport projects and initiatives that will benefit every state and territory,” stated the Federal Treasurer, Scott Morrison, shortly after the 2018 budget was released.
Investing in transport both stimulates the Australian economy and hopefully makes life more convenient for Australians. House prices may also be impacted. Price growth has been strong in Geelong, Victoria, and the NSW Illawarra region partly due to improved transport, for instance.
Find out what transport connections are currently available in your chosen location, and also check out proposed infrastructure.
It’s also worth calculating the driving distance from work, schools and shopping centres. Consider the impact driving times and sitting in traffic will have on your overall lifestyle.
Physical location
Distance is an important consideration when planning the location of your new home. Other physical factors include climate, aspect, and noise.
Climate has a big impact on lifestyle, and may also impact your energy costs: in cooler climates, naturally, more heating is required. And vice versa in warmer climates. Your lifestyle may also be affected by rainfall. Homes in wetter climates tend to be affected by mould, while drier climates may have water restriction issues.
The aspect of your house is the direction it faces. North facing houses often attract more natural daylight, which may affect your energy costs. Consider too whether your house is located on or near a busy road, a railway, or an airport as noise and air pollution may also impact your lifestyle.
Once you’ve weighed up the pros and cons of your buying location, book a chat with me today to find out more about lending.
