$500k investments and ‘borderless investing’ returns results for buyers

The report opened with the concession that not so long ago, $500,000 would have provided formidable purchasing power across just about every population centre.

Now, “if you are looking for more bang for your $500,000 buck then you will have to travel further afield”, the report did concede.

Although some of Australia’s biggest markets “have taken a bit of a hit” over the past two years, half a million probably doesn’t cut as much sway as it once did in Sydney and Melbourne, it continued.

That said, the month in review offered that “if you’re willing to compromise on property type and location, you can still buy and reside within a long commute of both CBDs at (or around) this price”.

Looking beyond the “east-coast-centric” thinking, the report found plenty of options for investment at or around a ‘magic figure’ of $500,000 that offered property of various condition, amenities, land and extras.

While offering the sentiment that “when markets rise, it’s often the cheaper properties that are dragged up first”, the report did consider a number of areas as experiencing a decline in market value.

For houses, it highlighted a declining market as currently affecting the Southern Tablelands, Kalgoorlie and Newcastle.

Broome, Geraldton, Illawarra, South West WA, Southern Highlands and Sydney also all appear to be approaching the bottom of their respective markets.

The report then flagged Alice Springs, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth Toowoomba, Darwin and Bundaberg as currently bottomed-out.

For units, a declining market was noted for Canberra, the Gold Coast, Kalgoorlie, Newcastle, Perth and the Southern Tablelands.

The locations experiencing an approach towards the bottom of their markets with respect to units was considered as affecting the same locations as it did for houses, the report offered.

However, in contrast to the house market, the bottom of the market phenomenon is currently affecting far more area-markets in the unit category, with the Adelaide Hills, Alice Springs, Barossa Valley, Brisbane, Bundaberg, Darwin, Ipswich, Mackay, Melbourne, Rockhampton, Shepparton, Toowoomba and Whitsunday all very flat, according to the report.

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