Buying West Auckland

[P.Bateman]

Just a newbie to this and looking at buying our first home. We are looking at houses $500K and under, at this price we are looking at Henderson (off Rathgar or Bruce McLaren), Sunnyvale, Glen Eden (Solar Rd area) or Kelston. Don't know a lot about these areas apart from the fact that Kelston used to be quite rough and Solar Rd is a bit dodgy as well. What is Sunnyvale like- looks like a fair amount of state houses there when we drove by. Is Henderson the best place to buy?

The other areas we were considering would be Otahuhu and Mt Wellington but so far have only really looked out west. No kids as yet so school zoning is not important

[GenY]

Hi P.Bateman.
I know Rathgar area of Henderson well (Lincoln North). I grew up at the northern end of Rathgar Road and have a number of properties in streets off Rathgar road. Lots of schools and easy access to motorway and supermarkets etc. Personally I would stay away from Henderson south/Parrs cross/ McLaren Park area. Lots of not so flash renters and HNZ tenants. Henderson Valley road had highest number of burglaries in 2014 I think
If I was in your situation looking at the moment I would pick Henderson/Lincoln north or Massey west (around Waimumu Road) - more and more 1st home buyers and very easy to rent out in these areas to very good tenants. Do a search on propertytalk as there have been a number of threads on this
Good luck
GenY

[PTWhatAGreatForum]

We are looking at houses $500K and under, at this price we are looking at Henderson (off Rathgar or Bruce McLaren), Sunnyvale, Glen Eden (Solar Rd area) or Kelston. Don't know a lot about these areas apart from the fact that Kelston used to be quite rough and Solar Rd is a bit dodgy as well. What is Sunnyvale like- looks like a fair amount of state houses there when we drove by. Is Henderson the best place to buy?

Speaking about Rathgar Road as I lived in that area 2001 - 2013. Around there you should do all right for the reasons GenY mentioned. Should add though there is a lot of traffic along Lincoln Road and getting onto the motorway can easily take 10+ minutes at peak times. Rathgar Road also gets crowded at school day end times as there is 3 schools on that Road and another 2 in that immediate area.

[P.Bateman]

Thanks Guys- there are a couple of places off Rathgar that we've looked at. We saw a place in Harrington Rd but that road was very rough. Open home was at 1-2pm and around 2pm when we were leaving neighbours started bumping 2Pac really loud. Look on the RE Agents face was priceless!!!

[P.Bateman]

What about Sunnyvale- do you think it has the same gentrification potential as Glen Eden and New Lynn? Seems to be a very small leafy suburb close to train station.

[PTWhatAGreatForum]

Thanks Guys- there are a couple of places off Rathgar that we've looked at. We saw a place in Harrington Rd but that road was very rough.

That area can vary from street to street, even within the same street. There is some ok spots around there.

[P.Bateman]

Yep it seemed like the streets which were further away from Universal Drive were nicer. The place on Harrington rd was nice- just the immediate neighbours seemed very rough. Rubbish on the street, people drinking on their couches on the lawn

[PTWhatAGreatForum]

Yep it seemed like the streets which were further away from Universal Drive were nicer. The place on Harrington rd was nice

In a very broad sense, maybe. It has a few rough pockets but you can't really have any hard and fast rules round there. Pomaria, for example, is a 'cheaper' street, but the roads off there are quite nice. During the time I was there, the area had a massive commercial and road works development. With all that work they have been doing on the N/W motorway, it can only become more desirable. Keep in mind the places in Sunnyvale and Glen Eden are a lot further from the motorway. Depending on exactly where (in those outlying areas) it can be 20 minutes to get to the motorway even outside of busy period.

[JTC]

Yeah around Rathgar can be rough. Police always around, criminals on bail everywhere, burglaries etc. Ti Nana Cres doesn't look to bad though and Pinedale Place in behind Rathgar.

[PTILoveYou]

I would buy as close to motorway as possible (not literally next to it though).

[P.Bateman]

Thanks everyone- right now tossing up between a couple of houses in Sunnyvale/Glen Eden, Massey and Mt Wellington. Where do you guys see the better capital gain:

Massey: Close to motorway and Westgate but no train link
Sunnyvale/Glen Eden: Close to train link- good community vibe and nice views. Close to New Lynn and Henderson
Mt Wellington: Pakuranga prices have gone crazy and this has to move to Mt Wellington. Closest to CBD

The places I've seen in Sunnyvale/Glen Eden have more land, while Massey and Mt WEllington are smaller 2/3 bedroom houses

[Damap]

Mt Wellington all day long.

[speights boy]

Top Auckland hotspots picked

Papatoetoe, Swanson, Massey, Birkenhead and West Harbour are the top five Auckland suburbs to watch over the coming years, a property investment commentator says.

FUZO Property director David Whitburn, a former president of APIA, said he picked the hotspots by looking at suburb data, migration trends, rental trends, supply from building consents, demand levels, the Unitary Plan, discussions with developers and bankers and council planning policies.

[Damap]

Hahahaha. You are assuming Whitbum has a clue. History so far would question that big time.

[speights boy]

Care to provide some examples ?