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Tasmania - Time to catch up
The October issue of Australian Property Investor profiles the Launceston suburb of Invermay. Property investor Jillian Koshin who owns a property investment there shares her observations below.
Name: Jillian Koshin
Lives: Invermay
Invests: Newnham and Invermay
Properties: 9
Strategy: Buy and hold
Tasmania - Time to catch up
Jillian has lived in Invermay since 1978. She started investing in the suburb in 1993. She observed Invermay's growing popularity in the late '80s when other investors and owner-occupiers discovered they could pick up some original Federation-style houses for extremely affordable prices just two kilometres from the CBD.
"Federation-style suddenly became the trendy thing," explains Jillian. "The suburb reminds me of parts of Malvern (Melbourne). At the time prices here and in Malvern were very similar. But now in Malvern you're paying just under a million and here you can still pay around $200,000. Where else can you pay this price for a century-old home?"
Jillian reveals that there's a variety of housing in the suburb, from the Federation-style home from as far back as the 1890s, the 1920s Californian Bungalow and the basic weatherboard homes, which started arriving from the 1950s.
She says there's a really interesting mix of dwellings and they're spread throughout the suburb fairly evenly.
While the council is working on the flood levees, Jillian reveals that they've introduced a regulation that restricts building residential developments, which she believes could partly be the reason why there's been a halt in price growth.
"A lot of Invermay is actually above flood level, looking back to the 1929 floods it was more the industrial parts of old Inveresk closer to the city that were affected."
She adds that another factor keeping the price down could be the drive along Invermay Road, potentially turning off people from venturing further into the suburb.
"You see service stations converted to car yards and buildings with little architecture probably along most of Invermay Road - three kilometres from the city to Mowbray."
"Invermay is not one of the leafier suburbs, it's more about having a tidy garden because trees might have roots that upset the house foundation," she says smiling.
Jillian believes the predicted growth for Invermay is "probably because people are liking to be closer to the city again".
"It's a half-hour walk to the city, and the bus service is good."
She says Invermay is a handy location for students attending the nearby school of architecture, visual arts school, polytechnic for art and craft, fine furniture school and vocational art school year for years 11 and 12.
The university to the north at Newnham also makes Invermay a central suburb to live in, she adds.
In one of her Invermay investment properties live a lovely couple with two children, she explains. "Both parents are PHD students at the university and find it easy to access from Invermay via the bicycle and pedestrian path."
She adds that there's a good primary school nearby of which the children attend.
"I must say with our rental properties in the last 12 years we've rarely had vacancies," says Jillian.
Jillian adds that the suburb is now a mix of blue-collar workers, clerical workers, young professionals and students.
One of Jillian's investment properties in Invermay that she's currently renovating was built in 1907. Spending up to $70,000 on restoration and renovation on this detached single-storey semi, she intends on bumping up the value significantly on completion. Its pre-renovation value was $220,000 and it was renting from $280.
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