Why don't Brisbanites like Sangdate/Brighton?

Why don't Brisbanites like Sandgate/Brighton?

Hi,

I'm new to the forum however have been reading intently over the past couple of weeks. I am a relative newbie to Property Investment.

Anyways all indications are that Sydney is at the peak of the market and therefore not a viable option. Like many of this forum I have started looking towards Brisbane as it has not yet seen the gains.

I know relatively little about Brisbane however some research into nicer areas indicates that North/East Brisbane are generally more desirable.

Being from Sydney i realize the importance of being near large bodies of water and compare the Brisbane suburbs of Sandgate/Brighton/Shorncliffe to the Sydney Botany Bay suburbs of Brighton-le-sands/Ramsgate/Sans Souci. Typically anywhere near the ocean/beach/bay in Sydney have done extremely well in terms of CG Growth .

My due diligence has indicated that these Brisbane suburbs have not matched this trend in Sydneyl in terms of Capital Gains and I am really interested in Brisbanites opinion on why this may not be the case.

My question is why don't Brisbanites like these suburbs and is there a possibility that they may be comparatively undervalued - so therefore an good investment?

Interested in some thoughts and opinions on this.

Regards,
Q
 
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Hello and welcome to Somersoft.

When I got my first job in 1979, those huge Victorian and Edwardian mansions on the waterfront were actually derelict boarded-up old boarding houses where alcoholics and old divorced men squatted. I wanted to buy one for the princely sum of $25k, twice my annual salary. I was laughed out of the bank, who in their right mind would want one of "those"? "Go buy a nice modern brick house in a nice middle-class area", I was ordered.

Since then Shorncliffe and Sandgate have been gentrified and both are very desirable to the wierdos like me who dont follow fashion, but it is considered "too far away" from the CBD for commuters. Unlike in Sydney, local Brisbanites think you do not commute for any longer than an hour.

My husband's grandfather lived in Brighton from the time he arrived in Australia before the Depression. He ran a farm and built the family home and then developed a large section of land. These blocks are what we call spaghetti blocks, only a quarter to a half of the size of a 'real" block. Again not desirable to the class who believe in large blocks of land and brick homes.

Basically Shorncliffe, Sandgate and Brighton were the "poor" areas when I was growing up and hence "nice families" in the seventies and eighties bought brick homes in new estates instead - such as Bracken Ridge, Aspley, Everton Park and The Gap. The beautiful homes there have now been snatched up or pulled down. Like most of Brisbane, there are not many character homes left. Homes of this era are usually found close to the city at Albion, Clayfield and Ashgrove, no further out than Wavell. Post-war houses (most of Brighton) have been considered undesirable until recently when they were the only affordable option available and became marketed as "well-built".

Other reasons this region was classed as undesirable prior to the influx of southerners in the eighties was the sand flies and other biting insects, floods and king tides. A big storm severely damaged the area in about 1980, hence every house has been reroofed. The environment now described as "significant wetland" used to be called swamp.

Last year we did some research into this area, but anything "cheap" is "very close to" the swamps.
 
Thanks for the reply Angel...

You may have an biased opinion given you live there but are there any real lifestyle benefits that you wouldn't get living in other parts of Brisbane.

My Dad recently moved to Kedron and he said that come the weekends of through any holiday period that the whole of that foreshore is jammed packed with people strolling along the boardwalk. If that is the case then that seems to be an indicator that generally people like the area.

Around that this part of the Bay is it actually usable for the any watersports at high tide? ie. Can it be used for swimming, kiteboarding, canoeing or does the whole place stink of a 'swamp'

When you refer to a swamp - are you referring to Deagon 'Wetlands'? If that is the case then it is unfortunate that the property that I have am currently in contract that has just gone unconditional is relatively close (ie. about 1km from it) so will be impacted by the flies.

I managed to get a 1000SQM flat block with no flood impact for $520k with a neat and tide home on it. I'm here for the long haul but wanted to get a Brisbanites view on the suburb.
 
Around that this part of the Bay is it actually usable for the any watersports at high tide? ie. Can it be used for swimming, kiteboarding, canoeing or does the whole place stink of a 'swamp'

When you refer to a swamp - are you referring to Deagon 'Wetlands'? If that is the case then it is unfortunate that the property that I have am currently in contract that has just gone unconditional is relatively close (ie. about 1km from it) so will be impacted by the flies.

I live in Brisbane's northside. Almost once a fortnight we visit the sandgate foreshore for a walk and fish n chips. The foreshore is really nice but I wouldn't live in Sandgate. I just don't like the suburb. Perhaps in 20 years time it will undergo an impressive transformation. The foreshore is packed full of kiteboarders when the weathers right, you could kayak (haven't seen anyone tho). At low tide you can walk the muddy beach. You can swim but its not really a swimming area, its a brown bay. There are some great cycle tracks in the area.
Cheers, nat
 
Brisbane's coast is not like much of Sydney's, with large areas of land being wetlands/mudflats. The nice coastal areas are either side on the Gold and Sunshine Coasts so the coastal areas are more about boating related activities.
 
I believe that the best thing about living near the beach is the cool breezes in summer and how warm the climate is in winter. Priceless.

There are just as many properties that are high and dry as there are low-lying properties adjacent to the wetlands. Best wishes with your purchase.

I know the beach at Clontarf, next suburb north, is used extensively for kite-flying and wave-running. I haven't taken as much notice at Brighton or Sandgate as I'm usually too busy drooling over the houses or concentrating on riding my bike. There is plenty of boating and sailing activity.

I haven't lived there myself so I don't know how I'd cope with the bities. I suspect a fully screened veranda would be the go and wearing long clothes during biting hours. They have a life-cycle so are not around continuously, only partially, if that makes sense.
 
The mudflats and the large pockets of unemployment didn't help. Getting better but still can't see them matching the Sydney areas you are talking about.
 
Regarding commute more than an hour....

I grew up in a farm in Sydney that is more than an hour to the city/cbd. This was take me back some 20 years ago when I was at college. I would sometimes be left out of invites to go out, because I was simply 'out in the sticks' or 'too far out' for consideration..

Fast track 20 years to now, this place is in Schofields/Rouse Hill. And people in Sydney would know this would not be too far out...

20 years is a long time, but as times goes by, affordability and population growth force people to change mentality that an hour is not that far out.
 
Wow... this seems a pretty damning report for the area... out of the 5 Queenslanders that have replied to the post it seems only Angel is the only one that thinks anything of this area...

Are the areas further north like Redcliffe, Margate and Scarborough any better?
 
We bought in manly and Wynnum last year .

I found plenty of people from Brisbane who like the bay areas from manly through to Redcliffe . I found I was working with two who grew up in Brighton and they loved it , but not many on the forum :rolleyes: . Here it's all city centric .

Manly has the biggest marina in Australia . It all about the boating .

It's not a surf area

Manly with the train is closer than an hour . Has fast train .

Go and visit the areas and see if you like them . We did and we bought. Would have happily bought around Sandgate , but could still get good deals in manly , Wynnum which is considered better .

Last cycle there was a high profile member who was knocking Redcliffe on the forum , but I found out later she was buying there at the time and didn't want competition ... Deadcliffe was what she called it .

Cliff
 
Wow... this seems a pretty damning report for the area... out of the 5 Queenslanders that have replied to the post it seems only Angel is the only one that thinks anything of this area...

Are the areas further north like Redcliffe, Margate and Scarborough any better?

I've got nothing against Sandgate and would gladly live there if given the opportunity. There are a lot of expensive homes in the area. The family goes their regularly and haven't found the midgies to be any problem. Can't comment about Brighton.
 
The question was- why don't Brisbanites like Sandgate? The simple response is that they love it. Just go there and have a look. Families flock there, especially on weekends.
 
The question was- why don't Brisbanites like Sandgate? The simple response is that they love it. Just go there and have a look. Families flock there, especially on weekends.

When I was a young fella living on the bad side of Logan, I used to flock to the Valley on weekends, but there was no way I would have ever wanted to live there, the locals and the neighbourhood were just plain scary by most folks standards (even for someone from Kingston/Woodridge)...

And thus, without wanting to offend folks on the north side, places like Sandgate, Redcliffe, and Deception Bay just aren't appealing because the neighbourhoods aren't particularly desirable (and neither are the state schools).
 
when i was a young fella living on the bad side of logan, i used to flock to the valley on weekends, but there was no way i would have ever wanted to live there, the locals and the neighbourhood were just plain scary by most folks standards (even for someone from kingston/woodridge)...

And thus, without wanting to offend folks on the north side, places like sandgate, redcliffe, and deception bay just aren't appealing because the neighbourhoods aren't particularly desirable (and neither are the state schools).

and you're from logan????
Sorry, but Depression Bay has always been classier than Woodridge
 
and you're from logan????
Sorry, but Depression Bay has always been classier than Woodridge
Sorry for the delay in replying, I'd forgotten all about this thread...

It was Kingston mostly, not so much the 'ridge, but arguing which is better is like arguing which brand of cask wine is most agreeable to the palate. In the meantime, I've 'escaped', come back, escaped again, hopped through a bunch of towns through regional Queensland, and now pondering whether to live in Bargara or Agnes and enjoy semi-retirement.

I try really hard not to brag, but anyone who grew up in that part of Logan in the 70's/80's and 'made it' feels pretty darn fortunate.

DB will in all likelihood become trendy before the likes of Logan will, I just can't see major growth happening anytime soon with the demographics and facilities/services.
 
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