US beachfront homes a bargain
KIM MACDONALD, The West Australian October 23, 2010, 2:35 am
Australians can buy beachfront properties in attractive US cities for less than the cost of houses in Balga or Tuart Hill.
My intro .....................
*** Balga is in the outer northern part of Perth, the dole-sucking bogans live here with the bikies, druggies and louts. The shops here need metal grills. Nice cars won't last long here. AVOID ***
*** Tuart Hill is in the inner city northern part of Perth, the hardworking tradies wogs and southern european migrants live here. Some asians live here too. Working Class ***
The strong Australian dollar and a depressed US property market have led to relatively cheap deals in ritzy areas such as Venice Beach, Long Beach and Pacific Palisades.
Even tri-level, waterfront homes on Malibu Beach sell for one-third the cost of properties of a similar quality in Scarborough and by Leighton beach. The trend highlights the extent to which Australian homes are relatively overpriced.
RELATED NEWS: Luxury flat sells for record price
The median-priced house in Perth, at $480,000, is 6.2 times the average annual male income and 8.4 times the female wage.
In the US, homes are about three times the average household income.
Real estate websites show US deals include a two-bedroom beachfront unit on Venice Beach, with ocean views from every room, for $US130, 000 ($132,000).
Even some smaller homes in California's Beverly Hills are relatively affordable compared with Perth's western suburbs.
A two-storey, four-bedroom Spanish-style home in Beverly Hills was less than $US1 million. A nearby two-bedroom Tudor-style cottage with double garage was $US1.1 million.
Apartments in the Trump Tower on Park Avenue in New York start at $US1.25 million. The penthouse costs $US30 million.
Las Vegas, the foreclosure capital of the US, has some of the cheapest homes, with a two-storey, four-bedroom home listed at $US80,000.
Melbourne-based property adviser Monique Sasson Wakelin said some Australians were buying in the US, but warned it was risky.
Ms Sasson Wakelin said US property should be considered only as a lifestyle choice, not an investment, because the market was not rebounding in the same way as Australia's.
While there were no legal obstacles to freehold ownership, the market had a different legal and regulatory regime, and tenants were often litigious.
She said it was even risky to buy in ritzy areas such as Beverly Hills because investors did not have the same local knowledge to ensure a good deal. "It's like throwing a dart at a dart board on the other side of the world," she said.
KIM MACDONALD, The West Australian October 23, 2010, 2:35 am
Australians can buy beachfront properties in attractive US cities for less than the cost of houses in Balga or Tuart Hill.
My intro .....................
*** Balga is in the outer northern part of Perth, the dole-sucking bogans live here with the bikies, druggies and louts. The shops here need metal grills. Nice cars won't last long here. AVOID ***
*** Tuart Hill is in the inner city northern part of Perth, the hardworking tradies wogs and southern european migrants live here. Some asians live here too. Working Class ***
The strong Australian dollar and a depressed US property market have led to relatively cheap deals in ritzy areas such as Venice Beach, Long Beach and Pacific Palisades.
Even tri-level, waterfront homes on Malibu Beach sell for one-third the cost of properties of a similar quality in Scarborough and by Leighton beach. The trend highlights the extent to which Australian homes are relatively overpriced.
RELATED NEWS: Luxury flat sells for record price
The median-priced house in Perth, at $480,000, is 6.2 times the average annual male income and 8.4 times the female wage.
In the US, homes are about three times the average household income.
Real estate websites show US deals include a two-bedroom beachfront unit on Venice Beach, with ocean views from every room, for $US130, 000 ($132,000).
Even some smaller homes in California's Beverly Hills are relatively affordable compared with Perth's western suburbs.
A two-storey, four-bedroom Spanish-style home in Beverly Hills was less than $US1 million. A nearby two-bedroom Tudor-style cottage with double garage was $US1.1 million.
Apartments in the Trump Tower on Park Avenue in New York start at $US1.25 million. The penthouse costs $US30 million.
Las Vegas, the foreclosure capital of the US, has some of the cheapest homes, with a two-storey, four-bedroom home listed at $US80,000.
Melbourne-based property adviser Monique Sasson Wakelin said some Australians were buying in the US, but warned it was risky.
Ms Sasson Wakelin said US property should be considered only as a lifestyle choice, not an investment, because the market was not rebounding in the same way as Australia's.
While there were no legal obstacles to freehold ownership, the market had a different legal and regulatory regime, and tenants were often litigious.
She said it was even risky to buy in ritzy areas such as Beverly Hills because investors did not have the same local knowledge to ensure a good deal. "It's like throwing a dart at a dart board on the other side of the world," she said.
