Is buying Papakura real estate a good investment?
Over the last 3-4 years, the answer has to be a resounding yes, buying Papakura real estate has been a good investment. In fact buying real estate in just about any location has been a great investment over the last 12-18 months.
Not necessarily because of the returns to date, but because, if you’d been lucky enough to have bought Papakura property in the last 3 years whilst the market has been in the doldrums, especially anything with a sec ton size of more than 700m2, you would have been well set for the recent Auckland market property boom which started some 18 months ago and hasn’t let up yet.
First off, this article is not about providing you advice on where to put your money, frankly, we aren’t qualified to do that, however, what we can tell you, is where we personally would (and do) invest our money with respect to investing in the property market in this region and why.
The Papakura property market currently represents fantastic value, especially when you compare it to all the other median values of suburbs within Auckland, whether it be Henderson, Takapuna, Glen Eden, Mt Roskill, Manukau, Howick, Browns Bay, or St Heliers, nothing screams comparable value quite like Papakura. And it’s for that very reason that the first home buyer market in Papakura (up to around $750,000-$800,000) is hot.
When you consider the Auckland Council Unitary plans for the Papakura District, which turns the area into a central development and regional transport hub, with close proximity to one of the busiest train stations in the country, you’ll start to see why buying any property in Papakura is going to be a great long term investment.
The extent of new subdivisions within a 10 km radius of the Papakura township; Drury, Conifer Grove, Kingseat, Paerata, Karaka, Auranga, and several in Takanini to name but a few is huge. The Southern Motorway expansion is now completed and this has certainly helped ease some of the congestion during peak times, and with the massive new housing areas that are being built along with new town centres, industrial growth and soon multi-level quality apartment blocks, the times are a-changing in good old Papakura.
A few years back, several Auckland suburbs, were considered undesirable and they were thought of as areas not worth buying into. Think of Ellerslie, Mount Wellington, Onehunga, and Mangere. These areas are all now highly sought after because of their housing, shopping or their cafe set. They have each re-invented themselves into something that most people now find desirable, but because the local real estate prices in these areas have also gone through the roof, they too have become out of the reach of most people looking for an affordable family home.
Now take a good hard look at Papakura, and you’ll find many opportunities still begging to be taken advantage of. For example, within the suburban streets of Central Papakura (within 2-3 kms walk to the train station) you can still buy a 3 or 4 bedroom 50’s, 60’s style brick and tile home in very tidy presentable condition and often with double garaging and a 600-800m2 section for under $1,000,000.
Head over to the more preferable areas of Opaheke, or Pahurehure, where the housing is often just that little bit newer 60’s to 80’s and where you generally have the best Papakura school zonings, and you can still get some really exceptional value in the $800,000’s and $900,000’s. Again, you’d likely be buying a 3 home on a decent-sized section for that sort of money.
The cheapest areas are generally Eastern Papakura (between Dominion Road and Kelvin Road) and parts of Rosehill (Chichester Drive) as these are often higher rental areas. Family homes in these areas can often be bought in the high $600,000’s and up the early $800,000’s.
Don’t let Papakura get away on you like all those other areas did. Auckland is currently in the midst of another property boom, and with mortgage rates still at record lows, prices are still expected to continue rising in the foreseeable future.
The rest of the country has enjoyed a fantastic run of increasing values over the last couple of years, whilst the Auckland market has generally been a little mixed, over the next 12 months, we expect to see Auckland prices continue trending upwards. So where will you buy your next family home, do-up, rental property or possible development opportunity? Buying Papakura real estate would (in our opinion) make a good sound long term investment. The rest is up to you, just don’t be the one wishing “if only…..”