We have two young kids and wanting to get into a home on Sydney’s North Shore. Our budget is $1.6m and the lower north shore seems out of our reach so we wanted to ask if there are some areas further north we should look at?

Stephanie, Good morning and thank you for your question.

As part of the service I offer, I can provide my clients with specific property reports for an individual home or the median prices across a range of Suburbs. These reports can be very helpful in determining where you might start looking. Keeping in mind of course the Suburb reports are based on averages.

I do not charge for my Broking services and would be happy to meet with you to assist in working through your objectives and perform a calculation of your borrowing capacity.

Should you like to book in time for a chat, then you are welcome to review my profile and give me a call.

Best Regards
Ken Olds
Customers First Mortgages & Insurance
1300 ASK KEN (275 536)

https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/sai-answer/answers/59c06d792b01b.mp4

Hi Stephanie
Your post is very similar to my situation leading up to December 2016.Like you I have a small family , wife & daughter. We had been renting in Naremburn for several years (5 to be honest) attempting to get back into the market on a budget of $1.6million. Ample we thought. 2 years of attending auction after auction, & bidding disappointments , we realized we just did not have the funds for the zone we were looking at (Crow’s Nest , Artarmon, Cammeray , St Leonards & Naremburn & surrounding suburbs) Upon investigation ( & a few bottles of wine) we expanded our search towards French’s Forrest (post code 2086) where we were successful in purchasing a large 3 bedroom house (with a pool) for $1.5million, well within our budget. Leaving budget for refresher renovations to bathroom & kitchen . For us the lifestyle change has been perfect & could not be happier with the location, the street, the benefits this suburbs offers - We live I in a very quiet cul-de-sac , (great neighbours). We are blessed with an abundance of schools and nature walks , bike tracks, & the addition of a new Hospital .I work in St Leonards , so extra 10 minutes added to my daily trip to work is a no brainer. Generally a great lifestyle move to the extent I would recommend investigating Frenchs Forrest , Forestville , Allambie Heights & surrounding suburbs as options for you & your family.
Mick

Thanks Stephanie, not at the moment. The best place to look is Realestate.com or Domain.com. For further help please contact me on 0410 62 72 12.

Regards,

Pete

Hi Stephanie,

Great question and I agree with Michael's response above, the Forest area between Roseville Bridge and Dee Why is a great place to have a look. You can still commute back into the city very easily and it is really close to the Northern Beaches.

You will certainly get a lot more for your money in terms of land size compared to areas closer to the city or suburbs along the Upper North Shore. With a family, the suburbs around Forestville and Frenchs Forest are perfect for creating a longer term home with more space and access to great family amenities, including good schools, shops, parks and of course the beaches only 15 minutes down the road.

As Michael pointed out the new major hospital is under construction at the moment along with $500million in upgraded roads to make access in and out of the area, and between Chatswood and Dee Why much easier. There is also a planning structure plan in place to amend the zoning around the hospital which envisages a brand new dedicated town centre for Frenchs Forest on the existing High School site with a plan to build a new school next to the aquatic centre. You can see the details of this here:

http://yoursay.northernbeaches.nsw.gov.au/hospital-precinct-structure-plan-frenchs-forest

In terms of a potential purchase, to secure a house on land within your budget of $1.6m, it may require buying something a bit older with the potential to modernise. Many of the baby boomers who originally settled in the area when it was first established are now moving on to smaller properties or aged care facilities. This is creating an increase in the number of younger families moving into the area and people are renovating the older properties into really nice homes. The family community is really strong in this area too, with a dedicated Facebook page you could check out - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1586507361584723/

I moved to Frenchs Forest about 4 years ago and really enjoy the leafy surrounds and family friendly amenities. I am also a Buyer's Agent that helps people to buy property on the Lower North Shore and Northern Beaches, so if you need any further information, please don't hesitate to reach out. I send out a weekly property market update for the Forest area which you might be also interested in, you can subscribe here: http://zc.vg/wkNDz

Good luck with your search!

Cheers, Michael

STRAND Property Group
www.strandpropertygroup.com.au