Is South Maitland a good place for first home buyers?

Hi All, my fiance is relocating with work to Maitland and we are going to move/buy in the area. South Maitland is within budget and we have seen a great place that we can fix up over the years but we noticed that there were quite a few properties for sale in the same area. Is this just a coincidence or is there some kind of development proposal that is making people sell that we should know of? Is it a good area? Crime? We know there isn't as much growth as East Maitland or the central Maitland area but they are now out of budget. Any advice about South Maitland would be greatly appreciated before we take the leap. Thanks in advance,Natalie