Checkitout

are you kidding when you say north epping will overtake epping in prices? north epping is just so dark and isolated. the price per sqm of land in north epping is no where compared to that in epping and its surrounds.....you must be living in a world of self gratification when you said north epping will overtake epping in terms of capital growth...ha ha...

Interestingly, The Domain/Sun Herald guide just published has North Epping listed with a median price higher than Epping for 2010... Ok it was only $1000. And it might be due to the particular quality and type of houses sold during the last year. But it was a great result, and with an annual growth rate of 19% for the past year.... I love this place, wake up to the laugh of the Kookaburras..... don't know what you mean by dark.... most friendly neighbourhood...

Grusin - Agree that epping is a great suburb. Not disrespect intended. Original prediction was only a prediction, but appears it has become a reality. Suggest you give the latest Australian Property Monitors (API) report a read to get the facts from an independent source. North Epping grew at a rate 4% higher than Epping in 2010 and has a median price slightly greater than Epping. Its well accepted by statisticians, property experts and novices alike that a median price is the best indicator of the typical home within an area. Hey - lets split the difference and be thankful we all live in a great place!

Linda/ Checkitout : Hi both of you, just take a look at price per square metre of a unit for example. A 100sqm unit sold for $500K in Jan 2010. That is $5,000 for 1 sqm of land you are stepping on. Look at the property in North Epping - you have like 800sqm of land for something close to just 1 million. That same property around Epping would be around 1.5 million at least. So the fact is any property near the station is going to be worth much more per sqm of built up area than properties further from the station, i.e. North Epping. Median prices in North Epping are higher because the properties are all houses, not units unlike in epping area. The units push down the median prices in the epping area. Fact : North Epping will never ever overtake prices in Epping area based on per sqm of land. Thanks for the lovely noises of the kookaburras...i would gladly let you bask in their laughter!

Grusin, Thats a big chip you got on that shoulder of yours. Lets stick to facts. We are talking only about HOUSE median prices. Not units. They are seperate measures you can't combine. HOUSE median price of Epping is $885K. HOUSE median price of North Epping is $886K (both for the same latest12mth period). Purchase the API report OR go and spend just $2 for last Sundays Herald Property Guide 2011, to educate yourself & get the facts. Independent data from Australian Property Monitors (based on the sale of 434 HOUSES) certainly has more credibility than your non verified sample of ONE. Suggest you take 2 minutes to read the report before mouthing off and embarrassing yourself with a meaningless rant.

"So the fact is any property near the station is going to be worth much more per sqm of built up area than properties further from the station" fair enough. Can't disagree there. But you'll find Parramatta council encouraging people to tear down existing housing to replace with higher density units and townhouses... in my opinion this doesn't add to the appeal of the suburb.... think Carlingford Road, so much development over the past couple of years, and that to get to Macquarie we don't have to cross the railway line, which is a bottleneck. (I know, I lived in Carlingford for about 8 years).

So, per sqm of land, Epping may be more expensive. However, we like our neighbourhood with about 95% of housing on 750sqm++ land, there are some villas but it's not dominant, our streets are all speed limited to no more than 50km/hour, very people friendly, quiet and very laid back, i'm an easy 10-12 minute bike ride to the station without encountering any main road traffic, it's not too hard to park a car close to the station to walk either (although I shouldn't tell everybody that!!!)

The edges (not the centre) of North Epping tend to have the bush views, and so if you like bush views, without leaving home, that is something that will add to the value of the property. Bush views close to transport could be considered a rarity, and being rare, can command $$$. Consider this, house with water views are out of most people's budget, but bush views are very pleasant. With the bush you get nature. And don't worry about the threat of fire danger, the Fire brigade will come, it has happened in the past.

The council also comes along every now and then to sweep the streets of the leaf litter!!

All I can say, I am so happy I bought before that boom, and when the suburb was relatively undiscovered! And even if there is no growth in the next 2 years, it doesn't matter because I already bought at a good time and at the right price... and i'm not planning on selling anytime soon... One family I know about sold, because they decided to buy and move to a house on the other side of the street....
Very comfortable here.... :)

Actually the only reasons we decided to buy in North Epping a few years back rather than Epping near the station was the real concern that its only a matter of time before the NSW State Planning Laws that currently exist and override local councils, allowing masses of new high density units (e.g. what most of the north shore suburbs along rail corridors are now experiencing & more locally Carlingford is currently experiencing) occurs more at Epping Station. It creaps out from the station and takes in the next few streets/blocks from a station and within a matter of years all the high density flows at least a few streets back from a train line. It takes time, but its happened and continues to occur in many Sydney suburns, and it was a risk to a lifestyle choice that we were not willing to take. Ok you can maybe get a good price from a developer if your quick to jump on the bandwagon, but what if all your neighbours sell up and your a single dwelling house with 200units next door, your big investment just lost a lot of appeal. No thanks. I'll take the bush views and National Park anytime with no risk to our big blocks.

checkitout, ok my apologies. however, you may need to take note that house prices in epping encompass the east and west side of the stations. clearly, the west side of the stations command much less for the same size of land. you can't get a house for $886K on the east side of epping, close to the station. Maybe somewhere along blaxland road side you can. But for 886K, once can still purchase a place in north epping, and north epping has got no east or west, just north epping. I had enough $$ to buy at north epping when i was ready to purchase but took a drive in the night and that scared me off.

Hopefully this is my last comment... If you get yourself a copy of the Australian Property Investor magazine, North Epping has been consistently been listed as one of the top locations in demand for about the past 4, maybe 5 months. Epping has never rated..... in the March 2011 issue, look at page 111....
On another topic, one reason why I might not like being close to traffic is that I got hit by a car maybe 5 years ago when riding my bicycle home from work when I lived in Chatswood West. The driver was looking the other way and he was too focused in trying to get a gap in the Pacific Highway traffic.... there was no long term damage to me and luckily I was wearing a long sleeved top even though it was the middle of summer, still, not a pleasant experience, and luckily he didn't throw me in the traffic so badly into the path of any other cars.... that's why quiet streets, & own bike lane = good....