Skip to content If you live in Sydney, you probably understand the emotional damage that comes with opening realestate.com these days. After selling my one bedroom unit, I was very sure about one thing, I’m never touching units again! I started this journey thinking I had a decent budget of around $750k for an interstate purchase. I quickly realised… no, no I did not. Especially not if I wanted a house in a major city and with proper long-term capital growth potential.
My goal was simple capital appreciation first, cashflow second which meant I was fine with some negative gearing (within reason), aiming for around the 3.5–4% yield. I wasn’t chasing regional high yield plays as I wanted a major city for stability.
Why I Landed on Melbourne (and skipped Perth + Brisbane)
Perth and Brisbane have been the golden children for the last two years… which is exactly why I didn’t want to buy there. Prices ran so hard that I felt like I’d be the one holding someone else’s bag. On the other hand, Melbourne felt different, almost left behind since COVID. There were obvious reasons for this but it can also be the perfect setup if you believe in cycles. Of course, Melbourne comes with its own headaches but overall it still ticked more boxes than the alternatives:
stronger renter protections (which I genuinely don’t mind)
lower land tax thresholds (ouch!)
Why I Used a Buyer’s Agent
Because it was interstate, I needed boots on the ground, not someone sitting in front of a laptop running reports and analysing data only. I spoke to a few BAs through Google and through some podcasts that I follow. Most quoted around $13k–$20k, and most routed me through junior “pre-sales” staff who felt rather salesy.
In the end, I chose Search Party Property mainly because I got to speak with the CEO from day one and they had two people physically based in Melbourne. That gave me confidence and the chat felt different for sure. One common misconception was people romanticising “off-market deals” but honestly Melbourne was on fire when I was looking. Houses were selling in a week, above price guide. No owner in their right mind would go off-market in that environment.
Where I felt the BA service really helped was:
narrowing down the right pockets
chatting with selling agents to gauge true price
filtering out “looks good online but not in person” properties
negotiating and managing everything behind the scenes
The backend service was honestly excellent. I mostly just signed documents and paid invoices. Obviously I had my say on deals when they were presented to me, we made offer on 2 properties before securing the final one!
The Suburbs Targeted and the Budget Reality Check
We initially looked at:
Carrum Downs, Cranbourne West, Narre Warren South, Berwick and areas around this zone
Anything half decent was gone in a week, no exaggeration. It was quick to notice that data was outdated and what is going on the grounds is painting a different story (hence there is no use paying for someone to simply analyse data for you). My original $750k budget? Completely useless now…
I could’ve pivoted to cheaper suburbs, but I actually liked this southeast corridor. Good pockets, good schools, families staying long term and high owner occupancy. Eventually, we stretched to around $850k and landed a house in Berwick, ~40km southeast of Melbourne CBD.
Did I feel like I got a great deal or a bargin? Honestly, no. Does anyone ever feel that way buying property? Probably not… even with a BA, you still get the post purchase anxiety. But I genuinely feel Berwick is a solid long-term play. The rental yield came in at around 4%, which was exactly in the range I wanted. I did have to do some minor reno work but that was expected. I’ve included the full cost breakdown in the image below.
How It Looks Going Forward
This is a long-term investment. I’m not planning to value it every month, that’s how people lose their minds! I’m leveraged at 90% LVR, so even a modest 5% increase in value has a big impact on return on capital. On the flip side, I’m also out of pocket around $16,000 per year at current rates. After tax it will come down, but I prefer to budget conservatively because unexpected expenses always pop up. Overall, the yield is healthy for Melbourne and the area feels like the right place to hold for a decade plus.
Conclusion
Buying interstate for the first time was stressful and honestly a big learning curve. But I’m glad I finally pulled the trigger and everything settled perfectly, the tenant has been secured just this week as well! Obviously Melbourne isn’t perfect but it offered the best mix of affordability, fundamentals and future potential for what I wanted. I’ll revisit this in a year and share how it’s tracking. For now, I’m just happy to have entered the market again… and to have my first Melbourne property under the belt!
