On Saturday I went past a little house which I bet is affordable. You could say the location was convenient for transport — near Laverton station and the freeway. To be precise, it’s wedged Castle-like in a spot between the Werribee/Geelong railway line and the M1 — in fact the house is about as close as you can get to actually being on the freeway on-ramp. I can’t imagine the amount of noise from cars, trucks and trains that they must endure at that spot, not to mention the air quality issues.
I think this is the listing: 22 High Street, Laverton, and the way they’re plugging it is with the headline “Family filled on acre” (eh?) and the text proclaiming “Located within walking distance to the train station, schools and with sensational access to the freeway” and it mentions “ample access”. Which is all true. Well, if you call living on the freeway access road, and having the freeway fifty metres from your front lawn, without even a sound barrier to muffle the noise “sensational”, that is.
I thought when I went past that it had a Sold sticker on the sign, but perhaps not. Will be watching to see how much it sells for. I wonder how good the sound-proofing is? Or maybe whoever moves in will use ear plugs and air-conditioning with a filtration system. I wish them luck.
15 replies on “Location, location, location”
Nah, the freeway traffic would be OK, but the noise from all the VLine trains screaming past would be dreadful!
Rog.
I’d do them for false advertising. An acre is over 4000m2, but this place is only 973m2, and they call that a DOUBLE block!!!
They need to dust that outdoor table as well, I could write my name on it.
Like the antlers on the wall to, nice touch. Although probably more at place in the pool room….
a friend of mine sold a house in a similar position to a deaf woman. it used to belong to his grandparents. when they bought it in the 40’s it was on a country road, surrounded by paddocks.
the catholic church tried to buy it, to add to a set of blocks they already owned behind a school, but offered a ridiculous sum.
Roger: I guess the freeway is closer, but would be a more constant noise than the trains.
Thomas: that’s genius. A deaf buyer could pick up a bargain (though I seem to recall studies about the health effects of living near freeways due to air quality, so still some concerns.)
I know that house well, as I drive by it most days (well, any day we are getting onto the freeway city-bound, as High St is our entrance … as you know!) They did, believe it or not, tart it up considerably before putting it on the market – it used to look very tatty indeed – but still I do not like their chances of getting a good price. We live about 2.2 kms away, with a big park and several blocks of residential between us, and with a brick garden wall at shoulder-height, and still the girls and I can hear the faint hum of peak hour traffic if we are out in the garden before 10am or after 4pm. We, however, have silent nights and peaceful days. The noise where they are would be beyond horrendous.
Do sale prices get published in Melbourne?
Though you wouldn’t know it looking at what’s left of the local shops, Laverton seems to be going through a bit of a boom. After all it’s still in zone 1 and a few minutes from the beach. Those ‘just visiting’ would love it; there’s now a fantastic bus service to 3 prisons and then onto Sunshine.
A year or so back the cheaper houses were about $180k. Now there’s significant unit development behind the station and prices start from low 200s.
The double sized block might be right as blocks on the south side (450m2) are smaller than those on the north (600m2). Agreed the street isn’t as good as Grace St due to the traffic, but the noise wasn’t too bad when I visited.
My estimate for a sale price in the high 200s given it’s a newish looking 4×2. Though the western suburbs past Yarraville or Altona aren’t really auction areas so if you’re lucky you’ll be the only one there!
And No 3 was up for sale but looks like it’s been taken:
http://www.realestate.com.au/cgi-bin/rsearch?a=o&id=104159258&f=0&p=10&t=res&ty=&fmt=&header=&c=22460176&s=vic&snf=rbs&tm=1187857982
Martin: Auction prices are sometimes reported in the following Monday’s paper. But not always, for instance if the place sells for a supercheap price the agent might not report it.
Private sales (which are popular in the outer suburbs) are often not disclosed and it’s harder here than other states for non-agents to get sales data (even if they pay), apparently due to our privacy laws.
If you ring an agent and ask, you will usually be told the sale price of a house. If they won’t tell you, there’s a service on 3 Mobiles that charges you about $5 to send you the details of all the sale prices of a single property. They’re taken from official records, I guess, so agents have no role in it. Rather handy if you’re shopping for a place.
Got a mate who lives a few doors down, the noise isn’t that bad. The trains actually make the most noise.
I’d believe that Ren. At least, the fwy would be constant background noise (apart from the odd extra-noisy truck), the trains would be less constant and more noticeable.
“sensational access to the freeway”
Sounds like some channel seven football there.
Much belated birthday wishes. I have only just caught up on the last week or so’s blog posting having had a week away. I’m 46. not quite in common age bracket of those who read your postings. :)
My gawd you are snob! Until a work related move interstate recently i lived in Jamison St, right near that place. The noise and the air was no worse than it is anywhere else in Melbourne and only 15 mins to the CBD. A very friendly, convenient neighbourhood actually.