Renvest to PPOR Query (Melbourne and Perth)
Hi redditors :)
We’re a couple living and working in Melbourne and want to eventually live in the SE suburbs of Melbourne. At the time, buying there was way outside our budget, so we decided to rentvest and bought a property in Perth (Dianella/Morley area) instead.
We purchased the Perth property in 2024 for $850k with a mortgage of $580k, while keeping around $100k in offset. Given the massive growth in Perth, we’re now potentially in a position to buy in Melbourne.
Current situation:
- Perth property now valued at around ~$1.2m (hopefully still room for growth while Melbourne stays relatively flat). Mortgage is $570k
- Tenant locked in until Aug 2027 at $850/week
- Looking at buying in Melbourne around the $1.3m–$1.4m range
So now we’re wondering if we should make the move now, sell the Perth property, and buy in Melbourne (which would likely involve paying costs to buy out the current tenants and break the lease early)or should we wait longer and keep riding the Perth growth wave? Also, is it crazy to increase the mortgage to around $750k in the current market (see additional info)? On the same note, I'm afraid the Melbourne market will simply become inaccessible again.
Additional info:
- Combined income currently ~$180k, likely increasing to ~$200k in the next few months
- Planning for a baby, so my partner will likely be out of work for around a year in a year time
- We have about $100k in offset/shares that could be liquidated immediately
- No financial support/family backing here as migrants
Would love to hear what others would do in this situation, especially anyone who has gone through the rentvesting route or moved from investing interstate into a PPOR.
Thanks for any insight :)