Finding the Ideal Property Location

realestate.com.au asked buyers agent Greville Pabst, alongside Frank Valentic and Nicole Jacobs, what the phrase location, location, location actually means in practice.

Greville breaks it into three levels that carry equal weight, the suburb, the street and the position of the dwelling itself, making the point that getting the first one right is not the same as getting it right.

At suburb level he puts a figure on walkability, estimating a ten to fifteen per cent difference in value within the same suburb between a property you can walk from to shops and restaurants and one you would drive from, and he advises checking zoning and overlays for what might be built there later.

At street level he is more selective still, noting that in a suburb like South Yarra there might be only ten or twelve streets he would buy in, with others ruled out by the train line, narrow one-way access or overshadowing from higher density development. He wants amenity nearby but not adjacent, and prefers the side of the street with a north-facing rear.

At property level he points out that flats within a single block perform differently, a top-floor front apartment outperforming a ground-floor one at the back.

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