CASE STUDY 2: CASTLE HILL, NSW

On a quiet residential street of Castle Hill, in Sydney’s north-west, a few of the neighbours – including Nick Maude – began talking to each other across front-yard fences, teasing out the possibilities of what Nick now calls “a once in a lifetime opportunity”.

In 2015, the NSW government had decided to press ahead with a major public development in the area. Most of Sydney’s population was already centred in the west and destined to grow, so the urban-planning logic was that Castle Hill should become a new hub for rail commuters travelling to work in the city. Housing near this rail hub, to be called Showground Station, was likely to be rezoned, suddenly allowing high-density apartments where they had never existed. A big shopping complex and other amenities to service an expected surge in community numbers would also take up big chunks of land.

Nick and his immediate neighbours pondered what living less than 10 minutes’ walk from Showground Station would mean. As Nick saw it, they could wait and eventually succumb to the approaches of “property speculators and other real-estate middle men”, who might persuade individual families to sell their homes for prices that appeared initially attractive but did not, in the end, reflect their market potential.

Or they could choose the alternative: banding together as a job lot. This required a lot of planning and a steely determination to stay united over time. But in doing so, they would create a single development site, consolidating many residential properties and selling them as one to achieve the maximum price. “For most of us, our home is our biggest asset,” says Nick. “The opportunity was there to capitalise on it and provide for a new lifestyle in the future, whether that meant having no mortgage or funding travel.”

Nick’s group initially comprised of four or five neighbours, then they joined up with another group further down nearby Partridge Avenue. Before long, they’d grown to 25 homeowners who met regularly in a local’s converted garage. “We lined up the deckchairs,” says Nick. They also lined up a figure: a speculated selling price exceeding $100 million. That could mean an average return of $4 million each.

“We were all at different stages of our lives – young, old, empty-nesters, retirees,” says Nick. “These were stable homes; there hadn’t been a high turnover. This wasn’t driven by us, we were responding to the circumstances we found ourselves in. But it was like winning the lottery.” Nick, who runs a business from home, grew up in the area after his family moved from Adelaide when he was seven. Two of his children still live at home. The Maudes plan to stay in the area in the event that their plan pays off. Many others are expected to stay local, too.

Castle Hill’s 25 potential property moguls still own and live in their homes as they await a final gazetting decision on the rezoning, expected soon. With a lead-time of two years once the green light is given to begin construction of the new Showground Station, they hope a mighty sale will be finalised by 2019.

‘FOR MOST OF US, OUR HOME IS OUR BIGGEST ASSET. THE OPPORTUNITY WAS THERE TO CAPITALISE ON IT AND PROVIDE FOR A NEW LIFESTYLE.’

ABOVE Nick Maude, pictured outside his home in Sydney’s Castle Hill, says he and his neighbours are simply taking advantage of circumstances they found themselves in to provide their families with a secure future.