Package is fuelling new land boom

LAND sales have surged in the wake of the launch of the Federal Government’s HomeBuilder package.

Geelong developers noticed an immediate spike in inquiry after Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the $25,000 grant for home builders and renovators earlier this month.

This has translated into the biggest weekend for sales that some developers had seen since 2017.

Almost two-thirds were first-home buyers, who stand to gain $45,000 with a Victorian grant for building in a regional area.

It also highlighted the turnaround in confidence since the COVID-19 pandemic hit as buyers returned to sales offices across the region.

Before the grant was announced Villawood Properties sold only five blocks nationally in a week.

It booked 58 nationally — including 17 blocks at Geelong estates — in the first weekend after the scheme was announced.

Villawood Properties executive director Rory Costelloe said the strong interest continued throughout June, with the grant providing the impetus for many buyers who had been thinking about buying land to act now.

Mr Costelloe said there was also anecdotal evidence of parents chipping in to help their offspring capitalise on the scheme. But he said the rise in activity had essentially corrected figures for the year after sales dropped sharply in March.

“We have had extremely strong sales in the last three months, we have seen double our normal projected sales,” Mr Costelloe said.

“But we had very, very slow numbers in March, which was extremely low numbers, so if you average it out over 12 months we are back where should have been.”

But Mr Costelloe said the biggest challenge was the limited supply of titled land, which could be overcome if the grant was extended for another three to six months.

Market researcher RPM Real Estate Group estimated between 300 and 500 titled lots were on the market in the Geelong region.

First and second-home buyers led the charge, with many searching for land that would be ready to build on this year, Maxwell Collins director Nick Lord said.

The Geelong agency manages sales for estates including Ashbury at Armstrong Creek, Highton Ridge, Phalaris Park at Lovely Banks and projects at St Leonards and Indented Head.

“There’s a real surge from buyers, mainly first-home buyers and second-home buyers, looking for an estate that has an available block of land being titled, given the guidelines of having construction commenced within three months,” Mr Lord said.

He said titled land was available at Ashbury, Phalaris Park and Highton Ridge.