The West Australian
Sixty seconds is all it takes for affordable land to sell out in Perth’s newest estates.
In a case of ‘blink and you’ll miss it’, affordable blocks in new estates in developing suburbs, such as Byford, Wellard, Wanneroo and Alkimos, are literally selling within a minute.
The affordable blocks typically accommodate an $850,000 house and land package, which allows borrowers to access a Federal Government scheme, which requires borrowers to save a minimum 5 per cent deposit.
The 5 per cent deposit scheme aims to make home ownership more affordable for low to median-income and first homebuyers and is helping to drive an unprecedented numbers of first home buyers into the house and land market.
The coveted blocks are typically listed in groups of up to 20 lots in fortnightly land releases at the various fringe estates.
In recent years, similar buyers would have had the relative luxury of weighing up a purchase for five days before an estate sold out.
Unlike the affordable lots, those looking at more expensive sub-divisions, priced above $850,000, still have on average five days to consider their purchase.
UDIA chief executive Tanya Steinbeck said multiple constraints, such as infrastructure capacity and environmental and planning rules, were preventing land from becoming “development-ready” more quickly. It now takes about five to nine years to get land to market from scratch.
“Given the private industry delivers over 95 per cent of new homes in WA, it is critical that industry is supported in their crucial role to deliver the homes we need to the West Australian community,” she said.