Once a haven from Sydney’s rising property prices, the demand for land in the west is also on the up. But there are still some pockets where it’s possible to snap up an affordable block of land to build a dream home.
Western Sydney was once an antidote to the harbour city’s sky-high property prices, offering buyers a precious chance to break into the competitive market. However, as Sydney’s population rises and the amenity and infrastructure in the west keep growing, prices in the area have been climbing.
“Sydney is the third least affordable city in the world after Hong Kong and Vancouver,” says Nerida Conisbee, chief economist at realestate.com.au. “The north-west in particular has become more expensive — it has been one of the fastest price growth areas in Sydney, primarily because it has had a lot of money spent on infrastructure, particularly train lines.”
Much of Sydney’s population boom is happening in the city’s west. Picture: Getty
While Western Sydney still costs less than other parts of Sydney, where the median house price sits at $860,000, in the decade to 2018, suburbs in Western Sydney topped Sydney’s price growth charts. In fact, the median dwelling price in some western suburbs jumped by nearly 150% in some Western Sydney suburbs.
Growing appeal
Behind the boost in prices is a population rise, with projections from the NSW Department of Planning showing that Greater Sydney is forecast to be home to more than 6.6 million people by 2036. Much of that growth is expected to be accommodated in the west.
Another reason is the boost in transport infrastructure, notably the new Sydney Metro Northwest line, which has frequent automated trains running between Tullawong and Chatswood. The next stage will include an extension from the city through to Bankstown, while a link will also be extended out to the new Western Sydney Airport at Badgerys Creek.
Sydney’s Metro Northwest line opened in 2019. Picture: Getty
“Governments have committed a lot of infrastructure into making Western Sydney a great place to live and that’s made it more popular with home buyers,” says Conisbee.
Affordability
The flipside to all of this activity is that housing affordability is becoming an increasing challenge. Prices in Western Sydney are still higher than what you would pay for an equivalent area in a different capital city across Australia.
To help solve the problem, Landcom, the NSW Government’s land and property development organisation, is developing new communities in both Northwest Sydney and Southwest Sydney, with a focus on affordability, the environment and community sustainability.
Greg Barnett, sales and project marketing director of Landcom, says it has a variety of developments underway in the west — notably Rosebank in the northwest, and Newbrook and Macarthur Heights in the southwest.
Landcom’s Newbrook community sits alongside George’s River Reserve, near Campbelltown. Picture: realestate.com.au/buy
The average land price at the new communities is around $385,000. Barnett says Newbrook is particularly affordable, with some blocks up for grabs at around $330,000.
Building communities
Providing affordable housing is essential, but there’s also a move towards people wanting a home that’s environmentally sustainable.
“At Macarthur Heights we’ve implemented a sustainability initiative to encourage purchasers to upgrade their energy footprint and then rewarding them with a $15,000 rebate when they do,” says Barnett.
People are also seeking more than just a home – they want a great local community to connect to.
“We have a community development programme running at most of our projects, where the goal is to bring people together to help create the genesis of the new community,” he says.
Even in one of the world’s most expensive cities, families can still find affordable land. Picture: Landcom
Helping hands
A number of government assistance schemes are also on hand to help make buying more affordable. Conisbee says first home buyers in particular have been snapping up offers this year.
“House and land in particular is seeing a lot of interest since the HomeBuilder scheme was introduced,” she says.
HomeBuilder is a federal scheme that offers eligible owner-occupiers a grant of $25,000 to build a new home, or substantially renovate an existing home.
Another option in NSW is the First Home Buyer Assistance Scheme, which gives stamp duty exemptions and concessions on land and new homes, depending on the purchasing price.
New projects in Western Sydney is still the best bet for young families looking for land at an affordable price, says Barnett.
“We’re providing people who want to buy into projects such as Newbrook the most affordable land in Sydney,” he says.
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