The 2020 HomeBuilder grant, an influx of big city residents and a fear of missing out is to blame for Hunter land sales soaring more than $100,000 in 12 months, says builders’ broker Kerri-Ann Hooper.
Introduced in June 2020, the federal and state government grant was aimed at firing up the construction industry after COVID-19 slowed building applications and construction opportunities and employment.
The grants offered payments of up to $25,000 for applications to buy or renovate their home.
Carnelian Projects director Kerri-Ann Hooper says the grants have been a double-edged sword.
“The stimulus package created huge demand, as did COVID, and being able to work from home,” Ms Hooper said.
“It was all positive at first.
“But it has now created another problem.”
A second-generation real estate agent with more than 20 years experience in the industry, Ms Hooper says she now sees an imbalance between supply and demand, causing current panic buying and blocking young buyers from entering the market.
“It’s a case of supply and demand,” she said.
“There’s not enough supply to keep up with demand at the moment.
“The cost of land is up, the cost of building materials is up and the number of people looking to buy is up.
“You’re almost certain to pay a large sum at the moment, and that’s if you can even find available land.
“Where you once were able to purchase a house and land package for under $400,000, now you’d be lucky to pay less than $700,000.”
Incentives have also become a thing of the past, Ms Hooper says.
“Eighteen months ago there were extras offered to entice buyers into purchasing house and land packages when new land was released,” she said.
“There were gift cards at Stockland, or $10,000 worth of extras in your home.
“Fast-forward a year and a half and now we see buyers sleeping out overnight at land releases. It’s amazing.”
Huntlee, Bellbird, Lochinvar, Billy’s Lookout, Potter’s Lane and Cliftleigh Meadows are all new suburbs Ms Hooper says are experiencing a boom.
“The Hunter market usually experiences ebbs and flows,” she says.
“That’s normal, but I’ve never seen a jump this dramatic.”
As a building broker, Ms Hooper’s role is to liaise between her clients and the builder to help put home plans into place.
She predominantly works with first home buyers seeking fixed price, turnkey, all-inclusive builds.
It is the first home buyers that she feels are suffering the most in the current boom.
“I’m finding developers are selling packages by ‘open negotiation’ to the highest bidder, without ever releasing a listed price,” she said.
“Land is selling not even 24 hours after it’s been released for sale at the moment.
“In fact it’s now rare for me to get a price list from developers, let alone any ‘still available’ emails.”
Preconceived ideas about location have been lost too, she says.
“Ten years ago potential buyers would have said ‘Cameron Park, I’m not living out in Cameron Park’ and yet now you’ll struggle to find a home there for less than $1 million.”
“Blocks that used to cause a bit of hesitation among buyers, like corner blocks, or ones with a slope or that back onto a railway line, are now just being snapped up.
“People are buying whatever they can.”
Many are subdividing too, with Ms Hooper noting an increased number of enquiries from those wanting to split their block and sell half, or knockdown and rebuild.
“The boom is bringing a lot of wealth into the Hunter, and for some that’s good, but I really feel for young Novocastrians at the moment.
“A year ago they could have purchased a house and land package for $450,000, now they need at least $600,000.”
As costs rise dramatically Ms Hooper offers sage advice to potential house and land buyers.
“Go online and if you see an estate you like, register your name with the developer.
“I think we’ve still got another 12 months of this growth so you have to be smart.”
Wary of painting a picture of gloom and doom for buyers, Ms Hooper is optimistic the Hunter’s real estate industry will improve.
“There is light at the end of the tunnel,” she says.
“More pockets of land will enter the market, land is still being sold to developers and entering rezoning and council approvals, so they will come on to the market to ease the strain.
“It has to plateau, we can’t keep having a jump of $50,000 each and every land release.
“I still believe building is best.”
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