Competition in Sydney's west heats up
An investment opportunity in Sydney’s west had buyer’s agents camping out overnight to obtain blocks of land for their clients, due to the strong demand in the area.
A number of members of the Positive Real Estate team were camping out over the weekend to get 'first come, first served' lots from Caddens Estate in Penrith’s Claremont Meadows, which went on sale from 10am August 17 (Saturday).
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On Friday, buyers at the site were put on the list to have their choice of lot on Saturday. A role call was held every hour to ensure no one left the site during this time - if they did, they would be taken off the list.
"There were already seven lots taken with about 10 people waiting around," said Sam Saggers, CEO of Positive Real Estate, who had staff on site from 9am Friday onwards.
Positive Real Estate's (PRE's) Positive Investment Report of Caddens, which Smart Property Investment was given access to, put the area at 9pm on the property clock, meaning the area had been identified as heating up to enter "peak market" conditions.
With land priced from $260,000, and build costing from $255,900, the total would start from around $515,900 for a four-bedroom two-bathroom new house. The market rent expected on the properties sits at $510 to $530 per week, according to a Ray White agent rental appraisal included within the report.
Two current market listings on realestate.com.au in Claremont Meadows for four-bedroom, two-bathroom houses put the rent around $500 to $550 per week, with further afield rents around the $450 to $550 mark for similar but established stock.
RP Data puts the median price for Claremont Meadow houses at $411,000, with the median weekly advertised rent at $395 - a gross rental yield of just under five per cent.
Within the ‘Key Investment Indicators’ section, the PRE report outlined that the western Sydney land market is the “hottest in Australia” and that there’s very “limited land left in western Sydney with only a handful of registered lots available”.
The report predicted capital growth of eight per cent per annum from 2014 onwards. When complete, the Landcom release area, Caddens, will include 1,250 dwellings with lots sized from 350 square metres to 563 square metres.
Penrith was recently tipped in the National Australia Bank’s March 2013 Residential Property Survey as expecting capital growth, and new jobs are also expected on the back of $1.1 billion worth of development in the area.
"By 10am [Saturday], names were called down the list with ‘sold’ stickers handed out like hotcakes and smiling faces everywhere," said Mr Saggers, explaining that some buyers had been there for five days.
"By 12pm we had finished on a high and secured four of the 35 available lots inside Caddens Estate. Securing registered land in western Sydney and building a house for under $500,000 made our adventure well worth it," he said, explaining that almost all of the 35 lots sold on the day.