There are some mixed messages coming from the property market, however all make a lot of sense and give a coherent picture.
The price of blocks of land has come off the boil a little, due to those in the market switching to existing dwellings. The reason, according to local real estate agent, Rocky Gagliardi, of Gagliardi Scott Real Estate, is the increase in costs of building a home and the extended timeline of the build. “There’s an adjustment underway between land and existing homes,” Rocky told Our Goulburn Valley magazine.
“Although the market has come off a little, it’s still strong for residential houses. During the height of Covid, residential property was changing hands at break-neck speed and our expectations became quite high on the average days a property was on the market. We’re still experiencing excellent sales but the average days a residential property is on the market has increased to 15-25 days,” Rocky said.
Rocky said land had come back a little in price and was selling at around $270 – $280,000 a block. The challenge going forward is the scarcity of land.
“There’s still a shortage of land,” he explained. “Supply has tightened up in recent months.”
The challenge for developers is the sheer cost of developing land with all the infrastructure involved.
On the commercial property front, Rocky said it had been very strong, however there was a bit of hesitancy about putting commercial property on the market at the moment. He said there was real frustration around industrial land in the Shepparton region.
“There’s simply not enough industrial land available to fulfil demand. There are several businesses wanting to expand, but can’t due to lack of land, and some are looking elsewhere. Industrial land in Shepparton has gone through the roof. Not so long ago it was $85 per sqm, then $100, $160 and more recently $200 per sqm. It could be $250 per sqm in the not-too-distant future. You only have to look at Bendigo with industrial land changing hands for $350 per sqm,” he said.
Principal of Youngs & Co Real Estate, Glenn Young said land had sold very well and what land that was available had been snapped up with many pre-sales.
“It’s unfortunate that it takes so long for land to be re-zoned, because the demand is there. The process incurs big delays and therefore additional costs. It used to be six to eight months to start a stage development and titles release; it’s now taking eight to 12 months,” Glenn said.
“There are big hold-ups with the authorities and the problem for developers is the buyer of the land has a forced increase when they have a contract to build their home,” Glenn added.
On the commercial property front, Shepparton was very tightly held, he said.
“There has been a high level of enquiry from Melbourne investors in particular wanting large industrial sites. There are large businesses wanting to relocate to Shepparton and expand. 5,000 to 10,000 sqm blocks are highly sought after and difficult to source.
“People are realising that they don’t need to be in Melbourne and Shepparton is ideally located for transport,” Glenn told Our Goulburn Valley magazine.
Land surveying specialist Chris Mepham of Chris Smith & Associates said he hadn’t seen any let-up yet with land development.
“The demand is still strong, particularly in the Nagambie, Echuca and Kilmore areas,” Chris said. Among the projects closer to home, the company was working on Lauriston Estate on Grace Road, Shepparton, The Outlook Stage 2 80-block project off Jacobson Street, Mooroopna, and Westwood Run, Mooroopna with over 120 blocks. Chris said they were also working on Kialla Lakes Estate.
Preliminary work has begun on Shepparton’s future All Saints Anglican School site on Verney Road. Building is set to start in 2023. The blessing of the site was conducted by Anglican Schools Commission (ASC) CEO the Reverend Peter Lawrence OAM, the Bishop of Wangaratta, the Right Reverend Clarence Bester and the Reverend Canon Scott Jessup in May.
Shepparton is set to gain an Early Parenting Centre. The $25M project announced by the State Government in May, which is part of the 2022/23 State budget, is expected to get underway in 2024 and be completed by 2025. The project consists of 10-beds, a kitchen and dining area, playroom and multi-purpose rooms, and an outdoor play area and was announced by Victorian Health Minister, Martin Foley with Independent Member for Shepparton, Suzanna Sheed.
North Growth Corridor landscaping work is underway. Motorists would have noticed between Ford Road, Goulburn Valley Highway and Verney Road new landscaping works by Greater Shepparton City Council. The North Growth Corridor is one of two original growth corridors identified for future residential development in Greater Shepparton.
GV Hospice Palliative Care opened its $5.5M brand new building on the corner of Wyndham Street and Balaclava Road, Shepparton in August. The organisation has tremendous support from the community.
Among many other new projects on the go in the region, there’s MB & M Accountants who are to relocate to new premises further south on Nixon Street. A new two-storey building being constructed is well underway.
