Strong demand for affordable housing is driving a shift in Melbourne’s residential market, with townhouses overtaking apartments as the product of choice for developers.
A development site in Epping is the latest parcel to change hands, with a Melbourne-based Chinese developer securing the 2.45ha property for $6.7 million.
CBRE’s Victorian Development Sites team, comprising David Minty, Julian White, Scott Orchard and Chao Zhang, negotiated the sale of the property at 305 Harvest Home Road, which has permit approval for a development comprising 118 dwellings.
Mr Minty said sites with permit approval for townhouse developments had witnessed a significant uplift in demand.
“Townhouse projects are without doubt the product of choice for residential developers at present, with a rapid escalation in prices over a short period of time,” Mr Minty explained.
Banks are showing a much greater appetite to fund this market, which is further supporting this kind of development.”
Mr White said the sale highlighted the strengthening demand for median density residential developments.
“Whilst there has been a lot of commentary about the rapid growth of the median house price and the impact this is having on the inner city apartment market, what is often forgotten is the impact this phenomenon is also having on our outer suburbs,” Mr White explained.
“Sites that were previously identified for traditional land subdivision are now being viewed much more differently, with a view to higher density townhouse product to deliver a product at an affordable price.”
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CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBG), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2015 revenue). The Company has more than 70,000 employees (excluding affiliates), and serves real estate investors and occupiers through more than 400 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide. CBRE offers a broad range of integrated services, including facilities, transaction and project management; property management; investment management; appraisal and valuation; property leasing; strategic consulting; property sales; mortgage services and development services. Please visit our website at www.cbre.com.