Canberra Property Market Update October 2020

By Herron Todd White
October 2020

Despite much of the property market doom and gloom portrayed in the media recently, the demand for land in the ACT remains extraordinarily high. Limited stock and a multitude of buyers are causing land prices to rise. However, with this being said, there appears to be a high quantity of supply in the pipeline as new sections of Taylor, Strathnairn and Whitlam near completion over the next six to twelve months, possibly stabilising the supply and demand.

Buyers looking to purchase a vacant block in a new ACT subdivision can expect to pay between $300,000 and $500,000, with some smaller blocks in Strathnairn fetching just under $300,000 and some larger blocks in Throsby fetching just over $500,000.

The Mr Fluffy Buyback program which began in 2014 provided the opportunity for the purchase of vacant blocks in many of the ACT’s established suburbs, as many properties were found to have asbestos and were subsequently demolished. Since the scheme began, the suburban land agency has sold $500 million worth of vacant land however the program seems to be nearing completion, with only 34 over the counter blocks left for sale on the suburban land agency website as at August 2020. Prices for currently available blocks are anywhere from $580,000 to $900,000, however many sold blocks in Canberra’s prestige locations had no problems fetching over $1 million. Many of the blocks allowed for dual occupancy development, resulting in a market made up of builders, developers, owner-occupiers and investors. This will be one of the final opportunities to purchase a vacant block in an established suburb as standard vacant land sales in established areas are rare.

A high percentage of house and land valuations are stacking up without any problem.

The market is being driven by strong public service industry and low interest rates. It seems to have been almost totally unaffected by COVID and is acting almost the opposite of what was predicted, with many agents saying that the housing market is characteristically similar to 2016 when demand was high and supply was low. The short to medium term outlook is bullish and the long term is also promising.

Sandra Howells
Property Valuer

Speak with a Canberra Mortgage Broker today.