BLOCKS of land in Mildura’s newest super-suburb are being snapped up in droves as young families get a foothold in one of Australia’s hottest property markets.
Most of the land in developer Larry Dimasi’s first-stage South Mildura residential development around Sixteenth Street has been sold within a month of being released on the market during the COVID lockdowns.
The Dolfen Developments chief is unlocking a 90-hectare parcel of land in a 400-lot subdivision that sits next to the Mildura South Regional Sporting Precinct and Neighbourhood Activity Centre, which is planned to include a retail precinct and an early childhood learning centre.
“In the first release of 77 lots (on the corner of Sixteenth Street and Ontario Avenue), it’s gone crazy – and I’ve already sold 40 lots,” Mr Dimasi told Sunraysia Daily.
“We’ll be keeping another 21 lots for a townhouse development on Sixteenth Street, and I have a few on hold – so I’ve really only got 12-15 left to sell in the first stage of land and land-house packages.
“We’re way ahead in what our expectations were for land sales at the point in time. I don’t think there’s been any local subdivision in this stage of the construction phase where there have been so many lots sold so quickly.
“These lots have been selling within 4-5 weeks. It’s quite remarkable.”
It comes after Sunraysia Daily exclusively revealed last month that Mildura’s property boom was hitting even greater heights, with the average house price increasing by 15 per cent this year.
“I’m definitely seeing that boom with my new development,” Mr Dimasi, the region’s biggest land developer, said.
“I’ve had confidence in the growth of Mildura over the past 15 years, but I never expected it to be at this pace.
“The majority of people who are buying the lots in South Mildura are young families, but not first home owners.
“About 10 per cent of people who have bought land that are first home owners. But once I get further along with the development, I think we’ll see more of these people kicking in, because first home buyers are typically more conservative in how they purchase property.
“They want to see the frames go up before they buy anything.”
The median price for a 450-600 sq m, fully-serviced block of land in Mr Dimasi’s first-stage release is $140,000.
“By comparison to average land prices in similar-sized regional centres such as Mildura, we are probably $50,000 cheaper,” he said.
“So there’s still plenty of value in the Mildura market.” However, he said the local property rush was now exposing a shortage of land in Mildura for more residential development.
“We do lack land in Mildura,” Mr Dimasi, a civil structural engineer, said.
“You have this pocket (on Sixteenth Street) and a pocket in Irymple, but we’ll be running out of zoned land soon, given we have so much agricultural land around here.
“After we finish the 400 lots here, there’s no more rezoning in this area.
“We could put more on the market, because you could easily sell a few-hundred blocks a year.”
