Page 1982 - Week 07 - Thursday, 13 August 2020
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the whole site to build an inclusive and supportive community. All of the units are class C adaptable homes, making them ideal for people with a disability or to be able to age in place. This commitment is part of the 151 dwellings for community housing that were announced with the ACT housing strategy.
Building on the success of Common Ground Gungahlin, the ACT government is getting on with building Common Ground Dickson. This development will include 40 homes for women, children and families, with a social mix and affordable units with up to three bedrooms. Common Ground is a fantastic model for the support of social and affordable housing programs and long-term housing for people who are in need of an alternative option to private rental. This project moved to the next stage with an approved DA, and works will commence soon so that more people experiencing homelessness—women and families, in this case—can be provided with housing as soon as possible.
The last goal of the strategy aims to increase affordable home ownership in the ACT. For the government’s part, over the last four years over 3,000 single residential blocks have been released to the Canberra community. In addition, 10,000 compact blocks and multi-unit dwellings were released. Every year the indicative land release program targets have been met or exceeded by this government.
All land released for housing by government has at least 15 per cent set aside for community, affordable and public housing. The affordable home purchase scheme is delivering affordable housing to Canberrans at set price points right now, and I encourage anyone looking to buy their first home to check their eligibility and register their interest on the Suburban Land Agency website.
Land in the ACT is priced according to market value. Many factors determine the market value for a block of land, such as the time of valuation, location, orientation, size, proximity to open spaces and applicable planning controls. Independent valuations to determine price are sought at different points in time. However, when market conditions change, the price of land should also change.
That is why, given the COVID-19 health pandemic, I asked the SLA to get an updated independent valuation on land in the ACT. The Suburban Land Agency recently sought further independent valuations of its existing stock to ensure that prices reflected current economic conditions. As a result, the agency released updated prices on Saturday, 8 August, with the price of many blocks reduced.
As at 10 August, 314 detached single residential blocks were available for sale over the counter in ACT government estates—Coombs, Wright, Taylor and Throsby. Of those blocks, 200 are priced below $420,000 and could theoretically qualify for the commonwealth’s HomeBuilder scheme. The median price is $407,000. In addition, hundreds of single residential blocks are due to be released in Throsby, Ginninderry and Whitlam over the spring.
To further encourage buyers, the Suburban Land Agency has reintroduced its front garden landscape rebates of up to $12,500 for land-ready blocks sold until 31 October 2020. This limited time offer is available in Throsby, Taylor, Wright and Coombs.
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