Neighbours Selling Houses Together – Melbourne’s Growing Trend
Over recent months Australians have taken notice of the lucrative opportunity on offer for neighbours selling houses together. Every week there seems to be a new article published of a champagne popping vendor – and there’s something inside each one of us that is wondering why them and not me?
Just recently, 6 homeowners in Melbourne’s south-eastern suburb of McKinnon (VIC) shared an $8.88 million sale. Meanwhile, in Castle hill (NSW), a group of 25 neighbours sold their homes three times their market value. Some fortunate homeowners have seen themselves earn $1 million over their house’s market value.
According to industry experts, the developer demand for inner-ring future townhouse and apartment sites is rising steadily. As a result, clever neighbours are banding together to create thought-provoking potential sites for seasoned developers. By selling the properties in a single transaction, both the vendors and the buyers are striking a good deal. This is because the value of the land collectively increases. A larger development site can accommodate larger projects such as high-rise apartment complexes.
What is causing the increased demand?
Mass urbanisation
As Melbourne’s population grows, with it comes an increasing need for more housing. This is leading Melbourne down the same path as Sydney where, over the decades, we have seen the average land size of traditional houses shrink and the first ‘home’ buyer transitioning to a more appropriate tag of first ‘apartment’ buyer. Property developers have anticipated this mass urbanisation and are buying up prospective development sites for upcoming projects.
Council re-zoning
Zoning can be defined as the governmental classification and permitted uses of an area or piece of real estate. Re-zoning is a change in that classification. In many cases, re-zoning will allow for low to mid-rise apartments in an area or location that previously didn’t allow for these types of structures. Consequently, the value of that newly re-zoned land will spike due to the increase in potential dwellings that could be built on that land.
Neighbours selling houses together need to be aware of their property’s zoning rules and restrictions. If the zoning prohibits the development of medium or high developments then selling your properties together will offer few benefits.
What can go wrong?
Homeowners looking to sell houses together will face a common variety of obstacles and challenges. Listed below are some of the most common interferences faced by neighbours trying to sell their houses together:
Missing Puzzle Piece
Firstly, it is important to note that neighbours selling houses together only works if they are selling together. It is not uncommon for one or more homeowners to second guess themselves and pull out of the deal. In a traditional house sale, that decision does not impact anyone beside the occupying residents. However, when neighbours are selling together the impact is huge. Depending on the location of the house it could, at best, dilute the final sale price or, at worst, lose it altogether.
Greed
Each property involved in the deal contributes to the increase in the collective value of the properties. Sometimes, problems arise when one owner protests they should be paid more because their property has a higher traditional market value or that their slice of land is 50 square metres bigger.
No Takers
Another very real problem selling neighbours face is not having enough interest in their site. Just like a traditional house sale, level of exposure has a strong correlation with level of interest and offers. As these collective property sites are unique in their nature, traditional real estate agents typically will not have a database of suitable buyers. Joint property sites require a higher calibre of buyers which are not readily accessible by your local real estate agents.
Getting Started
Research
First and foremost, one must identify the property’s potential relative to council zoning specifications design considerations. Official council websites will outline these considerations, however applying these to your specific property does get tricky. Our partner group iFind Develop can assist by researching your specific property and creating basic plot designs on what can be done to the land.
Talk To Thy Neighbour
Have the conversation with your neighbours, find out if they would be prepared to sell. Find out each other’s tipping point. What offer could you not walk away from? How many other neighbours would be interested?
Seek Offers
Once you and your neighbours are at a point of time in which you would entertain hearing offers, it is time to call Develop Connect. We have successfully represented a number of neighbours achieve record-breaking sales.