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CASE STUDY
Housing affordability
External factors contributing
to a lack of housing affordability
There are a number of other factors that
are contributing to the lack of affordable
housing, such as the inconsistency of
developer infrastructure contribution
charging. Improving the consistency of
these contributions would reduce costs
and as such, lead to reduced consumer
prices. We therefore engage with industry
bodies and speak at public forums
on issues such as these to influence
housing affordability.
FY11 activities
In FY11 we plan to further improve the
affordability of our communities relative
to the local established market in areas
where we operate. In addition to the
initiatives above, we will also:
• Target specific proportions of land
developed in each community
as ‘affordable stock’ (likely to be
10–20 per cent of stock capable
of being met by the budgets of first
home buyers within the relevant
catchment area).
• Work with local authorities,
government and industry to transform
planning which constrains small lot
affordable housing development.
Highlands, Vic
Affordable housing at Highlands
residential community
Federal and state government housing
stimulus measures in late 2009 were
responsible for driving strong first home
buyer demand. This led us to consider
two questions:
• How do we continue to provide housing
that is affordable to this group in the
face of rising prices?
• How do we continue to service the
demands of this market segment once
stimulus measures have been removed?
To help address these issues, we
launched an initiative to develop
packaged house and land solutions
for under $300,000 at our Highlands
residential community in
Melbourne’s North.
Highlands is a carefully-planned community
designed for families, with parklands
and open space and is close to schools
and amenities.
Targeting the under $300,000 price point
requires innovation. Analysis suggested
that a $300,000 package would involve a
land component of $120,000. At Highlands,
no standard lots were capable of meeting
this price point, with a lot size of 212.5m 2
representing the budget threshold.
To make new home buying easier for those
starting out, we worked with builders
Henley Properties Group to develop
a range of affordable fixed price house
and land packages:
• Land produced at a standard
8.5m x 25m lot configuration.
• An initial five lots released to the market,
with scope to release another 34 lots
over the course of FY10.
• Customised small lot house designs
developed and built by Henley.
The product has been highly successful.
At 30 June we had achieved a total of 20 lot
sales of these lot packages and plans are
now underway to incorporate this approach
in other Victorian communities, with similar
initiatives being planned for the other states.
In total, approximately 110 additional lots
are planned for development in FY11, with
a further three builders also developing
designs to compete in this market.
Grant allocations in Western Australia
In Western Australia, affordability gains
were achieved by securing over $3 million
from the Federal Government’s Housing
Affordability Fund to accelerate key
infrastructure in two residential communities
at reduced cost, with gains passed on
to purchasers:
• At Newhaven, $1.75 million was received
to help relocate power infrastructure
which traverses the site. The funding
expedited this activity, allowing a further
59 lots to be developed in the Newhaven
Town Centre.
• At Settlers Hills, a $1.5 million grant
was used to construct a new road which
makes access available to a further
50 lots for development in the project.
This funding enabled us to subsidise
development costs by $30,000 per lot
across more than 100 home sites in the
two communities, greatly improving access
to affordable housing in the region.
Stockland Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Report June 2010
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