Melbourne’s auctions over the weekend saw a slight increase in the clearance rate to 75 per cent which is 5 per cent higher than this weekend last year, on a higher volume of auctions. There has been an increase in homes going to auction from 14,000 to 18,000 compared to last year for the first six months of this year and the increase in volumes have not impacted clearance rates.
Melbourne’s new planning laws are to be rolled out by the 1st of July with the existing Residential 1 Zone, Residential 2 Zone and Residential 3 Zone being replaced by three new residential zones. These are:
Residential Growth Zone which is designed to enable housing growth and encourages the highest residential density and development.
General Residential Zone allows modest housing growth whilst still protecting the current neighbourhood character.
Neighbourhood Residential Zone is designed to restrict development and housing growth to preserve the neighbourhood character.
Councils such as Glen Eira, Boroondara, Port Philip, Bayside, Moonee Valley and City of Yarra have been requesting upto 70% of their suburbs be allocated to the Neighbourhood Residential Zone. Suburbs such as Kew, Hawthorn, Camberwell, Brighton, Sandringham and Black Rock are among some suburbs to get two storey height limits in place. Some suburbs have even had approved minimum sized lots of 400 square metres for subdivision.
If you are looking to purchase a property for development, it is important to research the new planning laws as they will most likely, affect your plans.
