Throsby land release stage two begins

Almost $90 million worth of blocks will be sold in the ACT government’s second land release at Throsby.

The Land Development Agency has released details of the 203 blocks to be sold in May via public ballot.

Ranging from 315 to 908 square metres, the blocks are priced from $340,000 to $630,000. The average price for each block is $411,084.

The combined price of the 203 blocks is $89.5 million. In February, 106 residential blocks sold at an unrestricted auction for just over $48 million.

The suburb’s first land release was highly competitive and more than 800 parties registered to bid for the single residential parcels.

Each successful bidder paid an average of $108,000 more than the reserve price for their block, with the combined total exceeding expectations by $11 million.

The first stage of release also included a builders’ auction, which saw seven land packages sold for a total of almost $17 million.

Colliers International general manager of land marketing Shane Radnell said he expected the ballot to be just as successful.

“There was a large number of buyers very interested in those first 106 blocks and for those that missed out we’ve got another 203 for them to purchase,” Mr Radnell said.

LDA deputy chief executive Ben Ponton said the auction allowed his agency to assess the market value of the land. The prices for the balloted blocks are based on the results of the February auction.

Mr Ponton said Throsby’s proximity to nearby amenity and arterial roads made it popular with buyers.

“It’s one of the last suburbs in Gungahlin to be released,” Mr Ponton said.

“It’s well located to the town centre, it’s got easy access to the Federal Highway and it’s also adjacent to a nature reserve. All of those factors mean that it’s going to be a popular offering and we expect a similar level of interest in this upcoming release as there was in the previous auction.”

While the range of block sizes is similar to those sold under the hammer in February, the ballot release includes a higher percentage of smaller blocks. Each registrant will only be allowed to purchase one block.

An information session will be held at Exhibition Park in Canberra on Saturday, April 9. It will include details on the ballot process and representatives from the LDA project team, ACTPLA and ACT Revenue will attend.

Ballot registrations will be open from April 12 to April 26 and registrants will be notified of their place in the draw on May 10.

The successful registrants will be able to select their blocks from May 24.

The 203 blocks are in the same construction stage as the blocks that were sold under the hammer in February. Settlements are due to commence in early to mid 2017.

See lda.act.gov.au.