By Charlene Macaulay
A developer has introduced an industry-first “price protection” initiative at its Wyndham Vale estate, aimed at increasing buyer confidence.
Under the initiative, buyers can buy a block of land in Lotus Living’s Jubilee estate now, and if an equivalent block of land at the estate is at a lower price per square metre at the time of settlement, Lotus will pay the difference between the contracted purchase price and the discounted price.
Lotus Living project director Daniel Smith said with market sentiment at its lowest in 10 years, the estate had experienced decreases in inquiries and sales and the initiative aimed to give buyers confidence.
“The fundamentals of the market are still good … there’s low interest rates, a growing economy and good migration levels,” Mr Smith said.
“All of those factors have been materially unchanged over the last 12-18 months.
“The property market has certainly come off the top of the market, but I think the situation has been exacerbated by the credit squeeze and the banking royal commission, and this is a way for us trying to provide confidence back to the market.”
As reported by Star Weekly earlier this month, Wyndham real estate agents say the property market is “not all doom and gloom”.
Hockingstuart Werribee senior sales consultant Samantha McCarthy said while there were plenty of media reports about house prices dropping about 10 per cent, this did not seem to be occurring in Wyndham.
“Some properties might not achieve the same price they would have 12 to 18 months ago, but that is to be expected, because the market couldn’t have sustained that kind of growth.”
