Stockland expands holding with 95ha purchase 

Developer Stockland has agreed to buy 95ha of residential zoned land bordering its 198ha Elara community at Marsden Park in north west Sydney for $290 million.

Stockland will purchase the site from the Winten Property Group, which sold the adjoining Elara site to Stockland four years ago.

“It presents us with a unique opportunity to continue development, extend the project and maintain strong sales momentum for several more years,” said Mark Steinert, Stockland’s managing director and CEO.

“This is a good investment for Stockland, which increases our exposure to the strongly performing Sydney residential property market. The North West Sydney Growth Centre remains under-supplied, given the pent up demand for vacant land and the strong underlying fundamentals that we see for this corridor.”

The masterplan for the existing Elara community will yield more than 2300 residential lots, more than 900 of which have been sold since the project launched in April 2014. The new acquisition is expected to yield more than 10 additional residential lots.

Andrew Whitson, CEO Residential at Stockland, said: “Over the last two years, new land releases at Elara have typically sold out on the day of release. This acquisition enables us to leverage our existing infrastructure investment in and around the Elara community, while consolidating our brand presence in north west Sydney and extending the life of the project.” 

The 95 hectare property is located on the southern side of the Elara community. The land is zoned for residential use and a Development Application has been lodged with Blacktown City Council and, subject to planning approval, Stockland expects to release the first land for sale within the new development front in FY17 with the first new settlements expected in FY18.