Sale of land near future Badgerys Creek Airport sets 'benchmark' of $1m an acre

The previous land rate record in Badgerys Creek was 160 Lawson Road, which sold in April 2017 for $3.3 million – equivalent to $1.65 million a hectare, or about $661,000 an acre.

An automotive company from Sydney ended up winning the auction. Photo: Supplied

The sale price of 10 Martin Road exceeded the vendor’s expectations by about $1.25 million.

About 40 people watched as six bidders battled it out for the corner site, with bidding opening at $4.5 million, before travelling up to $5.75 million.

Bidders included wealthy individuals and other land owners, but the new owner is an automotive company based in the Sydney CBD, which plans to occupy the site and capitalise on the main-road exposure in the future.

The buyer was one of 84 groups who enquired and 15 who asked for a contract.

CBRE selling agent Thomas Mosca, who brokered the deal with Frank Oliveri, said they had received an offer of $4.5 million before the auction and another offer of more than $5 million before the listing hit the market, but the vendor decided to proceed to auction to score a better price.

The block sold for more than $2.8 million a hectare. Photo: Supplied

He added that the sale has “set a benchmark” for land prices near the future Western Sydney Airport, with $1 million an acre becoming the expectation for vendors.

“I think it is the step in the right direction of helping land owners get the best possible price for their land,” he said.

The vendors had purchased the property for $1.35 million in 2013, Domain Group records show. The family had called it home for about five years.

The Badgerys Creek land is earmarked for rezoning into a new land use category called “flexible employment land” in the future.  The zoning will accommodate freight-related purposes, according to the NSW Department of Planning.

While demand for land is strong in the area, transactions have been limited as many land owners are seeking prices that are higher than buyers are willing to spend.

Land around the new airport is being sought by institutional funds, developers, businesses which want to occupy sites near the future airport and speculative land-bankers – some who are raising capital through crowdfunding.

In neighbouring Luddenham, a 17.4-hectare block at 752-810 Luddenham Road could net more than $20 million, while an 18.6-hectare parcel of land at 1383-1411 Elizabeth Drive, Kemps Creek, is expected to sell for about $20 million.