Homebuyers spending more than $1m in Melbourne’s growth corridors are being warned to check local planning risks before trusting online property gurus or buyer’s agents.
Homebuyers spending more than $1m in outer growth corridors are being warned about trusting online property influencers after fears a proposed 80m waste stack could affect values in Melbourne’s north.
Property experts say unchecked social media advisers without local knowledge are pushing families into outer-suburban housing estates without properly explaining what projects could be planned nearby.
The warning follows concern about the proposed HiQ Sunbury Eco-Hub waste-to-energy plant at 570 Sunbury Rd, Bulla, near Sunbury’s expanding housing estates.
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Matthews Estate Agents director John Matthews said buyer’s agents should face stronger standards as the sector grew, with some buyers later discovering the property they had purchased had not performed as promised.
“A lot of the time we’ll have to on-sell these properties for clients and they haven’t made any money. They’ve actually gone backwards,” Mr Matthews said.
“The client realised they were being sold a dud.
“It doesn’t go up in value, the body corporate is double what they were told, and the net return is nowhere near the yield they were promised.
“It all looks good on a one-pager, but then the reality kicks in and no growth kicks in and the client wants to get out of it and they end up losing money.”
Matthews Estate Agents director John Matthews said some buyers later realised they had been “sold a dud” after taking property advice that did not stack up.
Mr Matthews said some advisers were presenting themselves more like wealth coaches or property gurus than licensed property professionals.
“When people are acting as a buyer’s agent and saying, ‘We’ll help you buy the right property to make money,’ you’re almost on the borderline of providing financial advice,” he said.
ALBA director Tom Mifsud said buyer’s agents should understand local risks before recommending suburbs, rather than relying on online growth metrics.
ALBA director Tom Mifsud said buyer’s agents recommending markets without local knowledge were not acting in their clients’ best interests.
“Anyone that’s recommending any market that doesn’t have the local knowledge, and isn’t considering those local implications, is telling you they are not recommending markets that are in the best interests of the client,” Mr Mifsud said.
“If you don’t have the time, resources or networks to present scenarios that meet the client’s best interest, then we shouldn’t be recommending the properties.”
Mr Mifsud said buyer’s agents should not treat a Section 32 vendor statement as the start of due diligence.
“Putting it in the Section 32 doesn’t solve the problem,” he said.
“You can go online and see 10 or 20 per cent growth metrics, but those days are done.
“Those days were created by property influencers creating artificial demand. Those days are over.”
Master Advocates director Mark Errichiello said buyers should “follow the money” and ask whether a property adviser was truly independent.
Master Advocates director Mark Errichiello said buyers in growth corridors were often focused on affordability, transport and new homes, but not enough on what could be planned nearby.
“It’s concerning because people go out there for affordability, they go out there for infrastructure and access to train, employment and highways,” Mr Errichiello said.
“And you’re still paying fairly good money for blocks of land there, even with the new estates.”
Mr Errichiello said house-and-land packages in growth corridors could now cost more than $1m once land and construction were combined.
“Any buyers, once we tell them that this could happen, they’ll probably withdraw,” he said.
“It would make it hard to sell, make it hard to attract new buyers to the area.”
Mr Errichiello said buyers needed to “follow the money” when taking property advice, particularly if advisers were promoting new-build or off-the-plan properties.
A local Sunbury real estate agent said the existing site was known locally as “the dump”, but said he had not seen the proposed waste-to-energy plant appear in Section 32 vendor statements for nearby homes.
In its published community Q&A, HiQ said it had been granted a waste-to-energy cap licence for a plant that could process up to 750,000 tonnes of residual waste a year if approved.
The existing waste management site at 570 Sunbury Rd, Bulla, where HiQ has proposed a waste-to-energy plant near Sunbury’s expanding housing estates. Picture: Alex Coppel.
HiQ says its proposed Sunbury Eco-Hub waste-to-energy plant remains subject to EPA Victoria and Department of Transport and Planning approvals before it can proceed. Picture: Alex Coppel.
The Q&A said the proposed stack was expected to be between 80-metres and 90-metres tall and would be located between 650m and 700m back from Sunbury Rd.
A HiQ spokesman said the company had been engaging with the community since the project was first proposed in September 2023.
“The project remains subject to approvals by both EPA Victoria and the Department of Transport and Planning before it can proceed,” the spokesman said.
“As part of this process, HiQ is undertaking comprehensive technical assessments, including air quality, human health, noise, traffic, visual amenity and environmental studies.
“At this stage, information provided by HiQ has been indicative only.”
The spokesman said the proposal was consistent with the Sunbury South Precinct Structure Plan.
“HiQ has operated at the site for more than 20 years alongside other waste management facilities, and the proposed facility is consistent with the area’s long-established use,” the spokesman said.
“The Sunbury Eco-Hub also has an existing 1km buffer around the site.”
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