Cheap plots of land for sale in these suburbs might seem like a bargain, but beneath the surface lies a truth that could leave buyers lingering in a ghostly limbo between dream and reality.
Properties advertised for as little as $40,000 might lure in buyers like candy on Halloween night, especially in a market where home prices are creeping upwards, and interest rates are still hauntingly high despite rates being slashed thrice this year.
These bargain properties might feel alive with potential, offering a private patch of land in a natural setting.
But the reality can be a lot murkier.
Australia is dotted with ‘paper subdivisions’ – estates where large blocks of land have been carved up into small lots and sold off, but where bringing a home to life is near impossible.
While the land was divided ‘on paper’ long ago and blocks can still be bought and sold today, basic infrastructure and services such as water, sewage and roads haven’t been summoned into existence.
That means there are slim chances of owners or buyers ever being able to build a home and live there permanently, with land often zoned ‘non-urban’ and local councils showing no intent to awaken future development.
These areas are sometimes dubbed ‘ghost developments’ or ‘zombie subdivisions’, and have even been described as ‘the living dead of the real estate market’ – trapped in suspended animation, yet hopeful of a re-animation.
With land prices tending to rise over time, many owners cling to their plots for decades, with the distant hope of a value uplift if development can one day progress.
David Nichols, Professor of Urban Planning at University of Melbourne, has studied the phenomenon extensively and said most zombie suburbs had come about as a result of subdivisions over a century ago.
“People have just held on to them as low cost investments that they or their descendants can capitalise on at a later date,” he said.
“In the meantime, they get rezoned so that they are no longer tenable as residential sites.”
So where are Australia’s ‘zombie suburbs’, and will they ever be re-awakened?
North Arm Cove, NSW
While celebrated architect Walter Burley Griffin is best known for designing Canberra, he also designed other towns and suburbs across Australia, including Griffith, Leeton, Castlecrag, as well as the mid-north coast suburb of North Arm Cove in 1918.
Burley Griffin was commissioned to design ‘Port Stephens City’, at the time was envisioned as a major seaport with a railway interchange, state and federal government buildings, retail district and extensive parklands.
An original advertisement for lots for sale at Port Stephens City. Picture: Henry F. Halloran & Co. Source: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3132589921
The land was subdivided and lots were sold off, but the city never eventuated.
Today most of the lots are zoned non-urban, and can sell for less than $30,000, although according to the MidCoast Council, houses can’t be built on these properties unless there is a dwelling entitlement already in place.
Other uses such as camping or parking a caravan may be permitted with certain conditions.
Real estate agent and LJ Hooker Hawks Nest Lisa Dale said a lack of dwelling entitlement didn't stop buyers from snapping up North Arm Cove's bush blocks.
“They're becoming more and more popular as an affordable holiday getaway,” she said. "They serve a purpose for those that might not be able to achieve the dream of home ownership.”
The suburb isn’t entirely zombified, however, with 552 residents living in 340 dwellings, according to the most recent census, most of which are found along the water.
North Arm Cove has a median house price of $887,500, and waterfront properties usually sell for more than $1 million.
Non-urban lots can also be found in nearby suburbs of Pindimar, Bundabah, Carrington and Copeland, according to the MidCoast Council.
Solomon Heights - Sunshine North, Victoria
A sub-$300,000 block of land with city views just 10km from the Melbourne CBD sounds like a pretty sweet deal.
But if history is anything to go by, buyers and owners of lots in the Solomon Heights precinct in Sunshine North might be waiting an eternity before anything can be built.
Aerial photography shows the outlines of roads which are yet to be built. Picture: Google Earth
The precinct, which was subdivided into residential lots in the 1920s and rezoned to industrial in the 1940s, has laid dormant for a century, and while proposed roads might appear on maps online, the area is essentially one large paddock without basic services.
The Brimbank City Council website cites a range of issues affecting the precinct, including the presence of critically endangered flora and fauna species.
This 594sqm lot in the Solomon Heights estate in Sunshine North is on the market for $235,000. Picture: realestate.com.au/buy
Campaigns have been launched to install a water connection to the estate to allow development, but this hasn't yet eventuated.
Burns Road Estate - Altona, Victoria
A huge chunk of Altona in Melbourne’s west is now stuck in planning limbo – a result of both industrialisation of the area and protection of the environmentally-significant vegetation.
It was subdivided into 550 residential and commercial lots in the 1920s, but when the petrochemical industry arrived in the late 1940s, before any homes or streets had been built, it was rezoned industrial.
Nearby Laverton (left) shows just how many homes could be built in the Burns Road Estate (centre), but industrial zoning prevents that from happening. Picture: Google Earth
However, the small residential lot sizes aren’t large enough for appropriate industrial uses including warehousing and logistics, and progress to amalgamate lots remains slow.
Nonetheless, properties still change hands regularly – a 642sqm lot sold for $67,000 last week, while a 576sqm lot sold for $55,000 in August.
Cemetery Estate - Hastings, Victoria
While many zombie subdivisions date from the early 20th century, the origin story of the eerie-sounding Cemetery Estate in Hastings on the Mornington Peninsula is a little more recent.
The Cemetery Estate in Hastings is hemmed in by heavy industry. Picture: Google Earth
It was initially subdivided into 230 lots and sold off in the 1960s, but in 1970 a major industrial facility was opened next door, which changed everything.
The estate is now wedged between a crude oil storage facility and gas plant, and the suburb has been deemed a restricted occupation area, meaning further human habitation isn’t allowed due to risks to residents should a major safety incident occur at the industrial facilities.
This 1203sqm property with a shed and power, zoned for port related use, sold for $200,000 in March. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
Many of the affected properties have been acquired by the Mornington Shire Council and nearby industrial landholders, although about six homes remain occupied.
Helensburgh, NSW
While most of the properties in Helensburgh, roughly halfway between Sydney and Wollongong, are typical suburban homes, there are more than 500 undeveloped lots in the suburb as well as nearby Otford and Stanwell Tops, resulting from a paper subdivision in 1890.
These lots don’t have a dwelling entitlement and most are zoned environmental management, which restricts development to preserve the natural bushland and protect the water quality of the nearby Royal National Park and Hacking River.
Idyllic bush blocks in Helensburgh frequently change hands, even though houses can't be built. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
However, blocks have been bought and sold since the 1970s, including at least five which have changed hands this year, most for less than $100,000.
Despite multiple attempts to have the land rezoned, there are no plans to allow development for housing.
Will zombie suburbs ever be re-animated?
With Australia facing a housing crisis in which not enough homes are being built to house the growing population, affordable vacant land might seem like a major opportunity to solve a growing problem.
Mr Nichols said there were usually valid reasons that further development wasn’t allowed in zombie suburbs, typically due to proximity to heavy industry or protected natural areas.
“The sites that would come under the zombie subdivision umbrella I don’t think are suitable for housing, unless there was a real change in standards or expectations on where housing could go,” he said.
While owners continue to speculate on potential development uplift or long-term appreciation of land prices, the chances of zombie suburbs being resurrected remains slim, Mr Nichols said.
“There are some people who have thought ‘it’s worth the risk of throwing a bit of money at something, who knows, maybe one day there will be a change’ – I think it's highly unlikely.”
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