Tatura’s housing crisis has been directly attributed to a lack of available 800-square-metre ‘general residential’ lots ready to be developed, a Greater Shepparton City Council land supply report found.
Urban Land Projects project director Paul Ranson said since 2019, there had been virtually zero ‘general residential’ lots that weren’t pre-sold or already available to the public.
“There’s lots of opportunities in Tatura, people want to live there, but there’s no available land for people to build on,” Paul said.
A new draft structure plan for Tatura, designed to replace the depleted supply of residential land, was endorsed by Greater Shepparton City councillors at their April meeting.
Paul said as it stands, the current draft structure plan will likely meet the housing demands of Tatura, and right now it was up to council to rezone the land.
“It’s desperately needed, there’s just been no residential land in Tatura for a number of years now,” he said.
“We’ve had discussions with council since 2017, early 2018 ... and we’re still waiting.”
In the first quarter of 2021, the median sales value of a vacant residential lot in Tatura was $96,000.
But if new land isn’t made available soon, the likely result will be “upward price pressures on residential retail lots”, according to the land supply report.
At least 144 new development sites could see a house on them if the plan is passed.
For every house built, $1,000,000 of economic output is generated and three direct jobs are created, according to the Urban Development Institute of Australia.
Tatura has historically contributed around 11 per cent of all general residential lot construction across Greater Shepparton.
“Average greenfield lot construction in Tatura prior to the current crisis was tracking at around 26 lots per year — $26,000,000 economic output generated and 78 direct jobs created,” Paul said.
There are some 2000-square-metre blocks available on the market, but broad acreage is not meeting the current needs of market demands, Paul said.
“They’ve got a high price tag and they’re a lifestyle block, for people who want a bit of land,” he said.
“By far and away, your biggest market is your 800-square-metre allotment.
“The finalisation of the (Tatura Structure Plan) and rezoning of land will be welcomed by residents, the development industry and employers alike.”
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