H U N T E R H O ME S
Billy's Lookout
Creating a Sense of
Community and Unique Identities WORDS MICHELLE MEEHAN
T
There’s a lot to consider when you’re looking for a new home. Location, price, convenience and community all play a part in the decision-making process. Then there’s the inevitable question over whether to buy or build. For those wavering on that last point, there are now thousands of additional reasons to start searching for that perfect block of land thanks to a range of new or expanded government grants. Designed to provide a much-needed boost to the residential construction industry in the wake of COVID-19, the Federal Government’s HomeBuilder scheme provides eligible owneroccupiers with a grant of $25,000 to build a new home. The time-limited program applies to building contracts signed between June 4 and December 31 this year, with construction required to start within three months of the contract date.
While income caps and property value limits also apply to this scheme, it’s a huge boost for eligible applicants looking to build a new home. There’s even more support on offer from the Federal Government for first home buyers, such as the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme. This can potentially help people afford to buy land and build sooner by decreasing the minimum deposit required to secure a loan and eliminating the need to pay thousands of dollars in lenders mortgage insurance. The State Government is also chipping in to help more first homeowners build new homes, with a $10,000 grant under the First Home Owner Grant (New Homes) scheme. First home buyers can potentially save thousands of dollars on stamp duty as well as part of the State Government’s COVID-19 Recovery Plan, which is designed to support the property and construction industry by providing incentives for more people to buy or build a new home. Changes to the existing First Home Buyers Assistance scheme came into effect on August 1, which included increasing the threshold at which stamp duty kicks in when you purchase vacant land to build a new home. Depending on the value of the land, the changes could save buyers more than $13,000 in additional fees. Someone who understands more than most the importance of these government grants is McCloy Group Managing Director Brian Swaine.
The McCloy Group has been developing residential estates across the Hunter for more than 30 years, and Brian said there has never been a better time to build a new home thanks to the current incentives. “The moment to buy land and build is now,” he said. “The opportunities that both levels of government are now providing via HomeBuilder and other government grants for first home buyers and stamp duty exemptions are second to none. “I’ve been in the industry for over 20 years, and I’ve never seen any sort of government stimulus packages like the current ones.” Based in Newcastle, McCloy Group is one of the Hunter’s largest private property developers. The family-owned business is a well-known and trusted name within the industry, with a legacy that spans both construction and property development. One of McCloy’s early successes was the construction of the $150 million John Hunter Hospital, which was delivered a year ahead of schedule. In the 1990s, the McCloy Group diversified and began developing residential estates. One of its earliest ventures was the 420-lot Green Point estate at Belmont, closely followed by the award-winning Northlakes Estate in Cameron Park. This master-planned residential community features 1494 homesites set amongst 110 hectares of bushland and was awarded the coveted National Urban Taskforce award for “Masterplanned Community” in 2012. The company has built its reputation on transforming underutilised spaces into award-winning residential land estates where communities thrive, and people love to live. Brian said the McCloy Group spend a lot of time envisioning what they want to produce within each estate. “We like to take a step back, and master plan each site so that it’s had everything considered, from access, road and pedestrian connections to open space, neighbourhood parks, recreation, the whole box and dice,” he said. “It’s more taking a holistic view and trying to optimise the assets of each piece of land, so whether it’s views, whether it’s sloping, whatever the sites’ constraints are, we don't see them as a constraint, we try to see them as an opportunity and master plan the best outcome for that piece of land.” The master planning process is also about creating a sense of community in each residential development. “We have a strong focus on things that give our residential communities their own identity,” Brian said. “Everything from marketing initiatives like the names of estates and street names, right through to things like public art, entry features and the landscaping is all tailored individually to each project. “It’s about creating its own identity so that when our residents come home after work in the afternoon, they feel like they've got their own identity and their own little neighbourhood. “Enhancing that sense of community and interaction between residents is also something we try to do through various initiatives, such as creating Facebook groups for each estate. “We have lots of open space, neighbourhood parks, urban bushland where people can go for a walk. We try to integrate the community, so everyone just doesn't come home, close their garage door and stay inside; we want people to get out and about and interact.” The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly highlighted the need for communities to have easy access to amenities and open spaces, making estates with these types of features (Continued next page) F www.intouchmagazine.com.au | 23
