It seems Canberra's north-south rivalry may have contributed in part to the popularity of buying land in the new township of Googong, across the NSW border.
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As the landscaping and finishing touches are being put on about 30 homes in Googong, the town's first residents are preparing to move in by the end of the month.
Although still very much a rural construction zone, the new residents - as well as the couples, families, retirees and first-home buyers who visit to check progress - now have a $6 million dollar clubhouse to meet in as their future takes shape around them.
For the Sherd family, the decision to make the eight kilometre move south from Queanbeyan to build their dream home was simple, but for Canberra buyers, an aversion to moving north seems part of the attraction of moving interstate.
"I liked the south region of ACT and there's a lot of new development in the north end, but that kind [of] didn't interest me too much," first home buyer Simon Azzopardi said.
It will be another 10 months before the 28-year-old public servant can start building on his block though, whereas construction on Mark and Annette Pagdin's home is due to begin this week.
The couple are downsizing from their family home in Wanniassa, and while they wanted to build a new home to meet their criteria, they also resisted moving over the lake. "The land prices are $100,000 cheaper than they are in Canberra - simple as that," Mr Pagdin said. "And it's still south-ish," Mrs Pagdin added. "Yes, we don't have to cross the lake!"
The display village has opened next to the Googong Clubhouse - which has a gym, 25 metre indoor pool and tennis courts - something the township's project director, Mark Attiwill, said can only help further sales. "People have been buying before a lot of these facilities have been present," he said. "[The plan] is for five and a half thousand in the township over a 20-year period, so to get 510 sales over the past two years has been a phenomenal achievement."
The town is not without competition though. On Sunday morning buyers snapped up 23 of the first 79 blocks to be released in Tralee, the new development on the NSW side of Monaro Highway. Ninety blocks sold to ACT and NSW builders late last month.
