Canberra buyers eye vacant block of land in Denman Prospect, ACT with $1.2m-plus price tag

The 638-square-metre piece of land at 26 Temple Terrace is the last remaining vacant block on the elevated side of the street, with views across the suburb.

Records from property data firm CoreLogic show the land was purchased for $650,000 in 2018.

Selling agent Alexander Smout of Belle Property Canberra said the current owners had intended to build on the block, which has neighbours on just one side.

"They did have some really nice plans done by Thursday Architecture, but circumstances changed which has seen the block come to market," he said.

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Mr Smout said the sale comes as demand for land-only blocks in Canberra appears to be higher than ever before.

In late October, a 660-square-metre block in Denman Prospect sold at auction for $1,212,500, marking the highest sale price for a vacant block of land in the suburb.

"We'll look to hopefully see a similar price point [for 26 Temple Terrace] if not more," Mr Smout said.

"Because it's in such an aspirational location within the suburb, it does demand a price point that a lot of other blocks don't."

The fierce demand for land in Canberra was made clear recently when 7500 people registered to buy 115 blocks of land released in Taylor.

The median price for vacant land under 1000 square metres in the ACT was $616,000 in June 2021, CoreLogic figures show.

The median price per square metre was $1380.

If 26 Temple Terrace sells for its estimated price, it could come in at $1900 per square metre.

The cost of land across the country is soaring at the same time building costs are also on the rise, a recent report by the Housing Industry Association (HIA) and CoreLogic showed.

"The shortage of building materials has caused delays to home building across the country and added 4 per cent to the cost of homebuilding in 2020-21, according to the ABS. At the same time, the cost of residential land prices rose by 8.5 per cent, adding further to the cost of new home building," HIA chief economist Tim Reardon said.

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The report concluded providing an adequate supply of land was a key responsibility of state and territory governments and a necessary step in addressing housing affordability.

"The lift in land prices and residential construction costs, along with the value of established housing rising rapidly, is set to add further pressure to housing affordability challenges that are becoming increasingly apparent across the country," CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless said.

When 26 Temple Terrace, Denman Prospect goes to auction on November 18, Mr Smout expects a small but serious group of bidders.

"It's probably going to cost close to $1.5 million to build a home that suits that location, so that does rule a lot of buyers out. But the ones that I'm dealing with, they're quite enamoured with that block. So I may only have three to four [bidders] but I think they'll be three to four really good ones," he said.

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