Huge rezone plan for Goolwa land as COVID-19 fallout causes soaring demand for housing
Plans to rezone a huge area of farming land near Goolwa have been released, as agents report a surge in demand because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Plans to rezone a 565ha area north of Goolwa to make way for more than 1300 new homes might be given a kickstart by COVID-19.
Alexandrina Council plans to change the land use of a 200ha area just north of the township to residential, and another 365ha to ‘deferred urban’ – to be used for housing down the track.
The council’s plans have long been in the pipeline, but have just been released for public comment.
Strategic development manager Sally Roberts said the pandemic had not slowed demand for new housing as predicted.
Instead, talks with real estate agents had revealed an increasing number of professionals – and their employers – had discovered it was much easier to work remotely than they realised.
That, coupled with more people retiring in the area and major road upgrades, was likely to fuel extra demand for housing blocks now in short supply.
Government stimulus packages for renovations, new builds and first homebuyers are helping increase demand.
“They’ve also said there’s been a lot of inquiries from people that are looking for a holiday home because they’re not seeing themselves travelling,” Mrs Roberts said.
“We were expecting there to be a fairly dramatic downturn in development applications but what we’re finding is it hasn’t let up.”
The council plans to rezone an area near Skewes and Stuart roads, with most of the land owned by two families keen to develop. The area is now used for grazing and cropping.
A report shows the population in the new growth area is likely to increase from 25 people in 2021 to more than 2400 people in 2041.
Harcourts South Coast senior sales consultant Kathleen Fry said the area had an undersupply of land available and building stimulus packages and COVID-19 had created “a huge influx of buyers”.
“A lot of people have decided they want to have more of a lifestyle change and work from home while only being an hour and 15 minutes from Adelaide,” Ms Fry said.
“People are buying from interstate without even looking at the property – they’re buying it over FaceTime.
“Normally in winter demand would drop off but since COVID-19 we’re busier than our summer months – we can’t believe the demand.”
Alexandrina chief executive Glenn Rappensberg said the region offered an “enviable lifestyle” commuting distance from Adelaide.
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Major upgrades of Victor Harbor, Ayliffes and Long Valley roads were expected to further fuel the increase in demand.
“You can see that the commute is going to get smaller and smaller,” Mr Rappensberg said.
The council also plans to rezone two parcels of land at Strathalbyn, totalling 45ha, for housing.
Submissions on both proposals are due on September 7.