Warburton land prices move up

LAND holders in Warburton and Yarra Junction have seen some of the strongest price rises in the state.
Figures show the areas have had some of the highest percentage increases over the year 2006 to 2007.
The median price of vacant land in Warburton rose by 34 per cent from $86,500 in 2006 to $116,250 in 2007, the fourth highest rise in the Melbourne metropolitan area.
Land prices in Yarra Junction rose by 27 per cent from $98,500 to $125,000, the sixth in the top 10 of percentage price rises.
The two towns, 10 kilometres apart, represent bush and urban trends.
Strict prohibitions on tree clearing apply in the Warburton area and there has been no subdivision there.
However, in Yarra Junction, the zoning has enabled subdivision.
The increases in Warburton and Yarra Junction far exceeded the general rise in vacant land prices of 2.5 per cent across the metropolitan area.
And the cost of land in those towns is marginally lower than the state median of $142,500. Warburton real estate agent Laird Coulter said figures for the current year might show a slowing, compared to the previous year.
High petrol prices, too, were affecting the outer suburbs since 2007, and this could dampen prices, he said.
Yarra Junction agent David Carroll said resales of blocks in new subdivisions in that town had shown significant increases in price, and the base price for a second release of land was higher than for the first release.
People were moving from suburbs closer in, he said, because of the facilities including the Yarra sports centre and public transport.
“About 60 per cent of our buyers are from out of the area, coming here for a better lifestyle,” Mr Carroll said. “There is a shortage of land.”
The figures come from Valuer-General Victoria data, released last week in A Guide to Property Values 2007. It covers every local government area in the state.
Suburbs and towns with fewer than 10 sales were excluded from the calculations.