Why Coronation Property build for the owner-occupier
The great Australian dream of owning a home is getting further and further out of reach for many. House prices in Sydney have jumped 113 per cent in the last decade, while unit prices have gone up 64 per cent Sydney-wide, property data house CoreLogic note.
Earlier this year the housing market saw its biggest 12 month growth in two decades, up 26 per cent over the year to March, CoreLogic data found.
Stamp duty, and the now required 10 per cent deposit request by banks, has first home buyers needing to dig all the way to the lining of their pockets before even starting to pay off their mortgage.
The NSW government recently announced a sweeping reform of stamp duty which gives prospective home buyers in New South Wales a leg up. They can opt to pay stamp duty, which only kicks in for property higher than $650,000, or pay a smaller annual property tax, for properties under $1.5 million.
Local Sydney developer, Coronation Property, recently launched a new scheme which helps first home buyers looking for an apartment to be able to pay with just a one per cent deposit. The ‘1% Own Way scheme’ allows buyers to then save the rest of the deposit over the next 12 months. There’s also the higher potential of further price growth the earlier the property is bought.
Les Landerer, a senior executive at Coronation Property, says the scheme was primarily designed to support first home buyers and young families, who are consistently priced out of the
housing market.
“Coronation Property is committed to helping more purchasers on their personal journey
towards buying their first property, because we understand it’s one of the most valuable and
rewarding investments most people will make in their lifetime,” Landerer said.
“With the gap between median house and unit values in Sydney increasing, the Own Way
scheme allows buyers to enter the local property market at an attainable price point, without
having to sacrifice on quality.”
Coronation trialed the scheme in 2021, and had positive feedback and a strong uptake from buyers. First home buyer Soomin Lee said she would have had to have waited another two to three years to buy her first property if she had to save up the 10 per cent deposit.
“I feel like we’re always told to buy house and land, but the 10 per cent upfront deposit wasn’t feasible,” Lee says. “By locking in an apartment on a one per cent upfront deposit instead, and then having time to save the remaining portion of the deposit, I was able to get into the property market straight away and have the convenience of being able to pay the remaining balance over a reasonable timeframe.
Coronation Property’s Head of Sales Cameron Porter says they know how tough saving for a home deposit can be in today’s climate.
“As property prices continue to climb, we believe it’s important to support aspiring home buyers to take a step up the increasingly competitive property ladder,” Porter says.
The scheme is part of Coronation’s ethos to build for the owner-occupier across all of their developments.
“Our attention to design attracts a high number of owner-occupiers,” Porter says, noting the new inhouse design team Studio Circle & Co which puts together ideas even before a development site is purchased.
Porter says the design-focused approach was a major driver at The Papermill Precinct in Liverpool. Around half of the buyers in the striking urban regeneration project were first home buyers. “The Paper Mill precinct set a new benchmark for design and architecture previously unseen in Liverpool, which attracted a high percentage of locals who hadn’t been able to find anything in their price range worth purchasing,” Porter says.
In a similar but very different vein is Coronation’s Ashbury Terraces, again aimed at the owner-occupier, but more geared toward the downsizer. The project of 59 terraces has been designed by SJB and focuses on homes filled by natural light which connect to nature.
“We understood that a large portion of our buyers for this project would be upsizers or downsizers, and designed the terraces to respond with inclusions such as large backyards and courtyards, oversized living and dining areas, multi-level gardens and generous master suites,” Porter added.
The owner-occupier focus sees Coronation secure a number of repeat purchasers, those who have been a first home buyer in a Coronation project a few years ago and are looking at upsizing and already have that developer trust that is needed in the off the plan industry.