Property developer Lang Walker has bought 56.7 hectares of land near Maitland in the NSW Hunter Valley, hoping to tap into rising demand for housing as a result of coalmining in the area.
He plans to build up to 400 houses, to a value of more than $200 million, on the land at Gillieston Heights.
Mr Walker, known for making counter-cyclical investments, recently announced a joint venture to develop a waterfront site on the NSW mid-north coast, where market conditions have been weak since the financial crisis.
Mr Walker paid $11 million for the Gillieston Heights site, owned by Gary Dunn and the Murphy family, which has a development approval for house and land packages and land lots.
“This area of the Hunter is one of Australia’s strongest-growing residential markets, on the back of the coalmining operations and the construction of the Hunter Expressway,” Mr Walker said.
“There is growing demand for housing around Maitland, and Gillieston Heights is positioned perfectly to cater for the many young families and couples moving into the area.”
Land lots will typically be 600 square metres, with an average price of $185,000.
The area is growing fast, with the population increasing by 2.3 per cent annually and five new people moving into Maitland each day.
The town’s population of 72,000 is expected to increase to 100,000 by 2030, according to council estimates.
Developers, including McDonald Jones Homes and listed giant Stockland are well established in Maitland.
“Nearly all major builders and property developers are in Maitland now,” said Maitland City Council mayor Peter Blackmore. “It is very possible still to get a land and house package starting around $340,000. By today’s standards that’s still quite affordable.”
Mr Walker is developing communities in NSW, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia.
He bought land in Brisbane’s inner west last month from Sydney developer John Hayson.
He plans to build 243 apartments on the land in two towers of up to 20 storeys high, to a total value of about $100 million.
Mr Walker’s wealth was valued in last year’s BRW Rich 200 list at $1.74 billion.
John Hayson 