Castle Hill residents join forces against developers over valuable land set for high-rise

A tactical war has broken out between big developers and residents in north-west Sydney over multimillion dollar rezoning decisions near new rail projects.

Developers and property speculators have started to fight back against residents who have been banding together to sell their houses in one lot to secure higher prices.

They are buying strategic home sites in soon-to-be-rezoned areas around Castle Hill so that residents are unable to team up and sell their homes for inflated prices.

About 3600 new apartments are planned for Castle Hill’s Showground Station precinct, which is due to be rezoned from residential to high-rise after the state election in March.

Some developers are door-knocking home owners and taking advantage of their lack of information about the surging property values, offering what owners believe to be above-market prices.

The practice has alarmed residents who have flocked to a series of meetings attended by about 750 people.

At a meeting last week at the Castle Hill Bowling Club attended by Domain, hosted by Ray White Castle Hill which is helping residents take on the developers, the agents called the developers’ tactics “commercial blackmail” and warned people against selling their properties individually if they are in these areas. 

Once armed with the information about surging land values, the agents say, the home owners are better off teaming up with neighbours to sell their properties, offering the larger blocks to developers.

Ray White Castle Hill sold an amalgamated site of five properties covering 4430 sq metres to developers in Garthowen Crescent, Castle Hill, in late December for $20.5 million.

Compare that to a scene in the firm’s offices before Christmas. An elderly woman arrived in tears, having just sold her home for $1.25 million, only to discover her neighbours had sold for considerably more. Residents in the same neighbourhood are now chasing $3 million to $3.5 million.

The seminar for Castle Hill was standing room only. Attendees swapped anecdotes of property deals in their neighbourhoods. One told of a developer who offered a homeowner $2.5 million. When the owner said they’d rather take it to the market through a real estate agent, the developer returned the next day with an offer of $5 million.

In Epping, another suburb where rezoning around the North-West Rail Link has occurred, a band of residents netted more than $30 million in August when their six homes sold in one-line to a Chinese apartment developer. 

But confusion over which streets in Castle Hill will be rezoned and a lack of understanding about the selling process is, in some cases, giving developers the upper hand.

Tactics such as the developer door-knocking were cruel, agents say. 

“It’s a form of commercial blackmail,” said Kieron Stedman of Ray White.

“We’re trying to help people protect themselves from developers’ commercially advantageous behaviour.”

He recommended neighbours group together to create a land holding of at least 4000 square metres to attract developers.  He also recommended putting that amalgamated lot to the open market to create competition.

The principal of Ray White Castle Hill, David Dowling, told the crowd that while the rezoning could provide them with the biggest windfall of their lives, dealing with developers was not a do-it-yourself job.

“A lot of people are out of their depth dealing directly with developers,” he said.

“Most people here have no concept of what’s to come … Castle Hill will end up looking a bit like Chatswood.

“The message we have for residents is that they must stick together to maximise their property’s value.”

Other agents around Castle Hill have also had success selling amalgamated sites.

Craig Alexis of Gilmour Property Agents sold a townhouse site at 21-25 Church Street for $5.07 million in September. The amalgamation of three properties on 3178 square metres, which will hold 11 townhouses, attracted interest from 123 developers, builders and investors.

On Thursday afternoon, Mr Alexis listed another site around the corner at 3-6 Katherine Place. Hours later he had already fielded five calls for the 3465-square-metre site which is already zoned for medium density and will take 12 townhouses.

The site is going to auction on March 28. “Our starting price will be $4 million,” said Mr Alexis. “But it’s early days yet.” 

Justin Lowery of Belle Property Castle Hill says the rezoning issue even affects mainstream Castle Hill buyers. “They are competing against investors for anything within 1.5 kilometres of Showground Station.

Mr Lowery cited last Saturday’s sale of 13 Coolong Street. “It had a price guide of $885,000 but sold for more than $200,000 above the guide.”

He has an 1800-square-metre development site at 14 and 16 Marie Street on the market. Mr Lowery is fielding a lot of interest from developers but his owners won’t allow him to advertise a sale price.