Land sale: more than 90 blocks up for grabs in first Mr Fluffy auction of year

More than 90 former Mr Fluffy blocks will go under the hammer on Thursday, in the first mass auction of the year.

Largely scattered across Canberra’s Belconnen, Weston Creek and Woden regions, the auction offers up slabs of residential land in established neighbourhoods.

ACT Property Council executive director Adina Cirson said there was “no doubt” the blocks would meet their reserve prices.

“It’s a great opportunity to buy multiple blocks in the same street area,” Ms Cirson said.

“The planning changes allow for dual occupancies to be built with separate unit titles and people want to buy blocks that have these rules. It’s a really good test case for dual occupancies in more established areas and has certainly contributed to the prices being paid for these blocks.”

However the usual frenzy of Fluffy buyers could be somewhat sedated by warnings from the buyers of a former Fluffy block in Griffith, which was still contaminated by loose-fill and bonded asbestos.

Ms Cirson said no concerns had been raised with her about remaining contamination on blocks.

“I think the government has put fairly systematic procedures in place [for the demolitions] and I certainly haven’t heard concerns about their processes,” Ms Cirson said.

“The only point I can make is they must ensure the blocks are absolutely ready for sale and the remediation is done diligently.”

The ACT government’s Fluffy buyback and demolition program is beginning to wind down. Only 13 of the 926 properties in the Asbestos Taskforce’s demolition schedule are left to do.

A further 71 properties are not yet available, including 35 complex properties and 36 properties not surrendered to the government.

To date, 628 suburban residential blocks have been released to the market for sale via public auction.

Of those, 523 sold at auction while 205 sold over-the-counter. As of February 9, 105 blocks remained for sale.

More auctions will be held in April and May.

First Fluffy sales of the year