NSW Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, Paul Scully, says new development is the key to restoring the record lack of housing choice and keeping young Aussies in major cities like Sydney.
This week, Mirvac turned the first sod to officially commence construction at their “never to be repeated again” Sydney development, Highforest, in West Pennant Hills.
Located on the edge of the Cumberland State Forest in the northwest Sydney suburb, Highforest offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to live alongside Australia’s only metropolitan state forest.
The $830 million project will deliver 414 much-needed new homes to the established area – 165 detached and attached houses and 249 apartments, along with publicly accessible open spaces and a range of community facilities.
The development stands out for its unique location, but also for the wide-ranging mix of housing types on offer, a feature that Mr Scully is pleased to see.
At the Highforest sod turning ceremony, Mr Scully told realestate.com.au that housing choice in established areas is high on the government’s agenda.
“There are some recent surveys that suggested that one of the reasons why younger people are moving out of Sydney is that they didn’t have the types of medium density homes that people wanted to see,” Mr Scully said.
“We’ve got less housing diversity now than what we had 100 years ago. That’s not working for people. So we’re restoring choice.”
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“We’ve got less housing diversity now than what we had 100 years ago… so we’re restoring choice,” said Minister for Planning and Public spaces, Paul Scully, at Mirvac’s Highforest sod turning ceremony.
The Government recently released the NSW Housing Pattern Book of Design to accelerate the delivery of new low- and mid-rise housing with a mix of dwelling sizes, where projects look beautiful, add to street appeal and function well for residents.
They’ve also introduced reforms to allow development applications for dual occupancies and semi-detached dwellings to be submitted in more R2 residential zones.
Demand for varied housing types is a trend that Mirvac has also noted across multiple of its developments.
With Highforest’s first building release, one- and four-bedroom apartments were quickly snapped up.
“We sold all the one bedders and four bedders in the first building, and while we’ve sold across all the different product types, it’s been interesting because we never thought demand for ones would be there from day one,” said Stuart Penklis, chief executive of Development at Mirvac.
“We’re reflecting on it across the country – particularly in projects where there’s a lot of amenity – and the one bedders have been in high demand,” continued Mr Penklis.
“We’ve seen it in Victoria with our apartment projects, and then even with our newest project down in Darling Harbour, Harbourside – a lot of registrations for one bedders as well.”
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According to REA Group’s New Homes Report for September 2024, nearly 40% of apartment enquiries are for one-bedroom properties.
The ABS also predicts that by 2041, single-person households will make up over a quarter (approximately 26%) of all households in Australia.
Highforest is unique for its location next to Australia’s only metropolitan state forest, and for its mix of dwelling types from one-bed apartments through to four- and five-bed attached and detached houses.
Good design the key to apartment living
With housing affordability at its worst level on record, people are compromising on space to balance their desire between location and price point.
“With the cost of living and increasing value of properties in Australia making it hard for buyers to get on the property ladder, one-bed apartments are increasingly in high demand,” said REA Group senior data analyst, Karen Dellow.
“High interest rates are reducing the borrowing capacity of buyers and many are having to reduce their expectations and choose a smaller property.”
However, good design is a big part of the willingness to compromise.
Mr Penklis believes that in well-designed projects with excellent amenity – such as swimming pools, gyms, dedicated work spaces and integrated green areas – the move to a smaller home is an easier decision, whether it’s a one bedder or four-bedroom pad.
“It’s great to join a community where you get all this additional amenity, plus you’ve got green, open spaces,” he said.
“I think everybody that has purchased here [at Highforest], realises that this is a never-to-be-repeated project in terms of this type of unique environment, coupled with the vibrancy of all the array of different housing options. We are creating a very special and connected community.”
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Mirvac CEO of Development has noted a demand for one-bedroom apartments across their projects, especially when designed with quality amenity and open spaces. Picture: Highforest resident swimming pool.
The Hills District is one of many established areas in Sydney where there are large homes on large lots, restricting the mix of housing types. Singles, couples and smaller families or those on tighter budgets are typically locked out of well-established areas with a majority housing type.
Similarly, downsizers in those big homes who wish to stay in their local area struggle to find suitable, lower maintenance options – another trend Mr Penklis has seen at all of Mirvac’s developments.
“What we’re seeing across the board is people want lower maintenance living. There’s no question about that,” he explained.
“In particular, at this Highforest project, prospective buyers come in after either a detached or attached house, and actually, when they start to see the size and the layout of the apartments, and particularly in this project where the apartments are looking into the forest canopy, they convert to an apartment purchaser.”
Mr Penklis outlined that both upsizers and downsizers typically don’t wish to leave their surrounding amenity, community or school catchments, so spacious apartments that provide low-maintenance living without losing access to open space are an attractive option.
“It’s often still more affordable than buying a house in the surrounding market, so when it comes to moving further out versus choosing a larger apartment, the larger apartment often wins,” Mr Penkils said.
Highforest in West Pennant Hills offers a varied mix of housing types and size, from one through four-bedroom apartments, and some five-bedroom houses.
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Highforest has been many years in the making for Mirvac, and will be a true legacy project.
Upon entering the site, the first thing you’ll notice is lively birdsong – an instant and beautiful reminder of its unique urban location alongside a vibrant state forest. And an aspect Mirvac has been passionate to protect.
With a commitment to leaving the site better than they found it, the company is dedicating 10 hectares of endangered remnant forest to the public, replanting 1.5 trees for every tree removed – which equates to around 4600 trees on site – and is regenerating close to 10,000 square metres of forest.
Mirvac has ensured the safe relocation of important endangered species, including the dural land snail, and are closely monitoring the powerful owl. Over 40 nest boxes for possums and birds have also been installed.
“Importantly, the built form of Highforest will be confined to the footprint of the existing office buildings and carpark which was formerly the IBM commercial offices, which will be transformed into a wonderful place for over 1,000 people to call home over the next four years,” said Mr Penklis.
Mirvac is targeting a 6 Star Green Star Communities v1.1 rating in recognition of the group’s efforts to go beyond the building and address other issues, such as public realm and amenity, sustainable transport and walkability, integrated water management, and place and community development.
The all-electric, 7-star NatHERs-rated Highforest will also include public spaces for the wider community to enjoy, including a cultural classroom with a yarning circle, walking trails connecting to the forest, a playground, children’s bike track and shaded BBQ and seating areas.
Mirvac has been collaborating with First Nations representatives for years on the project, and they have led on the design of some of the open community spaces. In addition, a Discovery Centre aims to educate the community and customers on the significance of the site – the endangered remnant forest and its flora and fauna and the original custodians of the land, the Dharug people.
The project is just a 25-minute drive to Sydney’s CBD and 800 metres from the new Cherrybrook Metro station, which connects to the city in 30 minutes.
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