Residential building block sales very slow on NSW South Coast

Until the Sydney market returns to very strong conditions, the CIC Australia development company expect its South Coast sales to remain slow.

The company’s Bay Ridge development, a 142-block housing estate at the intersection of the Kings Highway and the Princes Highway about a kilometre north from Batemans Bay, has been slow to sell.

CIC was resigned to delivering the project over a number of years at a slow rate in response to market conditions, its shareholders were recently advised.

“Until such time as the Sydney market returns to very strong conditions we expect Bay Ridge to remain slow,” it says.

The Canberra-based property developer CIC Australia is part of Sir Ron Brierley’s Guinness Peat Group and is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.

Bay Ridge was aimed at both locals and sea-changers relocating from Canberra and Sydney.

The lot sizes start at 2,500 square metres, offering the opportunity to build a large home without the constraints of a small block. With a 3,800-square-metre average size, the development seeks to combine a rural character with the convenience of town services including water, sewerage and communications.

The blocks of land start at $199,000, and house-and-land packages start with Masterton Homes at $582,000.

Notwithstanding the fact that the NSW South Coast market remains very slow, the company did recently sell the last of its lots at CIC’s Glen Mia development at Bega.

Competition was strong at the final auction in early February, and all lots were sold above the reserve.

CIC Australia commenced operations in Canberra in 1986 then under the name Jerrabomberra Estates Limited.

CIC has reported a profit after tax of $6.2 million for the six-month period based on strong presales in Canberra and Adelaide.