First ‘Hills of Carmel’ homes on horizon as North West development demand hits fever pitch

The Hills of Carmel, a 2,000 lot sub-division spread across 223 hectares in Sydney’s North West, has had its buyer registration period brought forward by four months to meet demand for prompt settlement.

Registration is the formal process of lodging the individual lots with the land titles office, allowing the final settlement of property to take place.

As a result, more than 100 lots will be settled by the end of this month with home building not far behind.

The Hills of Carmel is a new land release located in the recently rezoned suburb of Box Hill, between Rouse Hill and McGraths Hill, close to major retail centres, national parkland, sporting facilities and idyllic Hawkesbury River fishing and boating.

Almost 300 housing lots have been sold to home buyers since the $1.3 billion Hills Shire site launched in May 2016, with a further 300-400 lots flagged for release later this year.

The earlier-than-expected registration process follows unseasonably high demand over the Christmas period, according to Hills of Carmel Property Development Consultant Bob Welsh.

“Land is getting snapped up fast; we are opening up new lots sooner than anticipated. Given the community will offer schools, shopping centres, proximity to new transport links and beautiful aspects, we knew going into this it would be popular, but perhaps even we underestimated the sheer scale of Sydney’s housing affordability crisis,” he said.

Mr Welsh said residents are expected to move into the first of the community’s homes by mid-2017.

Australia’s biggest and most established display home organisation, Homeworld, will also be joining the neighbourhood, with plans to construct a 108-lot display village on site.

“In line with the heavy consumer demand for affordable lots, as described by the Department of Planning, we will continue to make available both small detached dwelling lots and larger lots ranging in size from 300m2 to 870m2,” Mr Welsh said.

Jamie and Shirley Millar, currently of East Kurrajong, will be among the first residents to settle in coming weeks.

Mr Millar said this will be his family’s second build.

“We are really excited about the opportunity to build in The Hills of Carmel and to be a founding part of Sydney's newest suburb,” he said.

“We are relocating to downsize and be closer to modern facilities for our three children.

The semi-rural aspect, as well as the North West Rail Link are key factors in our decision to move here.”

The Department of Planning expects the new suburb of Box Hill to eventually comprise 9,600 dwellings and a population of more than 28,000 people.

The Hills of Carmel development will create thousands of new jobs and inject an estimated $700 Million into the local economy.

For more information on The Hills of Carmel, visit www.TheHillsofCarmel.com.au.