Home-Buying in 2020

Building a new future at True North

Over this highly unusual period there has been a lot of commentary about the value of housing and whether now is a good time to buy. Some even forecast that the pandemic would bring property searches to a halt. Research from Domain analysing views per listing, however, shows that Victorians have remained keenly interested in new homes, especially in locations outside the inner suburbs.

In the metropolitan north west, the area that accommodates Roxburgh Park and Greenvale, for example, February to July views per listing in 2020 are higher than they were in 2019.

We decided to talk to some of the people who have bought land during Melbourne’s COVID-19 lockdown and find out why they’ve stayed certain about their home-buying dream.

At the moment, Daniel Kharma resides on Sydney’s north shore, but soon he’ll make a permanent move to Melbourne where he’ll live with his fiancée, Emma. She’s a Roxburgh Park resident and Daniel says that whenever Emma picked him up from the airport and driven him back to her current home, they’ve driven through Greenvale. He’s always liked what he’s seen.

So when the couple started looking for a home in the middle of last year, Daniel’s mind turned to land in that suburb. First, though, he and Emma wanted to work out which home they would be building.

“We decided to visit a display village and were immediately drawn to the friendly service from Carlisle’s Rebecca Robinson.  She was so friendly and took the time to sit us down and go through the house.”

“Within ten minutes I was meeting their mortgage broker discussing how much we could borrow.  We mulled the idea of building in the northern suburbs, visited a few estates, including True North. Things fell away for a few months until I got a call from Carlisle about a joint promotion with True North that things got serious.”

Daniel says when he combined the Carlisle/Satterley rebate with the Victorian Government’s First Home Owner Grant and stamp duty concessions, he and Emma became convinced that now was the perfect time to buy. And then, in Daniel’s own words, “COVID hit and everything changed”.

It was time to think things over and assess their options. They were anxious, and despite describing themselves as naturally cautious, they decided to go ahead with their plans.

“I’m in a lucky position of having a great job that’s secure and, under COVID, I’ve been able to save more money. I also felt that the property market looked resilient and prices in Greenvale were really stable and affordable,” Daniel explains.

The other factor that influenced their decision to continue with their property purchase amid the public health emergency was just how good the block of land was.

“It’s an elevated lot. It has views of the city and beautiful sunsets, and is close to the reservoir. It ticked all the boxes and I was hugely impressed with Greenvale – it’s conveniently located to services, there’s a village close by and it felt like a premium suburb.”

Construction is now underway and Emma, who lives five minutes from True North, sends photos of the building progress as often as possible.

They’re planning to get married next year and, by that time, will be living together in their new Greenvale home.

Soon-to-be-married and future True North residents, Daniel and Emma.