Developers slash land prices by up to 20pc as property downturn bites

Property developers are offering rebates of up to 20 per cent on vacant land as Australia’s housing downturn bites, with tens of thousands of dollars in incentives being dangled in front of buyers. But the discounts mask a wildly divided national market, with buyers in southeast Queensland paying more than $500,000 just for land, while shortages are driving gains elsewhere. Herron Todd White’s September Month in Review found Melbourne developers were increasingly turning to incentives to shift stock, with rebates in the city’s outer north climbing to as much as 20 per cent — about double their usual level. Lennium Group’s Lilywood Landings in the new city of Waraba. HTW residential director Jarrod Harper said conditions across Melbourne varied considerably, with the south-east slowing as buyers shifted towards townhouses and smaller blocks and some builders handed land back as profit margins were squeezed. “The outer north is stable with slight gains over the year and a healthy pipeline titling in early to mid 2027, though rebates have climbed to as much as 20 per cent, roughly double the usual level,” Mr Harper said. “The west continues to attract first homebuyers and investors, w...