Are house and land packages worth the investment?

This is branded content for House and Land Packages Australia.

With rising property prices and rents, many families, young couples and even first-home buyers are weighing up the value of purchasing a house and land package.

House and land packages are generally sold as part of a new housing development, away from city centres. The packages include the land and a newly built home you can choose and customise.

At various stages of completion, the property developers will begin selling the development in lots, as they complete the roads, infrastructure and transport links.

As there is substantial planning and investment involved in these developments, many property developers specifically design the homes and communities to be in appealing locations, with the perfect amenities for growing families.

In short, house and land packages are built with the buyer in mind and to tick as many quality-of-life boxes as possible, while keeping costs affordable and appealing.

Ian Larbalestier from listings site House and Land Packages says, "A major appeal of house and land packages is the experience of buying into a community of like-minded individuals and families".

"Many of the people moving into their own homes in the same project development will be looking for similar lifestyles and share mutual long-term goals such as raising children in a safe and blossoming area."

In order to balance the costs of developing a large-scale project, house and land packages are anywhere between 10 and 50 kilometres from your nearest major city.

Still, these areas are specifically chosen for what they offer to potential buyers, so you can expect many house and land packages to be surrounded by local schools, supermarkets, recreational areas, and other essential community services.

One of the major concerns for property developers is to ensure they meet local council building standards and minimise or entirely remove the issues involved with gaining council consent.

The result of this for the buyer is that the land and homes together are designed to create as few issues as possible for everyone involved.

This means no cutting corners on materials or construction, and building plans that are uniformly approved to ensure every house is warm, dry, and secure.

The main attraction of a house and land package is their affordability. As they're built with newer, affordable materials and are generally located outside of city centres, they can be up to 50 to 80 per cent cheaper than their city equivalent.

In order to help Aussie families get on to the property ladder, most state governments include a 'First Home Buyers Grant', such as a $10,000 grant from the NSW government, or stamp duty reduced. Check your state's legislation for more information.

New discussions of a 'shared-equity' scheme are also being discussed, whereby the government co-owns up to 40 per cent of a newly built property, to help ease mortgage repayments and interest.

New developments benefit from uniform materials and designs chosen to not only meet local council and building standards but to provide a solid foundation to customise from, allowing buyers the freedom to design the home they want to suit their specific lifestyle. This might include one, two, or three-bedroom options, premium material upgrades, and other add-on options that can be swapped out or customised to create your ideal property.

Finally, one of the major benefits of a house and land package is seeing how your home will come together based on existing designs, without any surprises or disappointment with the final product.

House and land packages may be described as 'turn-key homes' where, after you've decided on the home you want and finalised your purchase, your only involvement beyond that will be 'turning the key' and opening the front door of your home. In other words, all you have to do is be ready to move in and enjoy your new home.

There are a number of reasons house and land packages are growing in popularity with a wide range of different homebuyers.

While the locations of the packages are generally best-suited to young families or working professionals, Australians of all demographics are embracing these new, diverse, and thriving communities, proving that home really is where the heart is.

This is branded content for House and Land Packages Australia.