Land Investment – How to Identify Good Parcels of Land

Land Investment – How to Identify Good Parcels of Land

Two initial questions that arise when considering purchasing land are ‘What Type of Land?’ and ‘Where to Buy’. There are many different parcels of land that have differing potential uses which will affect what you can do with that land or what type of future buyer will be interested in it.

Review the current and planned zoning. Each council has a town plan and land zoning. From the council’s town plan you can see what is acceptable development for each of the different zones. Land that is currently zoned as Residential would not be suitable for an Industrial development. This is fairly obvious, however also be aware that there is multiple types of residential zoning which impacts on the allowable property size, number of stories and so forth. Each council will and does have its differences. Some older suburbs have limits placed on the developments so that the character of the area is maintained. This may mean having enough tree coverage on a property and limiting the number of stories.

Where can you find the land zoning information? The government provides zoning maps, allowing you to select a street or suburb to see what zoning is in place. Councils provide very valuable information regarding the land and development opportunities. So when reviewing land, you will need to find out what the Planning and Development regulations are within the council area. You can find the council Planning Scheme, Neighborhood Character studies, permits and fee details, planning register – so you can see what other people have been doing in the area, subdivision and environmental regulations. Without adhering to all these rules and regulations you will not get approval to develop the land. Even if you are only considering purchasing the land as a buy and hold strategy keep in mind that the person or company that you pass this land over to will need to comply with council regulations. So it is important to carry out your due diligence in order to know that there will not be any significant issues blocking development – such as the property being in a flood zone, which prohibits residential development.