Corner Blocks --> Good or Bad

Hi All ,

I have been exploring land options for a while and signed one recently.

During my interaction with land developers i found that corner lots are the
last ones to sell. Also they are cheaper than the other non-corner lots.
I did ask same sales person and as per him people don't prefer corner
lots so they sell slow and hence cheaper as well.

Another reason he told me is that Builder's don't have too many plans
for corner lots so building is difficult and we have to leave more space
in corner while building.

BUT i personally feel that corner lots are better as we have 2 way open space , may
be better air flow and if the lot is bigger then we can easily sub divide with 2 separate
entries for 2 separate houses/TH.

I would like to check view of other forum members on this ?
Are corner blocks good or bad ?

 

Very broadly speaking, they are worse than normal frontage blocks for everything apart from subdivision.

 

Generally pay a premium for corner lots that can be developed as all properties will have frontages which increases end value.

I have tried to source corner lots and its always been very competitive due to above.

MTR

 

That's weird, talk about corner lots, I just got a text on this corner lot, not yet hit the market 785 sqm, GRZ1, Croydon
18 Kalinda Road Croydon 3136 VIC - property.com.au

 

@thatbum when you say worse than normal blocks .. what's the reason for that other than ones listed above

 

Are you looking at new estates? Corner lot usually need two frontages (i.e. less home design to choose from) - then usually not sub-divideable due to estate rules

 

As this thread is in the Development section I would suggest corner blocks definitely have a premium price.

Pre Subdivision - premium price - more options for development, frontage, access etc
Post Subdivision - maybe lower price - less privacy, more fencing

 

Yes talking about new estates .. corner lots .. probable sub-dividable OR can host dual occupancy with separate entries in future

I don't think they are easy to come by looking at these conditions

 

If you can "value add" then yes they are potentially better. If single dwelling only then there is the council verge to maintain (most dont, in my area anyway) and I think people feel safer with a house either side perhaps as well as aesthetics reasons.

For the purpose you have described it sounds like a good option.

Tradies seem to like them as well as they can have dual access for sheds, vehicle storage etc.

 

They can be handy if you have a boat or other type of trailer as if there are two driveways you don't have to reverse in.

 

Less privacy, more noise, but better sunlight.

I like corner blocks, but not in estates for the reason @EN710 mentioned

 

- Wasted space - usually setback requirements for building AND fencing means you effectively can use less space than an equal sized normal lot
- Significantly increased risk of cars running into the house - this sounds crazy, but it happens more often than you might think and the statistics I saw showed it pretty much always happens on corner houses. Happened to a friend's IP here in Perth.
- You have to pay for additional fencing - which usually you cannot split the cost with the neighbour on - plus the fencing might need to be visually permeable in some development areas.

- Usually restrictions on having more than one driveway and/or restrictions on where the driveway can be, because of proximity to the intersection. So this is actually a negative a lot of the time.

That's just off the top of my head. There might be more.

I guess its sort of a "pro" that you might be able to get a bigger sized corner lot for the same price compared to a normal frontage lot, but that just highlights what I mean in terms of it being a disadvantage generally.

 

This is an example of a lot which i may prefer because of dual access and wide frontage .. this was in my buy list but then bought something else

Property Report for 54 Leumeah Road, Leumeah NSW 2560

 

Corner Block Advantages (WA R Codes)
-Easier to get WAPC 5% variation.
-The more frontages then the greater change they will allow 5% or greater variation on average area
-No common property means its easier to get the 5% (max) variation for min lot size since min lot size does not include CP in the calculation.
-Maximise use of site area
-Can use corner truncation in site area (C1.3) "up to a maximum of 20m2 of that truncation shall be added to the area of the adjoining lot'
-Corner blocks count as one continuous frontage (can gain extra concessions in some councils)
-One less neighbour to object to development approval applications
-Each house has their own frontage = More value
-Less chance or no overshading from neighbours property

Corner Block Disadvantages:
-Cost more to purchase
-More lawn to mow/extra fencing
-More noise from 2 roads (stopping and acelerating)
-Extra setback from secondary street = less dwellings. (Non corner dont have secondary street setbacks)

 

Those are pretty much all subdivision considerations though.

 

Yep I didnt read the question thoroughly

 

Usually you are allowed one driveway per frontage. There are restrictions on how close they can be to the corner eg 6 meters, but that applies whether you have one or two driveways.

 

I recently purchased some land and had the exact opposite experience to what you have described. The corner lots in the estates I was looking at sold first and for higher prices. Dual occ was permitted so I feel this is what pushed up demand.

 

Side access.
Duplex build.

Look up the previous thread on corner lots. Some good info already discussed.

 

Generally corner blocks are for *******s I reckon.
But they are good for subdivision.