BUILDING cost savings between $36,000 to $45,000 will be an incentive for people aspiring to buy land and build in Dubbo's Keswick Estate.
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The subdivision is about to become a more affordable option after the Dubbo City Council reduced the minimum house size for the next release, due next month.
It had previously required buyers to build a dwelling no smaller than 180 square metres (m ) in floor space, which was an estimated $216,000 to $270,000, on top of land costs of between $110,000 and $150,000 in the earlier release.
Dubbo City councillors concluded earlier this year at a workshop the covenant put the estate out of reach for first homebuyers - the $260,000 to $320,000 price range - and was one factor impacting on housing starts.
This week they set about making a change with a new covenant of 150m for 15 lots in the coming release.
The blocks will be available for private purchase for either $130,000 or $140,000.
Building costs could come to as little as $180,000, using the council's estimate of $1200 to $1500 per m .
The sum of the two, a total commitment of about $310,000, would be further reduced with receipt of a $15,000 grant the NSW government offers for first homeowners who build.
Another 10 lots to be sold via a ballot also offer the chance for successful entrants to collect a $10,000 subsidy from the council if their household income is less than $1192 per week.
The deal would effectively reduce the price of each of the 10 parcels of land to $120,000 - or less, if the first homeowners grant was collected.
The council sets the covenant only for its own development - Keswick - but Dubbo mayor Mathew Dickerson said it was doing what it could through the market to help people achieve home ownership.
"Council understands there are issues of housing affordability with average housing prices challenging the borrowing capacity of many first home buyers," he said.
An industry expert engaged by the council observed earlier this year that minimum building sizes for new houses were common at Dubbo but marked the city as "unusual".
Thirteen residential estates included covenants on size, seven of which set a minimum floor space of 180m or more, research by independent property and planning consultants Hill PDA revealed then.
A 180m house typically had four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a double garage.
