Resolution Property Group and the Rich List Liberman family-backed financier Monark Property Partners have paid $44 million for a 15-hectare site in outer-northern Melbourne’s Greenvale.
The developer and Monark will make the vacant parcel at 800 and 820 Somerton Road, 20 kilometres north of the CBD, their second joint venture, with plans to develop about 300 houses and townhouses in an estate with an estimated end value of $135 million.
Resolution Property Group and financier Monark Property Partners have acquired a 15-hectare infill site for $44 million, at 800 and 820 Somerton Road in Greenvale, about 20 kilometres north of Melbourne’s CBD.
The development of the site, sitting between Mickleham and Somerton Roads, can proceed only after a local planning instrument, the Somerton Road Precinct Structure Plan (PSP), is completed by the Victorian Planning Authority and local City of Hume, but their homes – well away from the edge of the development boundary – would be worth more, Monark director Michael Kark said.
“The Greenvale West Precinct Structure Plan (PSP), which surrounds our new Greenvale site, is now entirely developed, with all estates now sold out,” Kark said, likening it to established suburbs such as Point Cook in Melbourne’s south-west and Berwick in the south-east.
“These are considered true infill suburbs and tend to have the highest median land values across the Melbourne greenfield market, which sets a good precedent for our project.”
The acquisition is the second for the pair after their $100 million Harli community in Melbourne’s Cranbourne West, a 7 Star NatHERS-rated, zero-carbon development now nearing completion.
They are targeting a strengthening new housing market. Australian Bureau of Statistics figures published on Tuesday showed a near-9 per cent month-on-month dip in new dwelling approvals to a seasonally adjusted 15,200 homes – down from 16,683 in February and the weakest in six months.
The monthly fall, however, reflecting a drop in approvals of both houses and apartments, townhouses and semi-detached homes, came after “a few” stronger months, and the quarterly figures for January through to March were a good sign, KPMG urban economist Terry Rawnsley said.
“During the three months to March 2025, the total number of dwellings approved in Australia rose 5.7 per cent to 48,621, which is above the 5-year average of 47,280,” Rawnsley said.
“These latest figures paint an optimistic picture as developers begin to gain confidence in realising both greenfield and apartment projects, but more needs to be done to boost supply.”
Other economists were not so optimistic. Oxford Economics Australia lead economist Maree Kilroy said the monthly decline in new house approvals followed a weaker December quarter.
“The slowdown mirrors feedback of weaker land sales in key greenfield markets,” Kilroy said.
“The biggest falls were in Victoria (-10 per cent) and Queensland (-8 per cent). Western Australia bucked the trend, rebounding 10 per cent off a soft February result.”
CreditorWatch chief economist Ivan Colhoun said the apparent weakness in approvals of detached houses may not last, but the risks of a sustained downturn went beyond housing and into the health of the building industry, he added.
“This month also saw quite a sharp decline in freestanding house approvals, which, if it turned out to be more signal than noise (I expect it to be the latter), would be quite concerning, particularly as many smaller builders operate in this part of residential construction,” Colhoun said.
However, with bond markets expecting a 25-basis-point cut in the benchmark lending rate when the Reserve Bank’s rate-setting committee meets in two weeks, and a total of three cuts this year, lower borrowing costs should boost demand from consumers and improve project feasibility for developers, he said.
Property Council of Australia head of policy and advocacy Matthew Kandelaars said that the monthly total of 15,220 approvals was well below the 20,000 homes a month the country needed to build to create 1.2 million homes by 2029.
“With the election behind us, now it is time to shift to the delivery phase,” Kandelaars said.
“We look forward to early industry engagement to get the detail of the government’s election commitments right and to maximise their housing benefits right across the country.”