Corner blocks - better or worse?

[McBrain]

I'm looking at an inner-melbourne IP, typical sort of thing but on a corner block.

Does anyone know, are corner blocks generally seen as better or worse (in terms of holding their value)? i.e. in general, would a corner block sell for more, or less, than and equivalent non-corner block?

In this case the house is fine. The corner it is on is not busy, lack of privacy is not really an issue, etc. But I'm not sure if the property would be valued as less because of it's situation.

Advice appreciated.

Cheers

 

[Merovingian]

Larger corner blocks tend to be valued slightly more than their non-corner counterparts due to better sub-division potential.

But with anything, I suppose, there are exceptions...

 

[Beef_Hooked]

Gday McBrain,

If you are thinking redevelopment then corner blocks are always the first to be subdivided as much less land is given up to driveways. You may be able to get a cnr block approved for splitting whereas other blocks in the same street may be too small when the battle axe drive is taken into consideration. Depends on the zoning of course.

Personal preferences come into play here but IMHO on the downside it feels like you have less private land/privacy as there is nearly twice as much frontage to your back yard as well as front, more front fence is required and cars take twice the time to pass by with more noise from braking, gear changes etc.

Not sure what it does to values or resale times when compared to similar houses/lot sizes in the street.

Cheers,
Beef.

 

[McBrain]

I'm not looking to sub-divide (the block is too small for that). Access for car parking is easier - but the non-corner blocks have OSP as well.

Personal preferences come into play here but IMHO on the downside it feels like you have less private land/privacy as there is nearly twice as much frontage to your back yard as well as front, more front fence is required and cars take twice the time to pass by with more noise from braking, gear changes etc.

Yes, that's my opinion as well. I feel that there's slightly less privacy on the corner - I always feel like someone could poke their heads over the side fence if they wanted to! Not sure if this affects the value though.

 

[Dazz]

Love corner blocks for the industrial stuff we target....

Trucks come in one side, and are able to exit the property without having to turn around or reverse.

We are to the point that if it ain't on a corner, we keep looking.

 

[luce.rocks]

i know you said you weren't thinking about splitting/developing at this stage, but it's worth checking what the lep/dcp for the block is anyway - just so you know if you've got some extra value hidden in there somewhere if you want to sell later or something. but also consider what sort of front and side set-backs you need on the block, cos i think sometimes what you make up in not needing a driveway for a battle-axe block, you can lose in minimum street setbacks?? i dunno, never done it, but something in my mind about it... maybe i read it somewhere on here? anyways...

 

[XBenX]

Development potential aside (some LEP/DCP's offer more opportunities for development for properties with two street access)

Corner blocks in row houses or terraces are often more valuable because of their better access and increase privacy (ie only one neighbour to annoy you)

However you must always weigh that up, does the position on the corner mean decreased privacy due to road noise. You seem to have this one covered.

 

[McBrain]

Thanks for the responses.

It seems that it's swings and roundabouts whether a corner block is worth more or less and depends a lot on the exact location - no surprises there.

I will carry on my valuation with that in mind.

Thanks for your input.

 

[Sailesh Channan]

The disadvantage of a corner block for normal housing is that you end up giving away too much of your land to the front of the house leaveing you with very little private back yard. This is because of the minimum setback requirements for buildings. Typically your setbacks are 6m from the front and a possible relaxation down to 4m to side boundries.

This is done so it allows cars a better line of sight when going around corners.

You may want to see what is allowable in your area.

 

[accumulator]

I have found that in new estates, corner blocks appear as resales more often and for less than their non-corner block counterparts.

Built houses on the other hand seem to have little difference in the same estate on either corner or normal blocks.

I am currently hoping to take advantage of this and have bought 2 corner blocks. Will let you know how it goes.

 

[Twitch]

My strong personal preference is not to live on a corner block, I value a private back yard.

Having said that I own an IP on a corner block