By Tate Papworth
Brimbank real estate agents say properties affected by Sunshine landfills toxic remnants would be hit hard, and some could be rendered “unsellable”.
Ray White St Albans director Shaun Marijanovic said it’s a tough situation for home owners.
“If it’s proven that there’s methane gas exposure to the area, then I’d expect to see drops [in property value] of up to 25 per cent, if not more,” Mr Marijanovic said.
“Once there’s uncertainty on such a purchase, people tend to lower their offers to the lowest possible.
“In some cases, depending on the severity, some houses may be unsellable … it doesn’t get much worse than that.”
He said personally, he would have serious reservations about purchasing in affected areas.
“If I’m a purchaser and someone told me the property is exposed to methane gas, I wouldn’t care how low the risk is … I’d run for the hills.
“Low risk isn’t no risk and you’d be looking to areas where there is no risk associated.
“It would have to be proven that there’s no risk to people, or no more so than anywhere else.”
Doug Kay Real Estate partner Peter Kay said affected land would prove a tough sell to developers.
“I’m guessing there will have to be a lot of criteria added for developers, which is going to be felt on the market,” Mr Kay said.
“A drop of up to 25 per cent isn’t unrealistic, we’ve seen that happen west of McIntyre Road where the old asbestos factory used to be.”
Mr Kay said that while the west has a history of contamination, caution is likely to be exercised by prospective buyers.
“People do their research when buying property and if they’re comparing apples to apples, then the houses in the impacted zones are going to be less favourable unfortunately.”
