By Tate Papworth
Several Keilor residents are considering selling up because of Melbourne Airport’s third runway plans.
The airport had initially planned for an east-west alignment, however it says recent data revealed a north-south option may be better.
A north-south runway would mean additional aircraft traffic over Brimbank suburbs, including Keilor.
One resident, Lyndi Chapman said she was between a rock and a hard place.
“I love living here, but that new flight path will be right over us,” she said.
“It’s noisy enough as it is, sometimes it’s just plane after plane, so if they add another flight path over here it’ll be unliveable.
“I’ll be looking at moving if they make a decision to go north-south.
“The problem is that if they do make the decision, the price of my home will drop, meaning I won’t be able to really look anywhere within inner Melbourne.”
Another resident, who did not want to be named, has lived in the suburb for almost three decades, but is also considering his future there.
“I have major concerns. The family and myself have begun having conversations about living elsewhere. It started off just talking, but those have since begun to grow a lot more.”
He said the argument that people who bought near an airport should know the risks doesn’t hold weight.
“If you bought near a freeway, you know there’s going to be traffic, but if they decide to re-route the freeway through your front garden, you’re not going to be thrilled.
“The trouble is every day we don’t act, we risk our home value dropping if this decision is made. If we move anywhere else within Melbourne we can’t afford a massive decrease in value.”
Brad Teal Real Estate sales manager Craig Teal said there had been an increase in listings.
“When the [runway] review was first announced we had a number of people inquire as to what house prices would be,” Mr Teal said.
“There was a spike in listings as a direct result of the looming airport decision.
“There was the initial surge, but now it seems that people are only listing for genuine reasons.”
He didn’t expect the decision to hurt the Keilor property market.
“People who live around the area know what’s there and tend to accept it.
“Keilor has always been a little bit more insulated from other market forces.”
