Buyers do their block to get land - The Daily Telegraph

Richard Smith and Merryn Courtney were the first people to secure a block at Edmondson Park. Picture: Chris Mckeen

SYDNEY house hunters are camping outside land-release offices for more than a week as they scramble to secure an affordable slice of the city's newest suburbs.

Dozens of families spent last week sleeping in their cars or in tents outside Landcom offices at Elizabeth Hills and Edmondson Park in Sydney's south west before the blocks went on sale yesterday morning.

Many kept watch over their desired parcel of land from the comfort of their car while others broke out barbecues and picnic tables and got to know their soon-to-be neighbours.

At Edmondson Park, near Casula, 54 lots went on sale at 10am and 21 families left nothing to chance when it was announced there would be no priority number system in place.

Lots are 367 to 558sq m in size and priced between $245,000 and $315,000. Landcom spokesman Robert Sullivan said close to half of the blocks were sold within three hours of going on sale.

"People chose to camp out at Edmondson Park because they were prepared to sit there for a week to make sure they got the lot they wanted," Mr Sullivan said. "When one person decides to camp out, it creates a domino effect where others choose to do the same.

"The camp-out creates a real sense of community and many people meet their future neighbours this way."

Richard Smith and his fiancee Merryn Courtney, both 24, had slept in their car since last Monday to ensure they were first in line for the best 550sq m block, selling for $315,000.

When the doors to the sales office opened at 10am, all they had to do was sign on the dotted line. "As soon as we saw this block, we knew it was the one for us," Mr Smith told The Sunday Telegraph. "It was the pick of the lot so we had no choice but to camp out to get it.

"I didn't mind. I've been camping before but that was for leisure, not business."

In nearby Elizabeth Hills, near Hoxton Park Airport, a release of 27 lots went on sale at 10am, attracting 11 families, some of whom had camped out since Monday night. A priority number system was in place but many prospective buyers still felt the need to keep watch.

Fairfield West couple Phillip and Josephine Bowdler set up a picnic table and opened up a bottle of red to get to know their future neighbours, and were determined to get the block at the top of the hill.

About 16 blocks had been sold by 2pm yesterday.

Landcom sales director Greg Barnett said a priority number system, which allocates numbers to people on a database before the sale, often caused more squabbling between prospective buyers. "We have to tell buyers to be at the sales office by a certain time," he said.

"There's a mad scramble for people to get there on time and it can actually cause more dramas than people queuing up in an orderly fashion."