What happens before I can build on my land?

There are many milestone moments to get excited about during a house build, starting with the slab being poured because that’s when it feels like things are really (and quite literally!) getting off the ground.  

But in actual fact, before one square inch of concrete hits your lot of land, it’s already been through so much. So, in pondering ​how long it takes to build a house, you should also consider what happens before you even start building as part of the whole process. 

When you hear the word ‘construction’ you might assume the stages of building a house. But before the building can even begin, the land requires to undergo its very own ‘construction process’, too. 

That process is overseen by the developer (that’s us here at Lendlease) that’s responsible for developing the land, and involves about a dozen or so steps, all of which are essential… and many of which are also quite complex. The construction phase (which occurs after a six-week pre-construction phase and is followed by a three-month post-construction phase) takes an average of six or seven months from go to whoa.  

That’s the short story, but, even though it’s all taken care of when you choose to make a ​​new masterplanned community home, let’s dig a little deeper into a few of the key steps so you understand the process a bit more. 

As the first step in the construction process, it’s during this stage that land is excavated, cleared and levelled, compacting any natural features to start getting it ready to build on. 

This is the next step in the process – laying the infrastructure that’s required to manage the waste and water run-off requirements of a residential build. A nifty network of pipes is installed that will eventually connect your future home’s sanitary and stormwater drains to the community’s main disposal ways.  

This is when the street you’ll call home really starts to take shape visually. Access ways for roads and footpaths will be laid down and driveways to individual land lots get allocated. The roads are far from finished at this stage (more on that later) but they’re completed enough to give contractors and traders access to your lot.  

The cables and pipes that all those utilities a home relies on to operate – everything from water and gas to electricity and nbn – get installed. First step is installation into the streets, then to individual land lots so that everything’s ready to go when the time’s right for your builder to start building.  

Those trees that get planted on a street’s nature strip don’t happen by accident – and it’s a phase that happens now, before any house build begin. At the same time, footpaths are laid and soon after, those roads that were constructed earlier are given their asphalt coatings and marked with lines. Construction phase complete! 

If the lot of land you’re considering making yours is already registered, it means the construction phase you’ve just become familiar with is done and dusted. If it’s unregistered, it means construction is yet to begin, is underway but not yet completed, or is completed but the post-construction details are still being sorted out.  

Buying an unregistered lot of land ‘off the plan’ does mean waiting a bit longer until you can begin building your home, but there’s a silver lining to that when it’s part of a new masterplanned community. For starters, it gives you more time to save towards the full purchase price or future mortgage repayments. While you’ll need to pay the developer an initial deposit on your land, the balance of the purchase price isn’t due until settlement, which can only occur once the land is registered.  

Plus, if you choose to buy the lot of land on its own, as opposed to a house and land package, the time it takes to construct and register the land gives you plenty of breathing space to work with your architect or builder to choose or perfect your home’s design.  

With welcoming communities all over Australia, featuring both unregistered and build ready land lots, now is a great time to explore the possibilities.