THE massive Waterford Rise development between Warragul and Drouin is attracting more people from the towns around it than from Melbourne.
This article was first published in the 11 July 2014 edition of the Warragul & Baw Baw Citizen.
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Statistics released by one of the estate agents involved in the project suggest 61 per cent of Waterford home owners living in the new estate at the start of the year had moved from either Warragul or Drouin, a massive increase from from 30 per cent in 2013.
Almost all other new residents had come from Melbourne localities including Ashburton, Berwick, Cranbourne, Narre Warren, Doncaster, Somerville and Dandenong.
Waterford Rise general manager Glenn Sanford puts the growth in locals moving to the estate down to the completion and opening of the on-site early learning centre and high speed internet access; a surprising conclusion given the activation of the estate’s fibre optic connection took place very late in the period over which the statistics were gathered.
The early learning centre did however almost certainly have an influence on those moving to the estate, with 78 per cent of residents considering the proximity of childcare and educational facilities either important or very important when deciding to buy at the estate.
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Unsurprisingly, families and couples make up 78 per cent of occupants.
The number of owner occupier residents, as opposed to owners who purchased land or property as an investment, is surprisingly high at 87 per cent. Approximately two thirds of those owner occupants were not first home buyers but people looking for a larger house.
Demographic data available for occupants of the new estate is surprisingly specific, even showing the occupations of those who live there. Tradies make up 46 per cent of buyer occupations, 29 per cent are “professionals” while managers and the unemployed each represent eight per cent of buyers.
Notably, 77 per cent of occupants considerd access to public transport to be either important or very important to them. Like most of Warragul and Drouin the estate has poor access to buses. The Warragul & Baw Baw Citizen is calling for improvements to local bus services.
The proximity to public transport would however likely be important to the 44 per cent of residents who did not consider workplace prox-imity important when purchasing.
When completed the estate will house up to approximately 5,000 people.