50 years of shaping the Australian dream

For Jeledi Nyenintsinzi, “the Australian dream” once felt out of reach.

The 26-year-old carpenter migrated from the tiny African nation of Burundi to Sydney 12 years ago. But with property prices in the Harbour City prohibitively expensive, he didn’t think he would ever get on the housing ladder in his adopted home.

It was after his wife welcomed their first child that Nyenintsinzi found his way in. A friend recommended buying land through Landcom, which is in the process of re-developing the Western Sydney suburb of Airds. Using the first home buyers grant, Nyenintsinzi purchased a lot. His home is now in the final stages of construction and he is due to get the keys in February.

“We did look at some other land, even home and land packages as well, and it was just way too expensive,” says Nyenintsinzi. “But with Landcom, it was more affordable. We spoke to an agent, Belinda, who was great. She listened to our story, and she offered us a better property than we were hoping for.”

Being able to purchase a family home has given Nyenintsinzi a peace of mind that is truly priceless.

“I’ve always rented, so I’m very much used to moving around,” Nyenintsinzi says. “Having a kid, I didn’t want us moving all the time. This gives us the security to be able to plan.”

‘Somewhere where people can live a good life with their families’

Landcom is the New South Wales government’s land and property developer. Chief executive officer Alex Wendler says its ambition is to make a “positive difference to people’s lives by increasing the supply of housing, the affordability of housing and the diversity of housing”.

He says Landcom’s “core product” is master planning communities in complex sites that have several challenges on the planning front – be that anything from land contamination to a lack of infrastructure.

The redevelopment of Airds is one such project. For many decades, the Western Sydney suburb has been a social housing estate that has struggled with anti-social behaviour. Landcom partnered with landowner Homes NSW to renew the estate and move it from entirely social housing to 30 per cent social housing, with the remaining 70 per cent of homes in the suburb to be privately owned.

Landcom is replacing the suburb’s older homes with new builds and adding amenities like new parks and upgraded playing fields. A local shopping centre will be renewed and improved over the coming few years. The organisation is currently selling plots of land in Airds with prices starting from $475,000 – a bargain in a city where the median house price is $1.6 million.

“We are making sure that we still have social housing tenants, but also a new community that comes in and creates this mixed, modern neighbourhood,” says Wendler. “It’s very much somewhere where people can live a good life with their families.”

Fifty years and 110,000 homes

Airds is just one of the many ambitious infrastructure programs that Landcom has undertaken since it was established in 1976. Over the past five decades, Landcom has unlocked over 110,000 homes across Sydney and New South Wales.

But Wendler says Landcom’s job now is to look ahead at how else they can ease New South Wales’ housing shortage.

The organisation currently has construction underway on 16 of its 32 projects, everywhere from Orange to East Lismore.

Major projects at Edmondson Park, Glenfield and North Wilton are creating thousands of new housing opportunities. These will offer diverse housing options to help people find a place that suits their stage of life, lifestyle and budgets.

Each community is designed to be walkable, with amenities close to home, and streets that encourage people to get around on foot or by bike. Generous parks, playgrounds and green corridors give residents easy access to open space for recreation, connection and wellbeing.

The current portfolio includes multiple sets of “build-to-rent” apartments, purpose-designed for rental living. In regional areas, some of those apartments will be designated as affordable rentals for low to medium income earners. In the city – Landcom is currently developing build-to-rent homes in both Annandale and Chatswood – 100 per cent of apartments will be reserved for key NSW government workers, such as nurses, paramedics and firefighters.

“With the build-to-rent program, we really want to find an alternative to the traditional freestanding home with a big mortgage,” Wendler says. “We want to give people the choice of having other options on how to live.”

Landcom also has regular partnerships with community housing providers, in which they either supply those providers with development-ready land so they can develop affordable rental housing, or develop and deliver the housing for them.

As Wendler sees it, Landcom’s ultimate goal is to make inclusive places for people, and making homes happen.

The organisation has certainly made a positive impact for Jeledi Nyenintsinzi, who is “very excited” to move into his Airds home next year.

“I understand having a house is good in terms of having a property as an investment,” Nyenintsinzi says. “But for us, it’s more about just having a place where we can raise a family. That’s really all it’s about.”

Discover your next home in a Landcom community. Learn more by visiting Buy with Landcom | Landcom.