Wealthy developers push on with property projects

The property downturn hasn’t stopped every developer in their tracks – those with plenty of cash are revelling in a market full of opportunities.

The property downturn hasn’t stopped every developer in their tracks – those with plenty of cash are revelling in a market full of opportunities.

Billionaire developer Lang Walker has launched a $400 million industrial estate in Adelaide’s northern suburbs, part of $3 billion worth of projects his company Walker Corporation has underway in South Australia.

Walker Corporation is also looking at developing a $90 million office tower and is working with Daycorp on an 800-home development at Mount Barker in the Adelaide Hills and a $2 billion planned community at Buckland Park, north of Adelaide.

Blake Walker has told The Australian Financial Review that the credit crunch has forced Walker’s rivals to halt plans for industrial parks, and competition for key tenants has also diminished.

Meanwhile, Perth-based property syndicator Nigel Satterley has paid $37 million for an 88 hectare parcel of land in Doreen, about 35 kilometres north-east of Melbourne. The holding is adjacent to another parcel of land owned by Satterly Property Group.

Satterly says the Melbourne market looks stable, despite recent falls in property prices.