Learn how to size up greenfield land
Plain guides for developers, investors and planners looking at rural land on the edge of town in NSW. Every fact links to its government source, and every worked example shows the sums.
Buying englobo land
What rural land on the edge of town is really worth, and what to check before you buy it.
What is englobo land?What englobo land means, why agents use the word, and how to check how much of a big rural block you can really build on.
How englobo land is valued before it's rezonedHow englobo land is valued: its value once rezoned, the cost of waiting, the chance of rezoning and the rural floor, worked through on a sample site.
The greenfield due diligence checklist for NSWEvery check before you buy rural land to rezone in NSW, in the order a developer does them, from free map checks to studies, with costs and times.
Buying rural land with rezoning potential in NSW: honest oddsHow long rezoning rural land in NSW takes, what it costs, what stops it, and what the land is worth if it's refused, worked through on a sample site.
Rezoning in NSW
How land gets rezoned for housing, how long it takes, what it costs and what can stop it.
The planning proposal process in NSW, step by stepEach stage of rezoning in NSW from the July 2026 LEP Making Guideline: who decides, what you lodge, the target times and what the 2025 reforms changed.
How long does rezoning take in NSW?Rezoning timeframes in NSW side by side: the government's targets, the measured averages and why they differ, plus what each year of delay costs.
Does rural land on Sydney's fringe still have rezoning potential?What The Sydney Plan says about land outside the urban growth area, who can still seek a rezoning, the tests the land must pass and what to check first.
What you can and can't build on
Creeks, flood land, bushland, bushfire buffers and the rest: how much of a site each one takes.
How many lots can I subdivide my land into?Why site area divided by minimum lot size gives the wrong answer, and how to count lots properly, worked through on a 38.8 ha sample site.
Riparian corridors in NSW: how much land a creek takesThe 10, 20, 30 and 40 m creek setbacks by stream order, what counts as waterfront land, a worked example and when you need a controlled activity approval.
My land is on the Biodiversity Values Map. Now what?What the Biodiversity Values Map means for clearing and rezoning in NSW, how BDARs and offsets work, and whether to keep or clear mapped bushland.
Asset protection zones for subdivisions in NSWHow wide an asset protection zone must be for a NSW subdivision under PBP 2019: IPA and OPA, the APZ tables in plain words, and why slope matters.
Value and feasibility
Lot yield, residual land value, costs and funding, worked through with real sums.
Residual land value for land that isn't rezoned yet