Development Applications in Toongabbie, NSW

Development activity in Toongabbie

Look, I’ve been working the building game in Toongabbie for the better part of a decade, and I can tell you straight up: this isn’t your flashy new estate or your heritage-locked inner-west pocket. Toongabbie’s a mixed bag, and that’s exactly why it keeps us busy. The housing stock here runs the gamut from solid 1950s brick veneers and weatherboard cottages out near the station, to those late-70s double-brick jobs on decent blocks, and then the newer infill townhouse developments popping up along the main roads. You don’t see a lot of knockdown-rebuilds for McMansions, because the blocks are usually 500-600 square metres, not the monster 800-square-metre ones you’d find further out. What you do see are homeowners who’ve been in the area for twenty years and are finally ready to make the place work for their family.

The real bread and butter here is home extensions and first-floor additions. That’s where the money is, and that’s where the council’s attention is. We’ve got five development applications lodged at the moment, and I’d bet my best hammer that three of them are for a rear first-floor addition and a ground-floor rejig. The typical client is a couple in their forties or fifties, kids are teenagers, and they’ve outgrown the three-bedroom, one-bathroom layout. They don’t want to move because they like the street, the neighbours are good, and the school catchment is solid. So they come to us wanting a master suite upstairs with an ensuite and a walk-in robe, plus maybe a rumpus room or a study nook downstairs where the old laundry used to be.

Now, let’s talk council, because that’s where the job lives or dies. Toongabbie falls under the local council, and they’ve got a reputation. Not a bad one, just a thorough one. Their turnaround on a standard DA for a first-floor addition is around twelve to sixteen weeks, if you’ve got your drawings tight and your shadow diagrams square. They’re sticklers for setbacks and privacy, especially where your new first-floor window looks into the neighbour’s backyard. I’ve seen applications held up for three months because the architect didn’t show the correct solar access for the winter solstice. If you’re a builder coming into this area, get a good draftsman who knows the local DCP inside out. The council’s conditions are predictable: you’ll need a BASIX certificate, a site waste management plan, and you’ll probably have to stump up for a dilapidation report if you’re working next to a heritage-listed property—there’s a few of those around Toongabbie, mostly old weatherboards on the western side.

Beyond the residential extensions, we’re seeing a steady trickle of light commercial fitouts. That’s the other active project type here. Think small shops along the main strip, a café changing hands, a real estate office getting a refresh, or a medical centre converting a corner shop. Those jobs are quick—four to six weeks—and they keep the cash flow going between the bigger residential projects. The clients there are usually investors or small business owners who’ve bought into Toongabbie because the rent is cheaper than Parramatta or Wentworthville, but the foot traffic is still decent.

The upsizers and renovators are the backbone of this market. We don’t see many first-home buyers in Toongabbie anymore; the median house price has pushed past the million-dollar mark, and that’s priced out the young couples. Instead, it’s the established families trading up within the suburb, or downsizers from further east cashing out and buying a renovated four-bedder here for cash. The investors are around too, but they’re not going for new builds. They’re buying the old three-bedroom fibro houses, doing a cosmetic reno—new kitchen, new bathroom, paint the roof—and flipping it or renting it out. The rental yield is okay, around 3.5 to 4 per cent, but the capital growth has been steady, about 6 per cent a year for the last