Housing Diversity ‘Crucial’ in Regions: Fountaindale

Developing in the ‘Goldilocks Perimeter’ has proven to be a recipe for success for NSW’s Fountaindale Group. 

The sixth generation dairy farmers switched gears to take on property development in the Illawarra and Shoalhaven areas almost 50 years ago, and they haven’t looked back. 

Speaking ahead of The Urban Developer’s Long Lunch series in Sydney this month, director Jennifer Macquarie said although the regions might have experienced “incredible growth” during the pandemic migration, they were still ripe with opportunity. 

“The market has wound back like everywhere but we are in the ‘Goldilocks’ perimeter where people can live out in the regions and still go into Sydney one or two days a week for work,” Macquarie said.

“Demand remains very strong because you can have that work-life balance and live in the country.

“Regional centres need more capital and more investment.”

The developer focuses on working in joint ventures with farming families to redevelop their holdings, while also delivering housing diversity, and developing across the commercial sector.

▲ It’s a family affair for siblings Lawson Fredericks and Jennifer Macquarie, who work alongside their father Neville Fredericks (pictured).

Macquarie said their sweet spot for development was delivering about 50-lot subdivisions. 

She and her brother, Lawson Fredericks, grew up visiting development sites and peering through the shopfront advertisements at real estate agents. 

“Property is in our genes,” she said. 

“Our father started his property business almost 50 years ago. We’re a sixth generation dairy farming family but the economics of dairy farming changed and he starting making more money out of the property business. 

“After I finished university I worked alongside Dad in his business and now he works in mine. He’s still putting in good effort, he’s so well connected in the area. He’s almost 81. He knows the regions so well, and he’s got all those contacts there. It’s very much building in our home territory.”

Housing constraints are a problem in regional areas, according to Macquarie. The regions lack housing diversity, particularly for older demographic groups. 

“When you look at the housing typologies, it’s typically a block of land and a house. We have an ageing population and affordability issues. In the regions smaller housing product is a very small part of the housing mix and we need more of it. 

“There’s huge opportunity there but the challenge is the councils’ planning controls haven’t caught up.

“In Shell Harbour we were involved in creating smaller products, we’ve had local councils call us and ask us to do something similar in their towns but we’ve looked closely at planning and it just doesn’t really allow it.” 

Macquarie said the councils were also grappling with planner shortages and more needed to be done to support this. 

Regional Australia is home to one-third of the Australian population, and increasingly baby boomers are looking for sea change or tree change opportunities. The challenge will be keeping up with demand, according to Macquarie. 

Macquarie says while bigger Sydney developers had moved into the space, Fountaindale had focused on carving a niche in the regions. 

“We do a lot of JVs with landowners, it may be with a farmer whose land is due for rezoning and they don’t have the skills to redevelop it themselves. We partner with them to help deliver it,” she said. 

“It’s a real trust relationship, they are entrusting us with their biggest family asset. And we get a lot of our business from word of mouth and our reputation.”

Jennifer Macquarie will be speaking on the panel at The Urban Developer’s Long Lunch in Sydney on November 16. For more details click here.