"It's like winning the lottery but without buying a lottery ticket": housing market impacts of compact city planning, upzoning, and collective sales

The delivery of compact city planning in Australia typically relies on the private sector, with upzoning mobilised by planning authorities to entice private development. This often involves land reconfiguration, requiring developers to consolidate multiple small land plots. In some precincts, land assembly is being initiated by residents coming together to sell; what we call collective sales. This paper explores how upzoning and collective sales combine to influence prices in three Sydney upzoned precincts. The analysis reveals that these impacts are variable and are influenced by factors such as precinct size, rezoning timing, planning incentives, development sector structure, and resident actions.