After nine years of anticipation, the opening of Western Sydney International Airport is delivering a new wave of investment and property activity across the Aerotropolis.
Few people have watched the transformation of Badgerys Creek and its surrounding suburbs as closely as local real estate agent Chris Brophy.
The founder of Badgerys Creek Property established his business in 2017, recognising the opportunities that would emerge from the construction of Western Sydney International Airport and the development of the surrounding Aerotropolis.
Almost a decade later, Brophy is witnessing the results first-hand, with his agency recording more than $260 million in property transactions over just 12 weeks.
“We’ve seen an incredible amount of change over the past nine years, and there’s still plenty more work to do,” Brophy said.
“Initially, we had plenty of investors and land bankers looking to get a piece of land near the new airport. Some were looking to hold for the long term, while others were hoping to sell at a profit.”
But Brophy said the type of buyer entering the market had changed significantly as the airport moved closer to becoming operational.
“Lately we’ve seen more owner-occupiers and developers buying in the area, looking for everything from five and 10-acre blocks through to 25 and 100-acre properties,” he said.
“It’s encouraging to see buyers wanting to establish new facilities as close as possible to the airport, particularly businesses with interstate operations.
“The ability to get off a plane at Western Sydney International Airport and be at your office within 20 minutes of landing is very attractive to some business owners.”
Brophy spent a decade working in commercial real estate sales and five years in property valuation before establishing his own agency, having previously held sales roles with Coca-Cola and Jim Beam.
His business originally operated as Creek Property before adopting the Badgerys Creek Property name to capitalise on growing awareness of the airport development.
Much of the agency’s work has involved knocking on doors and speaking directly with landowners in Badgerys Creek, Luddenham, Kemps Creek, Rossmore, Bringelly, Orchard Hills and Catherine Field.
“There’s a wonderful mix of people in these communities, and we’ve always found landowners to be very friendly and happy to have a chat,” Brophy said.
“Over the years there’s been plenty to talk about, plenty of cups of tea and coffee, and plenty of properties sold along the way.”
One of the agency’s most recognisable initiatives has been its airport countdown sign, which began ticking down from 459 weeks before the anticipated opening.
After nine years, the countdown finally came to an end, with the agency replacing its final magnet with an ‘It’s Open’ message and celebrating with a digital fireworks display.
“We were only two weeks off getting the opening date right after nine years of counting down, which was pretty good,” Brophy laughed.
“It’s exciting to finally see planes taking off from Western Sydney International Airport. We’ve been talking about this for years, and plenty of people said it would never happen.
“But it did, and it’s working well. The planes are landing, the jobs are coming, the roads are busy and industry is moving into the area.”
The agency has dealt with a diverse range of buyers, including government departments, car dealerships, service stations, transport operators, supermarkets, warehouse businesses, construction companies and developers.
Brophy said some businesses were particularly attracted to the airport precinct because of operational requirements, including customs-related facilities that needed to be located close to the airport.
While the scale of development has transformed the landscape, Brophy believes the benefits are beginning to flow through to long-term property owners.
“Landowners are benefiting from good sale prices and are either upsizing or downsizing into new premises,” he said.
“Most of the people we’re speaking with aren’t particularly bothered by the aircraft noise at this stage, although that will likely increase as larger aircraft begin operating and flight numbers grow.”
For Brophy, the opening of the airport represents the culmination of years spent building relationships with local property owners and watching an ambitious infrastructure project become reality.
“We really appreciate how the local community has welcomed us and worked with us over the past nine years,” he said.
“It’s been an exciting journey, and we’re looking forward to continuing to work with landowners as this area develops even further.”
For more information, contact Chris Brophy at Badgerys Creek Property on 0407 600 258.
