Cedar Woods to Release 400 Lots at Geelong North Estate

With Greater Geelong recording average job growth of 4.5 per cent per year over the past five years, Cedar Woods Properties is betting the city’s north can absorb a new 400-lot community.

The ASX-listed developer spent the better part of three months building buyer interest in the Somerley estate at Corio before a single lot went on sale—a deliberate approach that Victorian manager James Bovell said reflected how Cedar Woods thought about community building as much as land sales.

“Even before launching to market, we’ve seen strong interest from first-home buyers and families who want access to established amenity, transport and employment, without being priced out of the market,” Bovell said.

“Somerley brings those elements together in a community designed to grow with its residents over time.”

The 18.6ha site on Plantation Road, beside Sutcliffe Reserve is just over 9km from the Geelong CBD.

Lots range from 178sq m to 393sq m and will be released across 11 stages, targeting first-home buyers, families and downsizers with prices starting at $500,000.

Bovell told The Urban Developer the project is forecast for completion between 2023 and 2031.

Design guidelines apply across the community, requiring housing and landscaping to maintain a consistent style and colour palette, which Bovell said was intended to protect purchaser investment over the life of the development.

Planned public infrastructure includes a central park, a wetland and an acoustic wall.

The developer spent $34.9 million on the vacant block it picked up from a private seller in 2025 in order to capitalise on a predicted supply shortfall in the area.

Cedar Woods managing director Nathan Blackburne at the time said the move made sense considering predictions about the city’s housing market.

“The Geelong housing market is forecast to enter a period of undersupply with a significant housing shortfall predicted,” Blackburne said.

“We are capitalising on the opportunity now to ensure we are ready to respond with affordable land supply, in a subsector that is tipped to outperform in Victoria when it recovers.”

▲ Planned community features at Somerley include a central park, walkable streets and green spaces adjacent to Sutcliffe Reserve.

Transport connections cover Corio Railway Station, the Geelong Ring Road and the Princes Freeway, providing access to Melbourne and the Surf Coast, with Avalon Airport also nearby.

Established amenity in the surrounding area includes Corio Village Shopping Centre and multiple schools.

Geelong-based creative agency IvyStreet was engaged to develop the project’s neighbourhood identity.

IvyStreet managing director Brad Papworth said the partnership aimed to ground the development in its local context to “capture the spirit of Corio and the wider Geelong region”.

Tightening vacancy rates and broader affordability pressures across Greater Geelong are cited by Cedar Woods as drivers of demand. Further releases are planned beyond the initial tranche.

Somerley joins the developer’s Victorian land portfolio alongside Williams Landing, Mason Quarter in Wollert and Clara Place in Fraser Rise.

The developer also put its foot on an 11,600sq m site at Fairfield in June last year, paying $50 million as part of its “assertive acquisition strategy” targeting the capital’s apartment undersupply.