In short:
Mildura is the only Australian town where a college lease scheme remains.
asserted
scheme → remain → ?
There are 184 blocks of land in the north-west Victorian city that are leased to raise funds for local schools.
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that → be → schools
Some housing experts say the scheme could be introduced elsewhere to improve housing affordability.
uncertain
scheme → say → affordability
In Victoria's tropical north, where the Murray River winds, a select group of houses are selling for half of what you'd expect.
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you → wind → what
It's got nothing to do with changes in the housing market and can trip up even the most savvy investor.
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It → get → investor
The unusual house prices are thanks to the 140-year-old legacy of two Canadian engineers who decided education should be the benefactor of their entrepreneurial endeavours.
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education → decide → endeavours
No other Australian town has one.
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town → have → one
In the citrus capital, 184 lots are leased to individuals and organisations instead of being sold freehold.
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lots → lease → individuals
Basically, someone can own the improvements but not the land itself.
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someone → own → improvements
Officially, the land is owned by the Victorian education minister.
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land → own → minister
Revenue from the lease agreements goes directly to schools in Sunraysia, which use the funds to buy new classroom equipment and technology that they would otherwise go without.
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they → go → that
A Department of Education spokesperson said the Mildura Schools Land Trust disburses about $1.95 million annually to 27 primary and secondary schools, providing additional funding that benefits more than 9,000 students.
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that → say → students
In 1886, the Victorian government signed a deal with Canadian engineers George and William Chaffey to build the Mildura irrigation settlement.
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government → sign → settlement
Historian and former primary school principal Bob Walton said the Chaffey brothers set aside one-fifteenth of available land to generate funds for an agricultural college, although this was never built.
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this → say → college
Instead, a local high school became the first to benefit from the lease funds.
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school → become → funds
"They decided to set aside and not sell some of the allotments in the colony," he said.
"
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he → decide → colony
Mr Walton said the Chaffey brothers were inspired by a similar scheme in California, their base before coming to Australia.
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brothers → say → Australia
'Cheap' prices grab buyer attention
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prices → grab → attention
College lease properties often appear in real estate listings for what, at first glance, seem like a bargain price.
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what → appear → price
One home recently sold for a reported $300,000 on Mildura's Lemon Avenue where, across the road, a similar freehold property fetched almost $550,000 two months earlier.
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property → sell → 550,000
This is very unique," Ray White Mildura managing director Damian Portaro said.
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Portaro → say → ?
"It's interesting having to explain to a buyer from Melbourne or Sydney exactly what this is.
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this → have → Melbourne
It was probably ahead of its time back then, but I haven't seen it or heard of it anywhere else."
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I → see → it
Mr Portaro said the property listings appealed to first home buyers, but they often ran into difficulty obtaining finance due to the unusual lease clause.
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they → say → clause
He said most buyers of college lease land were investors rather than owner-occupiers.
"
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buyers → say → occupiers
They might get in for half the price, for example, then they start factoring in 'there's rates, there's insurances, there's a college lease I have to pay.'
uncertain
I → get → example
"
Unlocking housing supply
Mallee Accommodation and Support Program (MASP) has utilised the scheme to build social housing on five college-lease properties with assistance from Homes Victoria.
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Program → unlock → Victoria
"We see it as a really good way to have two social goods out of the one block of land — both continuing to support local schools and also building social and affordable housing onto it," chief executive Charmaine Calis said.
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Calis → see → it
MASP told a parliamentary inquiry last year the Victorian government should look at more ways college leases could ease the housing crisis.
uncertain
leases → tell → crisis
"We do need to increase the supply of housing available, and this is certainly one way we can look at doing that," Ms Calis said.
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Calis → need → that
The Aporia