NEW rail link and confirmation of the Badgerys Creek airport are driving demand for new housing in southwest Sydney — so great that property scalpers are buying blocks of land then putting them back on the market just days later for big profits.

In the most recent example, a buyer bought a block of land in the new Macarthur Heights development near Campbelltown for $340,000 earlier this month, only to relist it two days later for offers above $400,000.

If sold at the minimum asking price, that would represent an instant increase of more than 17 per cent.

Property Council of Australia NSW executive director Glenn Byres said southwest Sydney had for years seen only “slow” growth but that had changed recently with key developments and announcements. “One is the new rail line (the South West Rail Link, which opened last week),” he said. “Then we’ve also now got the clarity of the decision around Badgerys Creek, which means people know there will be something to anchor economic activity in the southwest.

“And the third element is that Sydney is playing catch-up with supply — we have far more demand than we do supply in the market.”

Mr Byres said that while quick resale turnarounds like the recent example at Macarthur Heights happened occasionally, most buyers were first and second homeowners wanting to live close to public transport, shops and other infrastructure.

Stockland CEO of residential Andrew Whitson said demand had pushed up prices at his company’s Willowdale development near Leppington and the 2200-lot Elara development at Marsden Park by up to 10 per cent in 12 months.

“Our sales volumes are only limited by what we release to market,” he said. “We’re having sellouts on the day of release. If you’ve got good access to public transport and you are offering an affordable product, there is strong buyer demand.”

Real Estate Institute of NSW president Malcolm Gunning agreed that infrastructure growth in Sydney’s west had boosted buyer confidence in the area.

“That market has lagged the inner-Sydney suburbs, which kicked in maybe 2.5 years ago when we had up to 25 per cent increases in prices.

“Now that’s dropped off a bit but western Sydney’s value has started to run in the past 12 months.”