When it was time for Samantha Reichstein and her partner to take the next step in their relationship, buying their forever home, they didn't have much luck with what was available.
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They knew they wanted to live in Gungahlin and because they couldn't find what they wanted, they decided to buy a block of land and build.
"We looked at the prices of some Mr Fluffy blocks over in Belconnen that were available and they were quite bigger and more expensive," Ms Reichstein said.
"We both agreed that we didn't want to be spending so much money on the land and then pay less on the house itself."
So the couple looked at buying in Throsby.
"I am a very nature-loving person and I go for a lot of walks through Mulligans Flat and things like that, so when we saw that there was land available in Throsby we thought that would be amazing," she said.
"One of the things that really cinched the deal for us when we were deciding to buy our block was finding out about the new Mulligans Flat Woodland Sanctuary ‘Sanctuary Space’ being built.
"We love all the conservation work that Mulligans Flat do, so being within walking distance of their new building and coffee shop was another tick in the box for us."
They kept an eye on the first land release and saw that most of the blocks had sold for over the reserve price. The blocks that didn't sell at auction were made available over the counter with set prices.
In March, Ms Reichstein and her partner bought a 377-square-metre block for $390,000.
"It’s not a massive block and it was a little pricey, but I think we just really liked the idea of the area, being so close to nature and the fact that it’s not a huge suburb," she said.
And they're not the only ones paying more.
Land in two of the ACT's newest suburbs is costing some buyers upwards of $1100 a square metre, despite a slight fall in average prices since December last year.
The figures show the government selling blocks in Throsby and Moncrieff for up to $1159 a square metre and $1362 a square metre, respectively, from July 2017 to the end of October this year, with maximum prices in Taylor also reaching $940 a square metre in the first six months of 2018.
But for Ms Reichstein, paying that little bit more means the couple is able to build their dream home.
"We’ve got enough space on our block that we can do a garden," she said.
"If we want to take the dog out we’re not going to be playing in the backyard - we’ll go for a walk. We’re surrounded by nature we don’t really need a huge backyard.
"We don’t have any kids so why have a big backyard and have to spend every weekend maintaining it when that wasn’t a priority for us?"
The couples two-storey, 260 square-metre house is expected to be finished in September next year.
