"We're working hard to try to help people. In some cases we're allowing them to swap their existing block for a smaller [more affordable] one and swap the house as well, to lower the mortgage."

Satterley Property Group, one of the biggest private land developers, has also written to all of its buyers with settlements coming up to check if they have their finance in place and whether they need assistance.

In Perth, contracts are subject to finance so buyers can walk away, but in Melbourne, they are mostly cash contracts, meaning buyers who cancel stand to lose deposits of between 5 and 10 per cent.

"If they are good people [who have cancelled their purchase], we're holding their deposit as a credit so six months down the line, when they get a job, they can use the money as a deposit on another lot," Mr Satterley said.

Early warning

The high level of cancellations – usually they are in the low single digits – comes as developers enter what is traditionally the busiest period of settlements for the year.

"Historically, May and June are when the highest number of settlements occur," Mr Satterley said.


His lastest market update follows east coast land sales specialist Red23 warning that residential lot sales would crash as prospective buyers delayed purchasing decisions due to job security concerns.

"We can safely assume in the growth corridors that sales volumes and enquiry will fall to record low levels over the coming months of uncertainty," Red23 founder and managing director Terry Portelli said.

Mr Portelli also said a growing number of sales contracts in Melbourne were falling over at settlement because buyers had lost their jobs and could not get a loan.

Satterley Property Group was part of a Property Council delegation that recently met with federal Housing Minister Michael Sukkar.

Among the topics of discussion was a potential boost to the first home buyers grant nationally, to support demand for new housing and construction jobs.

Mr Satterley said he had also put in requests with both the West Australian and Victorian housing ministers to consider allowing display home villages to open again to the public as a means to increase sales.

Re-opening display homes, Mr Satterley said, would be done in a controlled and safe manner, allowing only one family through a home at a time, with homes being wiped down and sanitised after each visit.

Currently, prospective buyers can only visit display homes by booking a one-on-one appointment.

"There's a lot of buyers who want to be able to look through a display home without the pressure of a one-on-one appointment," he said.