A group of neighbours in one of the country’s most expensive suburbs have banded together and sold their properties for twice their market value.

It is one of the latest sales in a new trend sweeping NSW as development laws aimed at alleviating the housing crisis kick in.

The five blocks on Rangers Ave in Mosman, on Sydney’s Lower North Shore, achieved a total price of $60 million.

Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today

That sum would equate to $10 million each if divided evenly.

The homes were bundled and sold as a development-ready block which effectively “doubled” the sale price, Savills Sydney agent Stuart Cox said.

He sealed the off-market deal, saying the current market value of the blocks — if kept separate — would have been “$5 million to $6 million with some of them worth $7 million to $8 million because they were on larger blocks”.

It is one of many deals in which neighbours in wealthy suburbs are set to make even more as new zoning laws, particularly the Low and Mid-Rise Housing Policy, come into play in NSW.

‘One owner knocking on another owner’s door’

“Typically, it starts with one owner knocking on another owner’s door and saying, ‘Did you read that story? Did you see that we can expect to achieve ... double market value for our properties if we capitalise on these recent rezonings?’,” Cox said.

“Then they contact us ... to get an understanding of whether there would be demand for their site.”

As word gets around about the money that can be made, more people are signing up for similar deals, he said.

The $60 million sale this month was followed by another bundled bankroll in neighbouring Cremorne.

That deal, in which six houses sold together for $40 million, was also completed by Cox.

He said further sales can be expected in the exclusive Balmoral Slopes area of Mosman, along with interest from property owners on Rangers Rd, where the $60 million sale occurred.

Greater density coming to rezoned areas

The change in zoning comes as part of the NSW Government Low and Mid-Rise Housing Policy.

It affects a number of centres across Sydney, the Central Coast, Illawarra-Shoalhaven and Lower Hunter and allows for greater density in areas within 800m walking distance of shops, services and frequent public transport services.

It removes development restrictions on terraces, townhouses and low-rise residential flat buildings on R1 and R2 zoned land, while also removing the restriction on delivering medium-rise residential flat buildings on R3 and R4 zoned land in these areas.

Under R3 and R4 zoning, apartments up to 22m, about six-storeys, can now be erected.

Cox said high-end developers were looking to Sydney’s Lower North Shore and eastern suburbs for sites to build luxury boutique blocks.

“That area is targeted heavily by the high-end Chinese developers that pride themselves on boutique high-end holdings that appeal to the local buyers in that area,” Cox said.

He said many agents were now looking to sign up sellers.

“We present them the facts of the zoning and what they can expect to achieve,” Cox said.

Cox said he advises on ideal sites for a boutique development blocks, and how many neighbours would be needed to collaborate on the deal to do so.

“We get all the neighbours together in one dining room one evening, and we present to them the facts of the planning and what to expect and the sales strategy to maximise these sales,” he said.

“It’s an expressions of interest campaign aimed at appealing to the developers that we focus on dealing with day to day.”

In Sydney’s wealthy eastern suburbs, neighbours are also joining up to sell development blocks.

Most recently, 12 property owners in Rose Bay have joined up for a development site sale with an asking price of $165 million.

The listing, by Colliers, has the potential for up to 140 homes according to listing agent Guillame Volz.