If you’ve been dreaming of creating a rural escape in Australia, but haven’t found the perfect block yet, this guide is for you.

From coastal retreats to outback hideaways, we’ve put together some top tips to help you navigate Australia’s diverse landscapes and find the ideal property to bring your vision to life.

1. Choose Your Perfect Location

You may have a dream location in mind – based on work, where you currently live, family connections or a favourite city or town.

It’s a good idea to buy rural blocks that aren’t too far from established towns. This provides convenient access to essential facilities, services and qualified trades to help complete your build. Properties within a 30-minute drive of regional centres usually offer the perfect balance of rural tranquillity and practical convenience.

There are a few relatively undiscovered rural gems close to cities and popular tourist regions across the country. These emerging regions offer affordability, natural beauty, and easy access to city conveniences.

Here are some of our favourites:

New South Wales – Beyond the Hunter Valley, Southern Highlands, and Blue Mountains, discover Mudgee, Orange, Byron Bay area and the South Coast hinterland. Consider Kurrajong, Braidwood, or Kangaroo Valley for a mix of countryside and accessibility.
Victoria – Outside the Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula, and Great Ocean Road, explore towns like Trentham, Kyneton, and Mansfield for idyllic rural living within reach of Melbourne.
Queensland– Venture past the Gold Coast hinterland to the Sunshine Coast hinterland, Granite Belt, or Atherton Tablelands. Scenic spots like Samford Valley, Tamborine Mountain, and Maleny offer greenery and a relaxed pace.
South Australia – The Adelaide Hills, Yorke Peninsula, and Fleurieu Peninsula have pockets of great value, including Meadows, Moonta, and Yankalilla, which are all ideal for exceptional views and country charm.
Western Australia – Look inland from Margaret River or explore the Great Southern wine region. Nannup, Mount Barker, and Chittering Valley blend affordability with breathtaking landscapes.
Tasmania – Just outside Hobart and Launceston, find charming rural communities like Richmond, Huonville, and Deloraine, where nature and heritage meet.
Northern Territory – Enjoy outback living with practical access near Darwin or Alice Springs. Humpty Doo, Howard Springs, and Ilparpa offer space, privacy, and a connection to nature.

How We Help

Wherever you choose to settle, Greenspan makes it easy to build. We service the whole of our beautiful nation, delivering your building in modular form by truck to the last point of delivery vehicle access, ready for simple and speedy installation on site. Even the remotest of locations can usually be accessed with ease.

2. Climate Considerations

If you’re unrestricted by work or family commitments, you might even have the freedom to choose from the whole of Australia’s diverse landscape. Choose a climate that you find comfortable and think about your rural lifestyle goals. Consider whether you’ll be growing specific produce, raising particular livestock, or enjoying certain outdoor activities.

Consider these climate factors when selecting your ideal location:

Tropical North – (Far North QLD, Top End NT and WA): Warm year-round with distinct wet/dry seasons. Perfect for tropical gardens and outdoor living, but requires buildings designed for heat, humidity, and cyclone resistance.
Subtropical Coasts – (Southeast QLD, Northern NSW): Mild winters and warm summers with reliable rainfall. Offers excellent growing conditions but consider flood planning and humidity management.
Mediterranean Regions – (Parts of WA, SA, VIC): Hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters. Ideal for certain crops and outdoor living, but usually requires bushfire preparation and water conservation strategies.
Temperate Zones – (Southern NSW, VIC, TAS): Four distinct seasons with reliable rainfall. Provides diverse lifestyle options but may need frost-hardy plantings and well-insulated buildings.
Alpine Areas – (Snowy Mountains, Victorian High Country, Tasmanian Highlands): Cold winters with possible snowfall and mild summers. Offers stunning scenery but requires snow-load building considerations and good insulation.
Arid Interior – (Outback regions): Low rainfall, extreme temperature variations between day/night and seasons. Offers space and solitude but requires careful water management and thermal design.

How we help

Greenspan buildings can handle any climate conditions. Every structure is meticulously crafted using high-quality, high-strength materials, specifically selected for their insulative properties and durability to withstand the extreme and varied Australian environment. Suitable wind, snow and bushfire upgrades can be applied to suit these specific climate requirements, while flood-prone areas are addressed by our elevated pier-mounted flooring system.

3. Define How You’ll Use Your Rural Block

How you intend to use your rural block will significantly narrow your search criteria.

Income Generation or Investment

Planning an Airbnb? Choose a block with tourist appeal such as proximity to beaches, wineries, national parks or other attractions. Look for nearby facilities and ensure there’s at least one good dining option for guests. Good road access and reliable internet is also a bonus.
Considering a vineyard or boutique farming? Look in established wine or farming regions where you can be confident there will be appropriate soil and climate conditions.

Lifestyle Properties

Weekend retreat? Consider low maintenance sites that require minimal upkeep and look for locations within 2-3 hours of your primary residence to maximise usage without extensive travel.
Retirement home? Plan for the future. Look for gentler terrain, proximity to medical services, manageable land size and easier access.
Off-grid living? Search for secluded locations with just enough accessibility for your comfort and convenience levels. Prioritise a good aspect for solar, reliable water sources and privacy.

How we help

Whatever activities you have planned for your rural block, any structure you build should complement its environment and align with your style preferences, as well as any existing infrastructure. Greenspan’s Cedarspan range of beautiful timber designs are perfectly suited to rural landscapes. And with a full selection of personalisable design features available, your finished building will reflect both your vision and its surroundings.

4. Land Characteristics

The physical characteristics of a site are key to lifestyle and usability as well as impacting building costs, capability and methods. Here are some things to consider when looking for your perfect block of rural land.

Access to water

In Australia’s variable climate, water security is often the make-or-break factor for rural properties. Reliable water access determines everything from liveability to land use potential.

Before purchasing, thoroughly investigate:

Existing assets: Assess the condition and capacity of any bores, dams, tanks, and natural water sources on the property.
Water rights: Understand any legal entitlements or restrictions attached to the property, especially for irrigation.
Future options: Evaluate potential for additional water storage, rainwater harvesting, or improved catchment systems.
Rainfall patterns: Research seasonal and annual rainfall reliability, including historical drought frequency.

Aspect and orientation

The positioning and orientation of your rural property shapes your daily living experience and the energy efficiency of any structures you build.

Carefully evaluate:

Solar and passive energy: Northern exposure maximises solar gain, natural light and passive heating.
Wind patterns: Identify prevailing wind directions to plan windbreaks or harness natural cooling breezes.
Views and vistas: Consider the visual aspects from potential building sites, including sunrise/sunset perspectives and long-range outlooks.
Seasonal changes: Understand how the site’s aspect performs across different seasons.

Level or sloping

Finding completely flat, level blocks in rural Australia can be challenging, as these are often prioritised for agriculture. However, sloping land typically offers better views and often comes at a better price point. There are some positives and negatives to consider.

Drainage – Gentle slopes provide natural water drainage, reducing waterlogging issues that can occur on completely flat land
Access – Consider driveway gradient and all-weather access requirements, particularly in regions with heavy rainfall or snow
Views and ventilation – Elevated positions typically offer beautiful, far-reaching views and strategic positioning can maximise gully breezes
Building – Sloping sites may require significant earthworks or expensive split-level designs with traditional construction methods

How we help

While sloping blocks offer many advantages, they can be challenging and expensive to build upon the traditional way. Extensive earthworks, levelling and ground prep adds significantly to the cost of building and a difficult slope can even restrict where and what you can build. Greenspan buildings feature an elevated grid floor mounted on adjustable length timber piers, allowing for instant levelling with minimal or no ground prep required. This also provides flexibility to position your building to maximise water access and catchment, as well as views and aspect.

5. Understanding Zoning and Approvals

Australia’s complex rural zoning regulations vary significantly between states and local government areas. Wherever the site is located there are a few things to look out for with regards to land zoning when you find a dream block of land. We have a quick guide available here: Do I need approval for my building?

Building entitlements

Always confirm that your property has a building entitlement if you plan to construct a dwelling. Some rural lands are zoned specifically for agriculture with no residential building rights.

Critical zoning considerations

Land zoning related to Bushfires, Environmental Zones or Sensitive Land, Easements or Aboriginal Significance can impact your ability to build on the property, so it’s important to look into these before you sign any contract.

Research resources

Planning information is usually available from the real estate agent. Make sure you ask when you enquire about the property.

Many states offer exempt development provisions for rural sheds and structures below certain size thresholds. In NSW, for example, properties zoned RU1-RU4 or RU6 can often accommodate sheds or barns up to 200m² without formal council approval. You can find out more about that here: Council exempt barns and farm buildings

Wherever you are located and whatever your build plans are, we recommend speaking with a local independent certifier who will be familiar with the zoning and approvals of your local council.

How we help

Your Greenspan Design Solutioneer is also an incredibly valuable resource. They will help you navigate any planning and zoning requirements for your site, assess the need for and apply variations to your design to comply with any regulations, as well as put you in touch with planning partners in your area.

6. Finding the right rural property

There’s no doubt that searching for the perfect rural land requires thorough investigation and due diligence. Make the most of the help that is available to you both online and in person.

Real Estate Agents

A good agent doesn’t just sell properties. They connect the right buyers with the right properties and can be a crucial source of expertise. Regional agents often have generations of local knowledge, and their insights about seasonal trends and history of past development success or failure can be very enlightening.

It’s a good idea to establish a relationship with a few agents, tell them what you’re looking for and ask them to let you know if anything suitable comes up before they list publicly. You could find out about a new property before it even hits the market, giving you a golden pass to secure that property before someone else does.

Online searches

Technology has transformed the rural property search process, allowing you to cast a wide net while focusing on specific criteria.

The major property search platforms are, of course, realestate.com.au and domain.com.au. It’s a great idea to create accounts on each and save your search – you will be alerted when new properties come on to the market that match your criteria.

How you help

And when your search has led you to your perfect block of land and the rural lifestyle you dream of, Greenspan’s here to make the building process as easy as possible for you.

Inspired?

Cedarspan buildings from Greenspan are PreCrafted in our Sydney factory to lock-up stage in just a few weeks.

From there, they are delivered for onsite assembly which can take as little as a few days. For this part, we can connect you with installers who service your chosen area, or you’re welcome to use a qualified local builder of your choice. If you’re feeling handy, you can even DIY! Full training is provided!

It’s the quickest and easiest way to build on any rural property…and we’ve proven this time and again since 1976.

Download our Cedarspan Design Price Guide and get started with your dream rural build.

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