Forget Merewether Beach — Is Lunar Real Estate the Next Property Boom?
Could the Moon or Mars become the next great property market? And if so, where exactly is the blue-chip end of town?
Here in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, we know a thing or two about real estate.
Ocean views in Merewether. Lake frontage in Valentine. A good school catchment in New Lambton. Somewhere to park the boat. Walking distance to coffee. And, preferably, buying before everyone else discovers the suburb.
But perhaps we’ve been thinking too… locally.
With NASA, private companies and governments investing serious money in returning humans to the Moon — and eventually reaching Mars — a wonderfully ridiculous but increasingly interesting property question arises:
Could you actually buy real estate in outer space?
And if you could, what would constitute a blue-chip address?
Welcome to the interplanetary property market, where the commute is appalling, construction costs are astronomical and — so far — nobody has complained about their neighbour’s fence.
Can I actually buy a block on the Moon?
Technically, you can certainly buy a certificate saying you own one.
Businesses have been offering “land” on the Moon, Mars and elsewhere for decades. Cosmic Register, for example, offers lunar coordinates with the option of purchasing a personalised deed.
Which may make it slightly easier to secure a block on the Moon than a knockdown-rebuild opportunity with ocean views in Merewether.
The important question, however, is whether anyone is legally obliged to recognise your ownership.
At present, the answer is essentially no.
The foundation of international space law is the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. It states that outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation through sovereignty, occupation or other means.
In other words, Newcastle City Council cannot plant a flag beside a lunar crater, declare it Merewether Heights Stage 2, and start collecting rates.
Private ownership is a little murkier because the treaty was written when governments, rather than private companies, dominated space exploration. But extraterrestrial deeds currently have no broadly recognised legal standing that would allow you to confidently mortgage, transfer or defend your lunar block in court.
So buy one as a novelty gift if you like.
Just don’t sell the house in Valentine to fund the acquisition.
But something important is changing
The interesting development isn’t whether you can buy land today.
It’s that governments are developing rules around using resources and operating in particular locations.
The US-led Artemis Accords contemplate extracting and using resources from the Moon, Mars and asteroids, while also introducing concepts such as temporary “safety zones” around operations to prevent harmful interference.
NASA has even contracted private companies to collect lunar material and transfer ownership of those extracted resources to NASA.
That distinction could eventually become enormously important.
We may end up with a system that looks less like traditional freehold title and more like a combination of resource rights, operating rights, infrastructure rights and regulated zones of use.
You may never own Shackleton Crater in the same way you own a house in Merewether or Valentine.
But one day you might own the habitat, mining operation or commercial infrastructure sitting beside it.That is when the conveyancers are really going to earn their fees.
How close are we?
Closer than we were — but don’t expect lunar open homes next Saturday.
NASA’s Artemis program is working towards returning astronauts to the lunar surface and establishing an increasingly sustained human presence there.
Mars is considerably further away.
NASA’s Moon-to-Mars program is progressively developing the technology required to transport humans to Mars, operate on its surface and — rather importantly — bring them home again.
So if you’re choosing between the Moon and Mars for an investment property, the Moon currently has the stronger infrastructure pipeline.
Mars does have one advantage.
Land supply.
Approximately an entire planet’s worth.
Before property comes infrastructure
Any Newcastle or Lake Macquarie property person knows an undeveloped block is only as useful as the infrastructure around it.
A magnificent lunar homesite isn’t much good if the nearest power connection is 384,000 kilometres away.
Permanent settlements would need transportation, power, communications, navigation, pressurised habitats, oxygen and water systems, radiation protection, medical facilities, waste management and enormous logistical networks.
Then there’s construction.
Shipping every brick, pipe and piece of steel from Earth would be extraordinarily expensive, so researchers are investigating ways to use lunar soil, ice and other local resources for construction, water, oxygen and potentially even rocket fuel.
In property language, the Moon needs everything from subdivision works to utilities before anyone starts arguing about whether the kitchen should have 40mm stone benchtops.
So where are the blue-chip suburbs?
Now we arrive at the important part.If you’re buying lunar property, surely the first rule remains:
Location. Location. Location.
Follow the water
In Lake Macquarie, water frontage can transform a property’s desirability.On the Moon, you’d probably pay a premium simply for water.
NASA has confirmed water ice in permanently shadowed lunar regions, particularly around the poles. That ice could eventually provide drinking water, oxygen and even ingredients for rocket fuel.
Suddenly the lunar South Pole starts looking less like remote wasteland and more like a future Valentine — except instead of paying extra to look at the water, you’re paying extra because having water means you don’t die.
Mars has accessible water ice too, making it an important consideration for potential future landing and settlement sites.
So perhaps the first rule of extraterrestrial property investment is:
Forget the lake view. Follow the ice.
Chase the sunlight
In Newcastle, a good aspect is desirable.
On the Moon, it’s essential.Some elevated areas around the lunar South Pole receive sunlight for extraordinarily long periods. That could make them valuable locations for solar power.
Imagine the listing:
“Rare South Pole opportunity. Excellent solar aspect. Potential water nearby. Uninterrupted Earth views. Motivated vendor.”
At this point somebody from Newcastle will inevitably ask:
“Yes, but how does it compare with Merewether?”
Fair question.
Transport and communications
The first lunar “high streets” probably won’t form around cafés.
They’ll form around landing zones, transport corridors, power generation and resource sites.
Being five minutes from the lunar landing pad sounds convenient until you remember that rockets are considerably louder than Newcastle Airport.
Communications will matter too. Sites offering reliable connections back to Earth could command a premium.
So even on another celestial body, property fundamentals may sound surprisingly familiar:
Services. Aspect. Infrastructure. Connectivity.
And then there are the views
Views have always commanded a premium.In Merewether, it’s the Pacific Ocean.
In Valentine, it’s Lake Macquarie.On the Moon, imagine opening the blinds and seeing the entire Earth hanging in a black sky.
There are no actual ocean views on the Moon, although its enormous dark plains were historically called maria, Latin for “seas”.
An agent will inevitably describe one as:
“Water-inspired outlook.”
What about schools?
This is where the property portals of the future may struggle.
Local schools: None.
Childcare: None.
Shopping: None.
Restaurants: None.
Hospital: None.
Public transport: Rover, timetable TBA.
On the upside, school catchment disputes should initially be minimal.
Although give humans a permanent Moon settlement for long enough and somebody will eventually pay 20% more to live on the correct side of a crater because the local lunar primary school has better NAPLAN results.
We are nothing if not consistent.
Could space solve our housing crisis?
Unfortunately, no.
Newcastle and Lake Macquarie are highly desirable places to live, but like much of Australia, delivering enough well-located housing remains a challenge.And that’s the important point.
Our housing problem isn’t that Earth has run out of physical land.It’s the challenge of supplying enough well-located, serviced and affordable housing where people actually want to live.
There are genuine attempts to increase supply locally, from major redevelopment around Newcastle to new housing areas and alternative construction methods across Lake Macquarie.
And if providing roads, sewer, power and services for new housing in the Hunter is difficult, try doing it on Mars.
Sending Novocastrians to the Moon would introduce several additional affordability problems.
Buyers would require a rocket.
Then a pressurised house.
Then oxygen.
Then radiation shielding.
Then their own electricity network.
Then someone has to convince a bank to provide a 30-year mortgage on a property where the borrower can die by opening the front door.
So for the moment, increasing housing supply around Newcastle and Lake Macquarie remains marginally more practical than colonising Mars.
Although depending on how long you’ve been waiting for a development approval, you may wish to reserve judgement.
The serious question beneath the fun
For most of human history, property ownership has depended on geography, government, law, infrastructure and scarcity.
Space challenges every one of those concepts.
Who gets access to the best locations? Who controls valuable water or minerals? Can a company protect infrastructure it has spent billions building without effectively claiming the territory around it? And what happens when two countries or companies want the same lunar site?
The first extraterrestrial property market may therefore look nothing like ours.
There may be no Torrens title.
No council rates.
No strata committee complaining about someone’s rover parked in visitor parking.
But humans are remarkably inventive when something becomes scarce and valuable.
If we establish permanent communities on the Moon or Mars, it’s difficult to imagine us not eventually developing some system for deciding who can occupy what, for how long and on what terms.
And once that happens, history suggests the next developments will follow quickly:
Property agents.
Property lawyers.
Property investors.
Property taxes.
And somebody at a barbecue in Merewether announcing that they bought in Shackleton Crater before everyone knew about it.
The verdict
Can you buy the Moon today? You can buy a novelty deed or coordinates, but don’t expect an internationally recognised title document.
Will extraterrestrial property become real? Quite possibly in some form, particularly as permanent infrastructure and commercial activity develop. But it may involve rights to use land and resources rather than traditional ownership of the ground itself.
Where would you buy? Water, power, communications, transport infrastructure and proximity to future settlements would probably matter.
Which, amusingly, isn’t that different from buying in Newcastle or Lake Macquarie.
Good infrastructure.
Scarcity.
Lifestyle.
Water.
Views.
Access to services.
And preferably getting in before everyone else realises it’s a good spot.
Could it solve our housing crisis? No. Building more homes in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie remains considerably easier than building them 384,000 kilometres away.
For now, Earth also remains the only property market where you can legally own the land, get a home loan, order takeaway and breathe in the backyard without specialist equipment.
But perhaps one day the property listings will include an entirely new region:
MOON — SOUTH POLE
New listing.
Four bedrooms. Two bathrooms. Double rover garage.
Spectacular Earth views.
Excellent solar aspect.
Quiet neighbourhood.
Low-maintenance garden.Very low-maintenance garden.
Actually, nothing grows here.
Expressions of Interest.
This article is intended for general information and entertainment and should not be considered legal, financial, property or interplanetary investment advice.
