Frantic apartment construction has recently threatened the traditional dominance of house and land packages in Melbourne. In mid-2015, more units were being approved than houses in Victoria.

But fast forward a few months and the housing estates are again on top.

More than 22,000 blocks have been sold in Melbourne's outer suburbs in the year until June, with some developers struggling to keep up with the demand for serviced land, according to research by Charter Keck Cramer.

So why are so many people willing to sacrifice the convenience of established postcodes, for a block and backyard on the city's outskirts?

For Jane and Charles Kerbage, it comes down to value for money and a traditional sense of community – one where neighbours still knock on your door for a cup of sugar.

"It's a different feel from the inner city where people hide behind their houses," Mr Kerbage said.

When the couple first ventured out to the then-burgeoning western suburb of Caroline Springs about 1999, blocks in the housing estate were being sold for $29,000 out of a caravan on the side of the Western Freeway.

Friends asked them why they would move "out the end of nowhere" and even today, when Caroline Springs has its own police station, post office and department store, people still say "it's so far from everything".

Soon the Kerbages will move even further out west, with their two daughters, to a bigger house on a new block of land in the new Woodlea Estate, still living and chasing The Great Australian Dream.

One of Melbourne's new housing estates. Photo: Penny Stephens

Why buy an apartment, when you can have a house?

Affordability remains the key driver behind the popularity of greenfield housing estates. The average price of a serviced block in Melbourne is $221,730, less than half the price of lots in Sydney, which average $460,375.

This means while you might pay $1 million for a property in Ascot Vale, Heidelberg and Thornbury, you can still buy a new three-bedroom house within a 30-kilometre radius of the CBD for less than $400,000.

Unlike the apartment market, which is dominated by investors, between 40 to 50 per cent of those who buy a house and land  in the outer suburbs are first-home buyers.

Housing estates have become better places to live

There is no doubt Melbourne's housing estates have received their fair share of bad publicity, and for good reason. Congestion, nightmare commutes and overcrowded schools have been among the major problems when residents have moved into new areas without adequate infrastructure.

However Victorian Planning Authority chief Peter Seamer said this is changing, partly due to new levies for community infrastructure.

"The sort of money that is being provided to councils for the development process is often 10 times more than it was 10 years ago," he said.

Today, he said new growth area suburbs had the highest ratio of open space anywhere in Melbourne and 90 per cent of houses were within walking distance of a proper town centre.

Competition between developers has also driven reform, with buyers able to choose between dozens of different estates in the north, west and south.

"If you are a developer producing something that isn't affordable and isn't really well designed, there is somebody close by that is," Mr Seamer said.

Australia's fastest selling estate is Woodlea, between Melton and Caroline Springs in Melbourne's far west and project director Matthew Dean attributes its ongoing success to the project's commitment to "early infrastructure".

Though only 25 families have already moved in, a cafe and adventure playground are already finished. A childcare centre will open at the beginning of next year, two football ovals are under construction and the first primary school is scheduled for 2019.

An artist's impression of a sporting precinct underway at Woodlea Estate. Photo: Supplied

The enduring aspiration of home ownership

Those closest to the housing estate industry say the Great Australian Dream remains a real and "unabated" aspiration in Melbourne, with people feeling a need to own their own house, preferably with a lawn and backyard.

Matthew Chun, the chief executive of builder Simonds Group, said huge importance was still placed on owning land.

"I think that's not just in the Australian psyche, it's also felt by people who come from other countries where they don't have that opportunity."