City land supply running empty

INSIDE: 72 PAGES OF COAST PROPERTY OUTDOOR HOTSPOT

THE Gold Coast is about to run out of land with property experts tipping the city has only two years supply to meet demand.

The lack of land is pushing developers to subdivide to create more homes.

New data from independent property consultant Michael Matusik shows the Coast needs 4896 new homes each year to keep up with demand, yet has only 1160 hectares available – enough space for 10,184 dwellings.

The Coast has one of the lowest rates of developable land in Queensland, second only to the Noosa region with 1.3 years. Brisbane is not far behind with almost three years of developable land.

The Bulletin last month reported the council had approved more than 23,000 developments in five years, and industry figures said it showed no signs of slowing.

REIQ Gold Coast zone chairman Andrew Henderson said the prediction of two years of developable land left on the Gold Coast was generous.

“I’d be surprised if there is even two years left,” he said.

“Every time I drive to the northern Coast, there seems to be very big changes in a short period of time. When you’re on the M1 you don’t notice it that much, but jump off and drive around you notice how many houses are being built.”

Mr Henderson said infill would end up the only option for the Coast. “The Gold Coast is so popular and people want to move here so we have to be able to provide somewhere for them to live. Infill is probably the most sensible approach. We have a lot of the older suburbs which have bigger blocks and are very comfortable to subdivide.”

Marketing Projects SEQ director Kyia Anderson said infill was the way of the future, with buyers willing to sacrifice a back yard for a premium location.

“We’re seeing a lot more homeowners and buyers changing that idea of owning house and land to now looking at terrace homes or even looking at apartments in low to medium-density apartment blocks in popular suburbs,” she said.

James Taylor, the CEO of @realty, said it was no surprise the Gold Coast was one of the highest demand property markets in southeast Queensland.

“The Gold Coast market has held its value as other areas across Australia have declined, and this can be attributed to strong demand for housing.”