An experienced real estate agent wants current councillors to re-think how the city is planned, to undo the mistakes of “money grabs” before them.
First National’s Michael Wardlaw says the property market is a good indicator of positive planning.
Poorly developed suburbs were not gaining value for investors or home buyers.
Those suburbs are where council previously approved too many townhouses, not built enough parks, greenspace or infrastructure, or had approved developments on a whim.
Mr Wardlaw, who has been in real estate 27 years, said the new council had an opportunity to ensure mistakes of the past weren’t repeated.
“There are people whose nearest park is 3km away,” he said.
“I’ve seen trends in property move up and down over the years. With no stock at the moment, people will pay too much for a while, then the market will sort itself out.
“There’s nothing to panic about.”
But Mr Wardlaw has been advising people with townhouses to delay selling because the market hasn’t moved for some years.
And he blames council’s lack of foresight for the predicament which has led to some suburbs becoming “ghettos” due to “crazy two-block splits” which had created high density, low-cost living.
He said Yarrabilba was a typical suburb where poor planning had cost people money. Housing prices there had dropped, he said, because the planning had not turned out as it was intended.
“If all the jobs were there, it would be fine,” he said. “But road infrastructure is not meeting the demands of people who live there.”
Mr Wardlaw said if councillors and planners were prepared to re-think how they developed large land plots into the future, we’d be able to create better satellite city’s of the future.
“We have people who know how to do this stuff, but planning needs to be enacted fairly and in a way that it is intended from the outset,” he said.
