A developer responsible for hundreds of housing plots in the Logan region has called on authorities to free up land to meet current demand.
AVID Property Group general manager Bruce Harper said land and housing supply was getting increasingly tight with developers barely able to keep up with demand.
The result, he said, was skyrocketing house prices.
With about 2 million extra people expected to live in Queensland in 20 years’ time, according to Queensland government data, that’s a lot of extra housing.
“Having an adequate supply of land zoned and matching this with planned delivery of infrastructure including water, sewer and electrical services in line with demand is a complex and difficult task but it is vital to ensure that housing remains affordable,” Mr Harper said.
“There are a lot of planned growth areas that have constraints such as flooding, protected vegetation or koala habitat that deems it unsuitable or unavailable for development.
“While some growth suburbs may have adequate supply, others have very limited supply.”
Mr Harper said the last year’s record growth in demand for new homes further exacerbated the supply shortage.
“We’re in for a strong ride for the next couple of years. Land prices, particularly in those supply constrained growth corridors, will skyrocket,” he said.
AVID has three active house and land communities in Logan. The company had seen 55% growth in demand.
“All land developers have practically doubled production overthe last 12 months,” Mr Harper said.
“Queensland is a hot market. We are only looking at increasing demand with southerners migrating north and cashed-up ex-pats returning from overseas. Many of these people are wanting to make Queensland home no matter the cost.”
Residential rental vacancy rates were slim, which was driving investors back into the market – again, pushing prices up.
The Real Estate Institute of Queensland shows Queensland’s vacancy rates are at their lowest since 2012, with rates sitting at below 1% across more than 70% of the state.
“Accelerated demand is soaking up all the supply that was in the system, and there is a huge need for the government and councils to unlock more large parcels of land through appropriate zoning and site amalgamation,” Mr Harper said.
AVID general manager of housing and Queensland president of Housing Industry Association Peter Wood said it was hard for developers and builders to take advantage of boom conditions if town planning didn’t allow for developers to deliver a variety of housing and rationalisation of product.
Mr Wood said conditions would continue to be challenging for the building industry, and believed the issue was yet to peak.
“We can expect supply issues to worsen towards the end of the year,” he said.
“There are legitimate delays in the system, stemming from a range of issues, which is slowing down the process at all levels, and ultimately having the biggest impact on those who are desperately trying to get into the market.
“There has been a lot of positivity across the residential market, but there needs to be a serious conversation between the industry and Government as to what is being done to accommodate the growing demand and to ensure housing in Queensland continues to be an attainable goal for buyers.”
