Outlook for Gympie, Fraser Coast, Bundaberg’s new housing market

The Wide Bay Burnett might not be immune to the crippling housing crisis gripping the state, but new figures reveals a surprising twist for the construction industry.

Chris Dodt and Lewis Kelly say the Wide Bay Burnett's new housing market is expected to continue to perform well, although some problems are looking on the horizon.

The Wide Bay Burnett may not be immune to the housing crisis gripping the state, but it is ahead of the pack in the hard work of relieving the pressure.

Figures released by Master Builders Queensland show the Wide Bay Burnett, encompassing Gympie, the Fraser Coast, Bundaberg and the Burnett, was one of only two Queensland regions out of nine to record an increase in new home approvals in the past three months.

A total of 573 new dwellings were given the green light across the Wide Bay Burnett in that time, up from 535 in the previous quarter.

Greater Brisbane was the only other region to record a similar increase.

It was a welcome change for the region, which like the rest of the Queensland reported a drop in total approvals across the past 12 months.

Master Builders Queensland Wide Bay manager Ian Langer said the region was the only place left in Queensland where new land was being released near water, making it an attractive prospect for interstate migrants.

This statewide drop was laid bare by the figures, the peak construction group said, which revealed only 34,775 new homes were built in the state despite 40,000 people or families were looking for new households.

Wide Bay Burnett regional manager Ian Langer said the region’s three month success was a benefit of its unique drawcard.

“It’s one of the few places in Queensland where you can buy land close to water,” Mr Langer said.

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Kleidon Homes Bundaberg sales consultant Lewis Kelly said upcoming legislation changes could cause problems for housing construction, with many builders likely being forced to redo their designs.

He said even when one of the Wide Bay’s regions were struggling, there were two others still going strong.

The Wide Bay Burnett was a strong target of interstate migration, although this had left it grappling with a housing crisis.

He said the rising cost of living, changes to federal legislation around accessibility and waterproofing might, and the increasing cost of having new homes certified create problems in the future

Kleidon Homes Bundaberg sales consultant Lewis Kelly shared concerns about the impact of these legislative changes.

“Every builder is going to have to change every design they have,” Mr Kelly said.

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Hotondo Homes Gympie’s Chris Dodt said financing and council approval times were slow, but the region’s industry would remain strong in the coming years.

Any lingering problems within Bundaberg’s housing industries, which was in the midst of an apprenticeship boom, were the result of companies “taking too many jobs during Covid”.

Gympie Hotondo Homes owner Chris Dodt said work in his patch had “backed off” but it was “still going pretty well”.

It did not mean things were going perfect though.

“Financing is terribly slow, councils are terribly slow,” Mr Dodt said.

The financing troubles alone could “add up to three months to a job”.

He expected supply across the region would remain strong in the coming year though.

“There’s too much going on for it to slow down,” Mr Dodt said.