Soheil Abedian: Leading Gold Coast developer reveals solution to Queensland’s housing crisis
One of the Gold Coast’s leading developers says he and his colleagues should be forced to put social housing into their luxury towers. FIND OUT WHY
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One of the Gold Coast’s leading developers says he and his colleagues should be forced to put social housing into their luxury towers.
Sunland co-founder Soheil Abedian, fresh from leavings the development giant for his new private venture, says the solution to many of society’s ills is to have rich and poor alike in the same buildings.
He argued it would create more social cohesion and ensure locals weren’t priced out of the city.
“We should mix everyone together to create a true society – why shouldn’t a Qantas board member live in the same complex as a first homebuyer?” he said.
“We need to create a society where everyone lives together and this is only possible if we try to enforce the idea that all developers should allow for 5 per cent of their total productions to be used by the government.
“Within three years we would be able to overcome many of the problems we have seen over the past 20 years.”
It is not known if any public housing will be included in any of Mr Abedian’s upcoming projects, including the redevelopment of Greenmount Beach Resort or Peerless Ave in Mermaid Beach.
It comes just days after the developer who built Q1 and Palazzo Versace declared the private sector was the answer to the shortage, urging the state government to rezone the cane lands in the city’s far north to allow for more housing.
He urged the state government to outsource fixing the city housing crisis to private developers, saying they can do it faster than politicians “could ever dream”.
The government on Sunday announced its first-homeowner grant would temporarily be doubled from $15,000 to $30,000 in a move expected to help at least 12,000 people break into the housing market by 2025.
The package is worth $210m.
In the past decade more than 5092 grants worth $88.6m were paid to Gold Coasters to buy their first home.
Housing Minister Meaghan Scanlon said she “welcomed developers like Mr Abedian’s acknowledging the important role they can play in delivering social and affordable housing.”
REIQ CEO Antonia Mercorella said innovative housing solutions were needed to support the Gold Coast’s growing population.
“No matter who is behind the build, availability of land on the Gold Coast is a key restraint to building housing,” she said.
“The 2023 Gold Coast Dwelling Supply Study highlighted the existing greenfield sites cater to 17,500 houses, while the ShapingSEQ Plan 2023 Update has earmarked 57,000 houses.
“There are also more than 40,000 units approved but not started on the Gold Coast over the past 10 years, which may suggest that developers are already under strain from current demand.
“The REIQ encourages the government to also look at greater density of new builds by reviewing lot sizes, and waiving development fees for affordable properties and multi-dwelling developments including granny flats.”
Developer lets rip: ‘Step aside, I’ll fix it quicker than you can dream’
Top developer Soheil Abedian is urging state government to outsource fixing the city housing crisis to private developers, saying they can do it faster than politicians “could ever dream”.
Pressure is growing on the city’s housing stock, with construction slowing because of high costs, less available land and a shortage of tradies.
While the state government has announced a range of new public housing projects, it has been criticised for the small number of units these buildings will actually create.
Mr Abedian, behind the Gold Coast landmarks Q1 and Palazzo Versace, said the private sector was the answer to the shortage, urging the state government to rezone the cane lands in the city’s far north to allow for more housing.
“With interest rates going up people physically cannot afford to buy here and if the government wants to do something they should look at releasing more land to allow this process,” he said.
“In my view, governments should not be home builders and I think every development, no matter how many apartments they have, should have a percentage allocated for affordable housing, yet they keep putting all people in need in the same complex together.
“Take these projects from the government and let the experts build it because private enterprise can, by far, build it quickly.
“I could do it faster than a government could ever dream.”
Around 15,000 people are arriving annually, but the number of houses and units actually being built is nowhere close to keeping pace.
Nearly 40,000 units which have been approved for the Gold Coast have been approved in the past decade but not yet started.
The 2023 Gold Coast Dwelling Supply Study, released in July, warned the state government’s updated dwelling supply estimates for the Gold Coast are “questionable”, with existing greenfield sites able to viably deliver 17,564 houses.
This is less than a third of the state’s target of 57,194.
Housing Minister Meaghan Scanlon welcomed Mr Abedian’s stance and insisted the government was keen to work with the private sector to deliver more housing.
“I welcome developers like Mr Abedian’s acknowledging the important role they can play in delivering social and affordable housing.
“What’s not helpful is the LNP voting against the housing Australia future fund which was designed, like our state fund, to work with superannuation companies, developers and the community housing providers to deliver the very type of mixed tenure Mr Abedian talks about.
“We’ve shown we’re keen to work with industry to bring more land online through our announcements like the health precinct and Southport PDA selected following the housing summit.”
Property Council Queensland executive director Jen Williams said the sector was facing an “uphill battle”.
“The only way to respond to our housing crisis is to increase the overall supply of dwellings across all typologies. There is no one type of housing we have an oversupply in, meaning we are in desperate need of more of everything, everywhere.
“Given the myriad market-based challenges the industry faces, it is more important than ever that governments across all levels work closely with stakeholders to use the levers at their disposal to help unlock supply.
“Planning reform is not a short-term fix, so it will take time for the benefits of these decisions to flow through. It is also important that policy decisions that support the delivery of supply are not undermined by conflicting decisions that make it harder and more expensive to deliver new homes.”
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