Gold Coast development approvals surge amid building, property, house price boom
There is growing evidence of a property boom on the Gold Coast with new data revealing a dramatic spike in activity. FULL DETAILS >>>
Gold Coast
Don't miss out on the headlines from Gold Coast. Followed categories will be added to My News.
THE Gold Coast’s development industry is on track to have had its best year since 2016, with new data revealing a dramatic spike in activity.
A council development activity report set to be released on Thursday reveals that applications are flooding in at a much faster rate than just two years ago.
The report, focusing on the December 2020-21 quarter, reveals that comparative to the same period in 2019:
* Development applications are up 10.2 per cent.
* Building approvals up 22.5 per cent.
* Plumbing approvals up 28.7 per cent.
FULL DIGITAL ACCESS: JUST $1 FOR FIRST 28 DAYS
City planning boss Cr Cameron Caldwell said the Gold Coast was on track to have the highest-number of applications lodged since the record-breaking 2016-17 financial year.
“Council welcomes the strong volumes of development activity for the last quarter of 2020. The increase in building and plumbing approvals indicate that there is more construction activity while positive sentiment in the property market means developers are looking to activate approvals and deliver housing product.
“This data illustrates the confidence in the development sector as we emerge from COVID.
The Gold Coast continues to be an attractive place to live, work and play which supports a healthy construction industry.”
Cr Caldwell said construction activity was an “important pillar” of the local economy, saying: “Cranes in the sky means jobs on the ground.”
The strong activity comes as political leaders work to plan the future of development in the region to cope with the dramatically growing population.
The State Government on Wednesday launched a task force which will look at undeveloped land between the Sunshine Coast and Tweed Heads to help cater for the southeast’s bulging population.
Cane fields in the city’s north are expected to be investigated, while council is preparing to target the southern suburbs of Kirra, Coolangatta, Palm Beach and Bilinga for high-density development.
Property sales also remain high as developers fast-track new projects to the market to cope with demand.
Among those is Bottega Group’s new 17-storey 123OBR project which was unveiled in January and will launch on Friday after attracting a “significant” number of early inquiries.
The Broadbeach project, earmarked for a site on Old Burleigh Road, is being targeted at downsizers and is being pitched to buyers as a “vertical village of beach houses”.
Units start from $2.9 million.
Long-time real estate agent John Newlands said the market was “as strong as I have ever seen it”.
“It is fuelled by low interest rates and we are picking up the benefits of intrastate migration,” he said.
“Some people are buying without seeing.
“Right now there seems to be a shortage of housing stock, with demand far outstripping supply which is a big challenge.”
The Bulletin understands a raft of new projects are expected to be brought to market in coming weeks.
It comes with interest surging in securing a place in the $1.5 billion Skyridge development at Worongary.
More than 2000 registrations of interest were lodged on the project in the two weeks since it was launched, while there are only 320 houses planned for the first six stages.
Vapes, weed, grog: Social media has a lot to answer for
Illegal and banned substances are become more and more common thanks to an alarming social media trend.
Revealed: Everything you need to know about GC pre-poll voting
Pre-poll voting has begun for the October 26 state election across the Gold Coast’s 11 seats. Here’s everything you need to know before casting your vote.