Gold Coast residential subdivision releases swamped by demand

Gold Coast remains one of Australia’s fastest-growing cities, but the dwindling number of greenfield residential lots available is reaching an ‘acute’ stage.

HB Land’s Calli Upper Coomera masterplanned community.

The number of available vacant lots in Gold Coast residential subdivisions is failing to keep up with demand as red tape slows the ­approval process for new projects.

Research by residential property funds and real estate services group Oliver Hume has found that in November there were 38 vacant land sales, with only 65 lots available in early December.

October registered 33 sales – the fourth highest sales month over the past 12 months, beaten only by June (42), September (41) and November.

Oliver Hume Queensland general manager Dan Ross said vacant land was becoming one of the Gold Coast’s most valuable commodities as the number of new projects remained at historic lows.

“The Gold Coast population continues to grow much faster than the rest of the country, and land supply is not keeping up with that growth,” Mr Ross said.

“It’s a real concern considering we’re doing on average about 40 sales a month – just over a month’s worth of supply.”

The Oliver Hume data ­accounts for vacant land sales in projects larger than 25 lots.

Mr Ross said the shortage of land on the Gold Coast was not unique, with many other regions around Australia also experiencing shortfalls.

However, he said the situation on the Gold Coast was “particularly acute”, with population growth outpacing government approvals.

“The Gold Coast is a unique ­geography with the water bordering one side, the hinterland on the other and Brisbane book-ending it in the north, so it’s restricted in the sense of where they can unlock large swathes of land,” he said.

“There are a number of landholders who have extensive parcels and are working through the government’s approval process.

“But it can take such a long time to get anything to market, with all the hurdles that have to be overcome to get the approvals to give the developer confidence to start civil works and bulk earth works.”

Oliver Hume Queensland general manager Dan Ross.

According to the 2023 Gold Coast Dwelling Supply Study, current greenfield sites will deliver 17,564 dwellings by 2041.

About 44 per cent of those will come from the high-growth Coomera, and much of the rest will be spread across three projects, including Worongary’s 3500-lot Skyridge development.

While greenfield residential subdivisions play an important role, the Gold Coast also caters for the population influx with infill apartment and townhouse projects, such as high-rise king Harry Triguboff’s Cypress Palms project in Surfers Paradise, with more than 1000 apartments.

Mr Ross said the first stages of HB Land’s 196-lot Calli Upper Coomera project were released last year and attracted a huge amount of inquiry and sales, and it expected the current 28 home-sites release to attract the same.

The subdivision has achieved more than 100 sales since its launch in March last year. The current lot release ranges in size from 450sq m to 617sq m, with ­prices expected to start at $650,000.

Mr Ross said the shortage of land on the Gold Coast would remain for the foreseeable future and was contributing to continued price growth.

“Buyers love everything about living on the Gold Coast, and the competition for home sites and the opportunity to build your own home is stronger than ever,” Mr Ross said.

“We’re getting a large number of southern purchasers who have relocated post-Covid and come up to the Gold Coast to build a brand new dwelling.

“The average price for a square metre of land on the coast is now more than $1500 and has grown steadily over the last 12 months.”

Originally published as Gold Coast residential subdivision releases swamped by demand