Toowoomba land report reveals region’s supply will last 27 years

It was an issue developers said needed urgent attention. Now a report into land supply in the Toowoomba region has revealed how long that supply can keep up with population growth.

Toowoomba land can keep up with population demands for 27 years, a report has found.

A review of land across the Toowoomba region has found the current supply would meet population growth demands for 27 years.

The report, revealed in a council committee meeting on Tuesday, identified more than 1600 hectares of vacant or underdeveloped and unconstrained land that would accommodate more than 40,000 people.

According to the research, there are also 4300 approved residential lots and 1300 approved units, equating to eight years of short-term supply.

The Queensland Government Statistician’s Office in September determined residential land supply within Toowoomba exceeded the 10-year minimum.

But a group of property developers called on the council to act, claiming supply was well below accepted standards and large parts of land were unavailable or unsuitable for development.

Some land in the residential supply was also “not preferred by buyers”, the report stated, primarily in three Cotswold Hills estates.

“Each of these estates has experienced a slow take-up of lots, averaging approximately 10 lot sales per year,” the report stated.

“Recent increases in demand across the housing market within Toowoomba has seen a doubling of land sales in these estates in the past 12 months.

“Buyer interest is anticipated to increase as further development occurs and as additional amenities are provided.”

The research was conducted across the “Toowoomba Urban Extent”, which contains all of Toowoomba and nearby urban settlements of Highfields, Cabarlah, Meringandan and Cambooya.

The review ultimately found there was no immediate need to increase residential land supply within this region, and recommended that finding was communicated to the development industry and wider community.

But the report acknowledged despite sufficient availability, ownership patterns, infrastructure requirements and market preferences contributed to developers’ issues in acquiring land.

Councillor Megan O’Hara Sullivan said the report showed the region had an adequate supply in the short term, but “we need to do something in the long term”.

The council is developing a growth management plan to provide direction on the creation of future land supply.