n the latest Prodap Report, released today, sales of Gold Coast vacant allotments and house-land packages increased for the second consecutive quarter in the three months to June 2009.
According to the report, aggregate sales of vacant land and housing packages in the latest June quarter were 737, up 36 per cent on the March quarter (542) and 151 per cent in the December quarter 2008 (293).
The improvements in sales volumes occurred in the north-western Gold Coast suburb of Gaven at Pacific Pines (124 land sales) and in the Coomera-Pimpama-Ormeau corridor, north of the Coomera River, the report found.
“Seven development projects recorded better than 30 sales for the June quarter, a respectable result for any land developer,” research leader Bill Morris said.
“The upward swing signals an imminent return to normal production of approximately 1,300 sales per quarter, the number required to service the Gold Coast’s underlying population growth,” he said.
Information from the major developers shows that approximately 50% of sales were to first home buyers, higher than normal (25-30%).
This proportion is expected to continue into the September 2009 quarter and decline in the December 2009 quarter.
“New development projects are still faced with funding challenges, however there are a number of large housing projects which have development approvals and the financial capacity to launch into production at short notice.
“Public companies such as Stockland, Delfin and Mirvac, as well as some large private developers such as Leda, have acquired land and obtained development approvals for housing,” Morris said.
In aggregate, these companies have approximately 6,000 approved lots, enough for 3-4 years of supply during the next upswing in demand (expected to begin late 2010 or early 2011).
The Gold Coast shows no sign of a waning population increase, currently at 2.7% per annum, still one of the highest growth rates of any region in the country.
