Industry hopes for recovery in Queensland home building market- The Courier Mail
By Michelle Hele February 20, 2010
LAND sales in Brisbane are increasing, leading property industry groups to cautiously predict a recovery in the home building market.
The latest HIA-RPData Residential Land report has found the number of original land sales rose by about 6.1 per cent over the September quarter, to be 44.8 per cent higher than the same quarter of 2008. It puts the median residential land value in Brisbane at $220,000 - about 1.7 per cent lower than the previous quarter, but up 7.3 per cent on the same time last year.
HIA Queensland executive director Warwick Temby believes the increase in land sales is encouraging. "If median land prices can be kept in check, then obviously that would assist in the prospects of the recovery proving durable," Mr Temby said.
The report found all regions in Queensland, except for West Moreton and Wide Bay-Burnett, had increased sales during the September quarter. The Fitzroy region in central Queensland had a jump in sales of 90 per cent. Sydney remained the most expensive residential land market in the nation with a median price of $290,000.
Residential developer Stockland has seen an increase in land sales, settling on 1111 lots in the six months to December, compared with 720 for the same period the previous year. Queensland general manager Kingsley Andrew said southeast Queensland was facing an underlying shortage of land for new housing. "The entire region has experienced several years of high population growth and that is likely to continue in the future, creating strong demand for new land," he said. As a result Mr Andrew said Stockland had fast-tracked land releases at several of its residential Queensland communities.
According to PRDnationwide research, director Aaron Maskrey puts the median vacant land price at $230,000 for the September quarter. He said in Brisbane during the half-year to September, activity was up 27 per cent, with 935 transactions. "Sales of vacant land has picked up in southeast Queensland during the past half-year ending September 2009, by a staggering 15 per cent to record 5990 settled transactions," he said. Mr Maskrey said with interest rates still relatively low and house prices continuing to increase, vacant land has become a viable alternative as an investment. He said most vacant land sales were around the north Gold Coast and Moreton Bay local government areas. Upper Coomera recorded 179 vacant land sales during the September 2009 half-year - an increase of 90 per cent.
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