Record low for sales on the Gold Coast
Sales of house and land packages on the Gold Coast have hit a new low according to the latest Prodap Report.
Only 71 packaged home sales were recorded in the March quarter, the lowest figure on record since Prodap began keeping records in 1994.
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Just three sales were recorded in Coomera during the quarter, 15 in Pimpama and 18 in Robina.
The report found that aggregate sales of residential land and new housing managed to improve by five per cent in the quarter.
Vacant land sales saw the most improvement rising from 240 sales in the December 2010 quarter to 292 sales in the March 2011 quarter.
According to Prodap, Devine’s Waverley Parks project at Pimpama recorded 41 land sales in the quarter and Stockland’s four projects at Pacific Pines, Highland Reserve, Riverstone Crossing and Ormeau Ridge all recorded sales of more than eight per month.
The best performing suburbs for vacant land sales were Upper Coomera (90), Willowvale (42), Coomera (39) and Ormeau (28).
Bill Morris, author of the Prodap Report, said the results were surprising given government incentives for new rental accommodation under the National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS).
“The problem with this scheme’s success on the Gold Coast is relatively high land values which make affordability difficult to achieve,” he said.
“The paradox is that high raw and serviced land values continue to prevail during a period of very low demand for housing.
“Approved new development areas on the Gold Coast are confined to the northern fringe in Coomera, Pimpama and Ormeau, all of which is flat land, easy to develop, but open to production style land clearing with very little character, unlike the traditional hinterland areas of Tallai and Mudgeeraba.”
