Queensland Property Market Shifts: Potential Land Shortage on the Horizon

According to a report by The Courier-Mail, a Queensland economic report released by Commonwealth Securities showed that at the time of the state election on 31 October, Queensland's annual population growth rate had risen to the second highest in Australia. Although the newly elected state government remains the same team, Queensland property experts have put forward new recommendations for the development of the property market over the next four years.

Once Queensland's borders reopen, an interstate migration boom not seen since the early 2000s is expected. Property experts say that to ensure a thriving housing market, the newly elected state government must work hard to retain these new residents.

Antonia Mercorella, Chief Executive Officer of the Real Estate Institute of Queensland, predicts that once border restrictions are lifted, people from Sydney and Melbourne will flock to Queensland. She said, "Over the past few months, property sales activity and prices in the coastal towns of the south-east, including the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast, have risen significantly."

Paul Bidwell, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Master Builders Queensland, also said the state government needs to prepare for the opportunities and challenges that this anticipated boom will bring. "First we need to ensure there is an adequate supply of land, so that houses can be built, and the town planning system also has to keep pace with this growth," he said. "The fundamental elements of property development are population growth, employment and infrastructure."

First-home buyers and those building new homes have become the target of federal and state government fiscal stimulus programs. The government has spent heavily on grants to encourage them to buy property during the pandemic and to drive domestic demand while the borders are closed. This has increased land demand in Queensland's south-east growth corridors, such as Moreton Bay, Ipswich, Logan and the Gold Coast. In many areas, land is now hard to come by. Kirsty Chessher-Brown, Chief Executive Officer of the Urban Development Institute of Australia (Queensland), believes that unless the re-elected state government releases further new land, Queensland will face a land shortage in the future.

Before the election, the Premier announced the establishment of a $200 million Building Acceleration Fund. This loan will be provided to developers to build infrastructure such as roads, sewers and stormwater drains around newly developed land. In addition, the Property Council of Australia has called on the state government to develop a new regional plan for south-east Queensland during this term, to address the "severe shortage" of land in the Gold Coast and parts of the Sunshine Coast markets.