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The cost of residential land continues to rise nationally, with a new report showing the median price of raw land jumped 5.7 per cent to $181,158 in the September 2009 quarter.
According to the Housing Industry Association’s (HIA) latest residential land report, there was a 33 per cent rise in the volume of residential land sales when compared to the same period in 2008.
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HIA chief economist Harley Dale said the report confirmed that there would be a lift in new home starts in 2010.
“The million dollar question is whether a new home building recovery can be sustained beyond this year. If land is not released in a timely manner in sufficient quantity, then land prices will continue surging and the answer will be a resounding no,” Mr Dale said.
“Sydney remains the most expensive residential land market in the nation with a median price of $290,000. Outside the capital cities, the Richmond Tweed region in NSW is the most expensive land market (median price of $255,000), followed by the Sunshine Coast ($241,500), the Gold Coast ($241,500), and the Illawarra region in NSW ($192,500).”
Conversely, there are still thirteen markets across Australia where median land prices sit below the $100,000 mark.
The least expensive market is the Murray Lands region in South Australia (median price $69,500), followed by Mallee in Victoria ($70,000), Mersey Lyell in Tasmania ($78,000), and the South East and Northern regions of South Australia ($85,000).
According to rpdata.com national research director Tim Lawless, land supply constraints continue to persist at a time when demand for housing continues to grow, which can be attributed to extremely high levels of population growth.
“It’s clear that both sides of politics believe that a bigger Australia is a better Australia however, land supply needs to be sufficient to cater to the housing demands of all new Australians who are anticipated to move to the country in coming years,” Mr Lawless said.
“We believe that policy makers must act to provide additional residential land which is affordable as well as being close to necessary amenities.”
