The Gold Coast land market has reached a critical bottleneck, with fresh industry data showing new lot sales have plummeted to historic lows while available stock vanishes.
In response, a major state government infrastructure package is set to unlock thousands of long-awaited homesites across the region.
Quarterly figures released by property advisory group Oliver Hume show only 70 new land sales were recorded on the Gold Coast during the June quarter. The figure pales in comparison to the 1,216 sales completed across the broader South East Queensland market over the same period.
The regional shortfall has been compounded by a sharp reduction in available stock, with active allotments dropping 35 per cent in three months – from 92 at the end of March to just 68 by the end of June.
The extreme supply constraints have pushed asking prices to record highs. While the Gold Coast median lot price experienced a minor quarterly dip to $820,000, overall values remain 16 per cent higher than a year ago.
The scarcity has driven land values to $1,752 per square metre – a 27.1 per cent quarterly increase – while the median asking price for remaining stock hit $1.199 million.
Oliver Hume Chief Economist Matt Bell said the figures highlight a market under severe structural pressure rather than a drop in buyer interest.
“The Gold Coast has experienced a prolonged shortage of new residential land, despite continuing demand from local buyers and people moving to the region,” Mr Bell said.
“Only 68 homesites were available for purchase at the end of the June quarter… Against that background, the government’s commitment to fund essential infrastructure is an important step towards restoring a healthier supply pipeline and improving housing choice.”
Infrastructure boost to relieve market pressure
To break the development deadlock, the Queensland Government has deployed $146 million under round two of its Residential Activation Fund to accelerate crucial trunk infrastructure projects.
The funding targeted across three major projects will unlock land for more than 18,900 future homes in key growth corridors including Coomera, Upper Coomera, Pimpama, Robina, Worongary, and Parkwood.
The funding package covers critical site preparation, including road extensions, electrical upgrades, water connections, and a major expansion of the Merrimac Sewage Treatment Plant to increase waste capacity to 110,000 equivalent persons.
Minister for Housing and Public Works Sam O’Connor said delivering basic utilities was the fastest way to turn vacant land into liveable communities.
“Our number one priority is increasing all types of housing supply,” he said.
“The Residential Activation Fund helps ensure essential infrastructure like water, sewerage, roads and power is in place to unlock more land to support growing communities, which allows homes to be built and moved into faster.”
The $146 million injection represents the most significant state funding for City-owned enabling infrastructure on the Gold Coast in decades, according to Acting Mayor Mark Hammel.