As uncovered in today's Gold Coast Bulletin, the Gold Coast City Council has approved more than 23,000 developments in just five years, and industry figures say it shows no signs of slowing.
The number of development applications received by the council has jumped 63 per cent from 2012, according to new figures obtained by the Gold Coast Bulletin.
In the past financial year alone, 4353 projects were approved, which compares favourably with the record highs of the previous two years.
And while other major centres throughout Australia are “going off the boil”, city leaders expect the development wave to continue on the Coast this financial year.
It is booming on a rare cocktail of housing in the city’s north, towers in the city's centre, and new work in established suburbs.
Steve Harrison, the immediate past president of the Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) Gold Coast, said the city’s north was “turbo charged” and pivotal to the high number of development applications.
The opening of the Coomera Town Centre is further driving the housing boom in the northern corridor: “Coomera for a long time was a doughnut – a place without a centre but this has changed.
“As Sydney and Melbourne come off the boil our numbers continue to do well.”
Data released in April showed Pimpama was the third-fastest growing suburb in the country, with its population rising 31 per cent in just a year.
Mayor Tom Tate said the Gold Coast’s development industry was a tale of two cities in one.
“We are seeing billions of private sector investment in quality high-rise including Jewel, Ruby, Ocean and other major developments, and that’s great news with more than 35 cranes in the sky today, compared to two in 2011,” he said.
“The interesting aspect is the momentum in what I term ‘mum and dad’ builders.
“In older established suburbs, especially near the light rail route, we are seeing single dwellings removed and high-end duplexes in their place. This has two significant positives outcomes for our city: it creates work for tradies and suppliers; and it helps ease the pressure on our population numbers as two families can enjoy quality living near public transport, without a high-rise development.
“When you add together the high-rise, in-fill and boutique unit developments of 20 to 30 units, we have a strong across-the-board market and that’s the best outcome for buyers and sellers.”
Already this financial year, there has been a spike of projects in established streets such as Minnie St in Southport are undergoing massive facelifts as older houses are demolished for unit blocks and new duplexes.
In Surfers Paradise, work has been completed on the first tower of the Ralan Group’s $1 billion Ruby complex. Construction is to begin early next year on the second and third high-rises.
Work has resumed at the $1 billion Jewel site following a protracted industrial dispute and the Qube tower is nearing completion.
Several other tower projects, including Mermaid Beach’s Mahala and Sunland’s Hedges Ave high-rise, are on the market.
Construction began in August on The Star’s $400 million residential and hotel tower.
Queensland Master Builders Association Gold Coast manager John Duncalfe said: “My guys are saying things are buoyant, with multi-residential projects going really well, as well as the increasingly large first-homebuyers’ market in the city’s north.
“What it is now coming down it is seeing existing areas being reborn with older houses getting knocked down and replaced with new projects.
“These are mum-and-dad investors who are getting into this and it is great to see because we need to start using our land better like this because it is not fair on council infrastructure.”
Source: gold coast bulletin
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