Cairns Running out of land

[Guest Ktee]

CAIRNS risks running out of land to build new homes as the latest figures show increasing growth in housing approvals.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics shows a 20 per cent boost in May from 65 in April to 78.

But industry leaders warn that unless more land is developed to build new homes, growth will stall.

Master Builders Far North Queensland manager Ron Bannah said the steady growth was pleasing.

"The problem will be a shortage of land, not a shortage of tradespeople," he said.

Mr Bannah said land shortages were of particular concern south of Cairns. He also warned the growth must be at a steady and slow rate.

"If it spikes it will create havoc. There will be price increases and the council will be too slow to approve applications," Mr Bannah said.

Urban Development Institute of Australia Far North Queensland branch president Adam Gowlett said if the residential market heated up, land supply would become an issue.

"Land is a very real risk for Cairns as we simply don't have a lot of operators and developers around if there is a strong increase in demand," he said.

"My concern is that if we don't have a reasonable pipeline, including having necessary trunk infrastructure and plans in place, if the Cairns economy in general needs to grow and we can't house people, we will miss growth in important areas of the economy."

Mr Gowlett said the average lot price in Cairns was about $150,000 with more than $30,000 consisting of government taxes and charges.

"Once the current affordable land has gone, there will be a sharp increase in the price of land and it will be far smaller than the average Cairns resident is used to," Mr Gowlett said.

Brisbane property researcher Michael Matusik said Cairns was "the big surprise" where land sales volumes for the past year were 18 per cent up to 2250 transactions.