IS THIS THE CHEAPEST NEW HOUSE AND LAND PACKAGE ON THE COAST?

WITH the housing affordability debate raging, gcbn.com.au has discovered the cheapest new house and land package on the Gold Coast.

Just don’t expect a lot of room.

Residential cut and paste kings Devine has emerged as the thriftiest with its Arcadia Pimpama estate starting at $384,900 for 347 sq m.

It could be argued that Stockland’s package at Pacific Pines represents better value at $10k more ($385,113) which includes three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a double lockup garage on a 620 sq m block.

As property developers cut land sizes and optional extras in a scramble to offer the lowest sub $400,000 house prices, the looming question is how much smaller can house blocks become?

Bond University’s hosted a panel of experts at its Housing Affordability Forum on Friday.

Urban Land Development Authority CEO Paul Eagles, says the trend towards building large dwellings had put pressure on property prices.

“Most new homes in Queensland are now built on sites that are typically more than 600sqm with a package price tag of more than $400,000, and market rent for the state now sits at approximately $400 per week,” says Eagles.

“The delivery of affordable housing is a collaboration – developers, builders, council, community organisations and purchasers all need to work together towards a more streamlined and accessible system.”

Devine state sales manager Craig Austen, says the demand from first home buyers for freestanding houses means land packages are reaching the limit in terms of size reductions and future developments will need to incorporate shared facilities.

“At the end of the day a lot of housing is reaching its limit in terms of its compactness,” says Austen.

“First home buyers to a degree have fairly high expectations. They have lived in large properties with mum and dad and when they come into the real world they don’t want to lose the quality of life. With communal facilities residents can have good use of shared resources in developments that can be very affordable to that market.”

Stockland regional manager and Gold Coast UDIA president Col Dutton, says the trend in property development is moving towards compact housing estates, with first home buyers most likely to benefit.

“The government is wanting a higher density of housing on greenfield locations to make better use of the land and the property developers are responding to this and the demand for more affordable housing,” says Dutton.

“There are certainly a lot of people who can’t afford to get into a large home and they need to be aware that they can get a good, compact home at an affordable price.”

A recently released Master Builders report showed the Gold Coast was the second least affordable region for housing in South East Queensland behind Brisbane.

The results echoes the Sixth Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey: 2010 report that showed the Gold Coast was the fourth least affordable area to buy.

The report, which compares median house prices against median household incomes, showed the Gold Coast was less affordable than Honolulu (6), London (14) and San Francisco (16).

A Midwood report shows the average house price on the Gold Coast is now $575,739 – out of reach for the average wage earner.

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