Land sales are booming in a recovering market, at least according to the Residential Land Report for February 2020 produced by Housing Industry Association and CoreLogic for the September 2019 quarter.

Wilst the price and sales figures for the quarter are dated and lag the residential housing price data by some four months, they do provide an indication that the three-month period did see a boost in the market for new dwellings.

“Rising confidence and the increase in land supply “is an encouraging result,” said HIA chief economist, Tim Reardon. Also stating that, “All aspects of the market are picking up “to a rate more consistent with demographic demand.” Now, despite the latest increase, which lifted the total number of transactions to over 10,560 in the third quarter and marked a near-46% increase from March’s record low, the HIA-CoreLogic report said that a lack of consistent and clear regulatory processes increased land costs and approvals required at different stages, and could even create uncertainty about whether a development would be allowed.

“The outcome of this overlap, confusion, “and cost is often that despite land “being residentially zoned and subdivided “and sold, there is still a risk that a person “who buys that land may not be able to build a home “or to do so, they’re faced with further reports, costs, “and time delays to prove it’s okay,” the report said.

The report also offered the following solution, saying, “The planning system in place across Australia “should provide certainty on the application “of planning controls on residential land. “This can be done by disclosing all known constraints “at the earliest stage in the land supply process “as possible, nominating when constraints will apply “and what steps will need to be taken “to address those constraints.”