McMansions put cracks in population plan

 

McMansions put cracks in population plan

Author: Marissa Calligeros
Date: December 2, 2009
Source:  Brisbane Times

Property developers say the State Government's plan to funnel millions of new residents into high-rise apartments over the next 20 years is flawed, after figures revealed Queensland homes rank among the largest in the world.

Queensland president of the Urban Development Institute of Australia Warren Harris said he struggled to see practicality in the government's plan to have townhouse and apartment complexes account for 50 per cent of property development by 2030 under the South-East Queensland Regional Plan, made public in July.

Figures released by Commonwealth Securities this week added weight to Mr Harris' argument, demonstrating Queensland's ravenous appetite for McMansions.

Behind New South Wales, the Sunshine State boasts the second largest homes in the nation, with an average size of 253 square metres.

Queensland's sprawling suburban palaces even trump those in the super-sized US, where new houses shrank from 212 square metres before the global financial crisis, to 202 square metres in September.

"We have really, seriously struggled to see how the [SEQ Regional Plan] is going to work," Mr Harris said.

"I don't think you would find any metropolitan areas in Australia delivering anywhere near a 50/50 split between medium density development and detached housing.

"Melbourne is the most active market at the moment - nearly five-fold on any other state. They are predominantly delivering detached houses in the greenfield release areas hand-over-fist."

Mr Harris said there were typically seven houses for every three townhouses in master-planned communities - or "greenfield developments" - within the corridors between Brisbane and the Gold and Sunshine coasts.

Convincing residents to trade the backyard for the balcony would require "a lot of change ... and lifestyle change", he said.

"When a document comes along like the SEQ Regional Plan, which prescribes density, we will seek to meet that, but that development has to come at a point in the market when buyers are willing to take that opportunity."

The Plan calls for 156,000 additional homes to be built in Brisbane, of which 138,000 will be units and flats, also known as infill development.

Yet there are signs there is strong demand for townhouses among first-home buyers and empty-nesters.

QM Properties is set to invest $42 million in townhouse and unit developments in its greenfield projects at Central Lakes at Caboolture, Pacific Harbour at Bribie Island, Coomera Retreat on the Gold Coast and Abode 152 at Ormeau.

The developments will be the first of their kind within the master-planned communities traditionally home to sprawling lakeside properties.

QM Properties development manager Glenn Rix said the properties would address affordability issues raised by critics of the SEQ Regional Plan, with townhouses and units expected to cost between $310,000 and $420,000.

"The smaller product style will compliment existing residential and retail space within the area," Mr Rix said.

"We had these sites allocated in 2004, but it's only in the last six months that we have looked to development them. We've had the extensive land bank...now the time is right to build."

QM Properties is due to lodge a formal development application with the council for the townhouse development at Central Lakes in the new year. Mr Harris pointed to an age-old solution to population growth in the south-east corner: the duplex.

"Duplex houses are a quick and easy way to insert some of the density we're talking about. They are a very attractive proposition for a corner block."

He said duplexes were welcomed by home owners over townhouse complexes, as they did not devalue neighbouring houses.

The region's population is forecast to increase from 2.8 million to 4.4 million people by 2031, but Mr Harris doubted people would be willing to downsize.

"As always things change over time and we might may see more medium density development creep into the greenfield projects.

But it begs the question whether we are ever going to get to 50/50 and in the short-term in particular," Mr Harris said.

"However, it is a growth market and it will grow over time, but to what percentage, one wonders."

 

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