Shortage of shovel ready land is deteriorating further
The median price of a residential lot in Australia reached $351,044 in the June Quarter 2024.

RESIDENTIAL building land prices have reached record levels, according to a new survey.
Acute shortages and rising taxes pushed the price of a lot to an all-time high in the second quarter of the year.
“The median price of a residential lot in Australia reached $351,044 in the June Quarter 2024, rising 2.2 per cent in the quarter to be 6.0 per cent higher than at the same time the previous year,” HIA Senior Economist Tom Devitt said at the launch of the HIA/CoreLogic survey.
It comes as just 10,788 residential lots were sold in the quarter, making it one of the weakest quarters of sales of the 21st century.
“This weakness of sales alongside record high prices is present across capitals and regional areas,” Mr Devitt added.
“In Sydney, the volume of lot sales in the year to June was less than half its decade average.
“In Melbourne, they were about one-third of its decade average.
“Melbourne in particular has struggled more than other capitals to see an improvement in lot sales, with buyer confidence impaired by additional taxes imposed on land and housing supply, further adding to costs and restricting supply.”
These taxes include a windfall gains tax applied from July 2023 and a land tax surcharge applied from January 2024.
The story is the same in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, where the price of greenfield lots of land reached all-time highs in the first half of the year.
It all points to the need to ensure a solid pipeline of shovel-ready land, especially as confidence returns to these markets, according to Mr Devitt.
“Policymakers must work to reduce constraints and costs on new home building,” he said.
“Meeting government housing targets and improving housing affordability requires a significant boost to home building. Increasing land costs and uncertainties on industry and households will have the opposite effect.”
CoreLogic Economist Kaytlin Ezzy said: “The record high median land prices recorded in the June quarter amid below average sales continues to point towards an ongoing undersupply of land hampering the addition of new housing stock.
“Over the year to June, approximately 176,000 homes were completed nationally. While up by 1.2 per cent year-on-year, this was 8.4 per cent below the decade average and 26.6 per cent below the 240,000 a year needed to meet the Government’s five-year housing target.
“Without a steady flow of shovel-ready land, it’s likely land prices will continue to trend upwards, and dwelling approvals and completions will continue to fall short of target.”