The Western Australian Planning Commission’s annual forecast for land supply has indicated the need for 62,500 lots over the next five years.
The Western Australian Planning Commission’s annual forecast for land supply has indicated the need for 62,500 lots over the next five years.
The report also notes a shift in residential lot production from the north-west metropolitan area to the south-west, as developers who hold land along sections of the new rail line capitalise on opportunities opening up.
About 58,000 residential lots were produced during the past five years, with most lot production in the north-west, but this is expected to shift to the south-west in the next five years.
Industry has indicated its capacity to create nearly 80,000 lots over that period, more than meeting forecast demand.
The suburbs with the largest forecast lot releases are: Baldivis (4,985); Ellenbrook (3,403); Canning Vale (2,632); Butler (2,620); and Tapping (2,212).
The WAPC has published an annual Metropolitan Development Program since 1991, and works with developers to project demand for land over five-year periods and to plan infrastructure needs.
Planning and Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan said infill developments were playing an increasingly strong role in providing for growth, which was in accordance with the Government’s ‘Network City’ document.
Ms MacTiernan said the supply and demand lot forecasts helped to better plan and co-ordinate between government, industry and the community.
“This year’s review shows an expected 18,800 lots will be created in the south-west sector, and another 8,500 in Mandurah and Murray,” she said. “This is expected in no small part because of the overriding benefits that will be generated with the completion of the new Perth to Mandurah rail development.
“We also expect more than 16,200 and 12,300 lots to be generated in the north-west and south-east sectors respectively.”
Ms MacTiernan said there was a large increase in the number of strata lots to be created, and also an increase in demolition of houses on existing lots, which signified the move toward greater urban renewal.
And while the Government was not considering a developer levy, Ms MacTiernan said developers were expected to make higher contributions when they ‘jumped the urban fringe’.
“There has to be some consideration of increased costs to government when developers leap-frog into areas with no or minimal infrastructure,” she said.
Urban Development Institute of Australia executive director Marion Fulker said the forecasts were an accurate representation of developers’ intentions.
“Developers who operate in a number of states have said they wish there was similar forecasting in other states,” she said.
“If infrastructure can be rolled out in a co-ordinated and consolidated fashion, it only helps developers.
“The shift from the north-west to the south-west was triggered by the rail line going south and has opened up opportunities for developers.”
Most national players wanted to create regular income streams by not holding onto land for lengthy periods of time, Ms Fulker said. ‘Stockpilers’ on the other hand, who represented only a small portion of the industry, did not have the capacity to create a stranglehold on the market.
The imposition of a developer levy would either retard lots coming on to the market or be passed on to consumers, she added.
