A small number of developers are sitting on thousands of undeveloped residential sites in Queenstown, even as a shortage of land contributes to the spiralling cost of housing in the resort, new figures show.
There are more than 22,000 undeveloped residential dwelling sites - most in private hands - across the Queenstown Lakes District, including 13,347 medium, low and sub-low density sites in Queenstown and Wanaka, according to Queenstown Lakes District Council figures.
At the same time, a supply shortage has been blamed for pushing up property prices. The latest Real Estate Institute of New Zealand figures show another increase in the Central Otago Lakes median price - up to $476,500 last month from $419,000 in December last year.
QLDC policy planner Daniel Wells told the Otago Daily Times that the figures showed that the capacity for more housing existed in the resort: ‘‘The problem is the developers themselves are not releasing the land.''
The figures follow the release of a report by building research group Branz earlier this week blaming rising section prices on the limited availability of land.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Helen Clark outlined new measures to increase affordable housing, including floating the idea of freeing more Crown land for public-private partnership housing developments.
The QLDC figures showed one landowner at Kelvin Heights had 1840 undeveloped dwelling units, while the Jacks Point and Remarkables Park developers were holding 1547 units and 1701 units respectively.
Mr Wells said the figures showed the misconception behind the argument that council-owned land should be freed for housing projects.
‘‘Just because councils release the land, doesn't mean developers will. They tend to hold on until they can maximise what their profit will be,'' he said.
However, when contacted, Remarkables Park developer Alistair Porter said that suddenly freeing thousands of sites for cheap developments would ‘‘bankrupt'' developers and homeowners across the district, by devaluing their investments.
‘‘To flood the Queenstown market with 22,000 properties and bankrupt existing homeowners in the town, I don't think is a solution.''
Instead, sections should be developed at the rate required to match forecast growth, while ‘‘master plan communities'' such as Remarkables Park and Jacks Point worked to provide a range of accommodation options, he said.
Jacks Point director Mike Coburn said 600 lots were due for completion at the 420ha development by 2010, and more were expected on the open market in the next five years.
The first lots had already presold - 200 going to Fletcher Residential and 300 to Hanover Property - but other sales would include sections ‘‘competitively priced'' at less than $200,000, he said.
Jacks Point had also acted as a ‘‘major instigator'' of community housing and had agreed to contribute 5% of all lots to the council's affordable housing scheme, he said.
The council's figures also showed thousands of undeveloped units were scattered across the district's outlying townships, including at Kingston, Glenorchy and Albert Town.
