Residential land development activity profile, September quarter 2016
Toowoomba Regional Council
The residential land development activity profile for
Toowoomba Regional Council, hereafter referred to as
Toowoomba, provides a comprehensive summary of
recent residential land development and dwelling activity
indicators within the local government area. Topics
covered include broadhectare land supply, uncompleted
lots (approvals, operational works, and certifications), lot
registrations, lot sales, dwelling sales and dwelling
approvals (Figure 1).
Broadhectare land supply
Broadhectare land refers to residential greenfield and
brownfield land (greater than 2,500 m²) that is currently
suitable for residential development. The latest
broadhectare results show that there were approximately
3,730 hectares of broadhectare land suitable for residential
development in Toowoomba.
Based on the planning scheme intent, existing approvals, and an analysis of residential densities by location, this supply is expected to
yield some 20,000 dwellings. This yield takes into account ownership and land fragmentation issues which often reduce the yield.
Residential lot approvals
Before residential lots can be created, an applicant must first obtain a development permit approval for reconfiguring a lot (RaL) from
the local government authority. In the year to September quarter 2016, council approved the development of 1,479 residential lots. This
was an increase of 27 per cent compared with the same period last year when 1,162 lots were approved. Figure 2 compares quarterly
lot approvals in Toowoomba over a number of years.
Figure 1: Residential land development stages
Broadhectare
land
Material
change of use
(where required)
Uncompleted lot
(closing stock of approvals)
Lot
approval
(reconfiguring a lot)
Operational
works
Lot
registration
Land
sale
Dwelling
approval
Lot
production
(lot certification)
Small projects
Figure 2: Quarterly residential lot development activity, Toowoomba Regional Council
Number of lots
Operational works
Lots approved
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
Quarter
Lots certified
Dwelling
occupancy
Figure 3: Lot approvals by type,
Toowoomba Regional Council
Structure of residential lot approvals
In the year ending September quarter 2016, almost all of the lots
approved for development in Toowoomba were at urban densities
(Figure 3). During this period, 43 lots were approved at rural
residential densities as described in the planning scheme.
Number of lots
Rural residential
Table 1 shows that the 1,479 lots approved for development in
Toowoomba during the year ending September quarter
2016 were within 73 development projects. Projects approved to
produce over 50 lots per project represented 10 per cent of the
projects approved during this period, while accounting for
84 per cent of the total lots approved (Figure 4).
Urban
1,600
1,400
1,200
1,000
800
600
400
200
0
Year to September
Table 1: Lot approvals by project size, Toowoomba Regional Council
Size of development project
Year ending
September
smaller projects
larger projects
1 to 2 lots
3 to 5 lots
6 to 10 lots
Total (Total
lots projects)
Total (Total
lots projects)
Total (Total
lots projects)
11 to 20 lots
Total (Total
lots projects)
All project
sizes
21 to 50 lots
Over 50 lots
Total (Total
lots projects)
Total (Total
lots projects)
Total (Total
lots projects)
2008
76
(65)
16
(5)
27
(3)
29
(2)
268
(9)
891
(7)
1,307
(91)
2009
37
(33)
12
(4)
47
(6)
62
(4)
50
(2)
715
(4)
923
(53)
2010
33
(27)
21
(6)
6
(1)
0
(0)
29
(1)
77
(1)
166
(36)
2011
25
(22)
13
(4)
27
(3)
75
(4)
86
(3)
206
(3)
432
(39)
2012
26
(20)
0
(0)
15
(2)
32
(2)
166
(5)
692
(4)
931
(33)
2013
48
(40)
12
(3)
15
(2)
28
(2)
59
(2)
464
(4)
626
(53)
2014
84
(75)
31
(9)
15
(2)
0
(0)
231
(6)
197
(2)
558
(94)
2015
73
(62)
21
(6)
35
(4)
44
(3)
282
(9)
707
(8)
1,162
(92)
2016
59
(52)
21
(6)
7
(1)
41
(3)
111
(4)
1,240
(7)
1,479
(73)
Dec qtr 2015
23
(20)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
817
(3)
840
(23)
Mar qtr 2016
7
(6)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
358
(3)
365
(9)
Jun qtr 2016
17
(15)
15
(4)
7
(1)
23
(2)
69
(2)
65
(1)
196
(25)
Sep qtr 2016
12
(11)
6
(2)
0
(0)
18
(1)
42
(2)
0
(0)
78
(16)
Figure 4: Lot approvals by project size, year ending September 2016, Toowoomba Regional Council
Percentage
Lots approved
Projects approved
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
1 to 2 lots
3 to 5 lots
6 to 10 lots
11 to 20 lots
21 to 50 lots
Over 50 lots
Size of development project
Residential land development activity profile, Toowoomba Regional Council, September quarter 2016
2
Operational works approvals
Before an approved development proceeds, detailed engineering drawings and specifications for civil engineering and landscaping (or
"operational works") must be approved by council. Such works may not be required for small projects.
In the year to September quarter 2016, council gave operational works approvals for the development of 489 lots (Table 2). The total
stock of lots with current operational works approvals at the end of September quarter 2016 was 935 lots. These lots represent
approved land that is most likely to be developed in the short term and accounted for 23 per cent of the 4,035 uncompleted lots in the
pipeline (Table 3 and Figure 5).
Table 2: Uncompleted residential lots¹, Toowoomba Regional Council
Year to
September
Opening
stock
(a)
Lots
approved
(b)
2008
2,929
1,307
2009
3,549
2010
3,475
2011
Operational works
approvals
Lots
certified
(c)
Lots
lapsed
(d)
Closing
stock
(a+b-c-d)
667
586
101
3,549
923
399
866
131
3,475
166
535
534
103
3,004
3,004
432
231
496
216
2,724
2012
2,724
931
31
324
179
3,152
2013
3,152
626
456
319
137
3,322
2014
3,322
558
669
587
295
2,998
2015
2,998
1,162
969
877
80
3,203
2016
3,203
1,479
489
640
7
4,035
Dec qtr 2015
3,203
840
102
122
0
3,921
Mar qtr 2016
3,921
365
102
309
4
3,973
Jun qtr 2016
3,973
196
187
77
0
4,092
Sep qtr 2016
4,092
78
98
132
3
4,035
1) Uncompleted lots are lots with a RaL development permit approval but have not proceeded to survey plan certification.
Figure 5: Stock of approved lots by type,
Toowoomba Regional Council
Table 3: Stock of approved lots by type,
Toowoomba Regional Council
Quarter
Closing stock of lots
Percentage with
RaL development Operational works operational works
approval
approval
approval
Closing stock of lots with RaL development approval
Stock of lots with operational works approval
4,500
Dec qtr 2013
3,276
492
15%
Mar qtr 2014
3,413
659
19%
Jun qtr 2014
2,922
581
20%
3,500
Sep qtr 2014
2,998
733
24%
3,000
Dec qtr 2014
2,958
837
28%
Mar qtr 2015
2,931
706
24%
Jun qtr 2015
2,715
676
25%
Sep qtr 2015
3,203
951
30%
1,000
Dec qtr 2015
3,921
939
24%
500
Mar qtr 2016
3,973
814
20%
0
Jun qtr 2016
4,092
945
23%
Sep qtr 2016
4,035
935
23%
Number of lots
4,000
2,500
2,000
1,500
2014
2015
2016
Year ending September
Residential land development activity profile, Toowoomba Regional Council, September quarter 2016
3
Lot production (lot certification)
Once council is satisfied with all aspects of the development being implemented, it will then issue a certificate of compliance. In total,
640 residential lots were certified by council in the year to September quarter 2016 (Table 2). Compared with the previous year when
877 lots were certified, this represented a decrease of 27 per cent.
Lots lapsed
Lots lapsed refers to the number of lots that receive approval by council, but are not developed or certified by the council within the
prescribed period (allowing for time extensions if applicable). Lots lapsed also include previously approved lots that are not expected to
proceed due to new or amended approvals (obsolete lots). In the year to September quarter 2016, 7 lots previously approved for
development had lapsed in Toowoomba.
Closing stock
The total stock of approved lots that are uncompleted is adjusted to take into consideration lots approved, certified and lapsed during
the reporting period. Table 2 shows that at the end of September quarter 2016, Toowoomba still had active approvals for the
development of 4,035 new residential lots. It is expected, however, that some developments will not proceed and a number of
approvals will subsequently lapse or be amended.
Lot registrations
New lots within plans certified by council do not legally exist until the titles have been registered by the Department of Natural
Resources and Mines. This registration is the final stage in the development of new lots. The number of urban lots registered in
Toowoomba during September quarter 2016 increased by 29 per cent to 257 registrations compared with 200 registrations recorded in
the previous quarter (Table 4 and Figure 6). Total lot registrations for the year ending September 2016 were down 36 per cent
compared with the previous year. Table 5 categorises the standard lots registered in Toowoomba by lot size.
Table 4: Lot registrations, Toowoomba Regional Council
Urban residential lot registrations
Year to
Standard lots
September
60m² to <2,500m²
2008
470
2009
596
2010
2011
Unit and
Low density
Median lot size
Total
lot registrations
Total lot
Standard lots
urban lots
2,500m² to 5ha
registrations
60m² to <2,500m²
289
759
271
1,030
962m²
241
837
212
1,049
702m²
355
87
442
118
560
807m²
460
127
587
127
714
750m²
2012
281
170
451
60
511
761m²
2013
320
188
508
67
575
751m²
2014
534
275
809
93
902
750m²
2015
784
551
1,335
118
1,453
723m²
2016
425
409
834
94
928
640m²
Dec qtr 2015
146
148
294
22
316
709m²
Mar qtr 2016
26
57
83
7
90
584m²
Jun qtr 2016
112
88
200
35
235
544m²
Sep qtr 2016
141
116
257
30
287
650m²
a
townhouse lots
b
a
a) Lots on a standard format plan intended for detached dwellings, including lots intended for detached dwellings in a community title scheme.
b) Lots on a building format plan or standard format plan that represent attached dwellings within a community title scheme.
Residential land development activity profile, Toowoomba Regional Council, September quarter 2016
4
Table 5: Standard lot registrations ͣ by size, Toowoomba Regional Council
Standard lot registrations by lot size category
Year to
September
60m²
to <200m²
200m²
to <350m²
350m²
to <450m²
450m²
to <600m²
37
2008
0
0
11
2009
0
0
18
92
2010
0
0
6
20
2011
0
0
9
47
2012
0
0
8
2013
0
0
2014
0
0
2015
0
0
2016
0
Dec qtr 2015
Mar qtr 2016
600m²
800m²
1,000m²
2,500m²
4,000m²
to <800m² to <1,000m² to <2,500m² to <4,000m² to 5ha
86
195
Total standard
registrations
60m² to 5ha
151
185
76
741
258
109
119
72
140
808
126
112
91
8
110
473
184
139
81
36
91
587
51
92
85
45
2
58
341
7
25
173
66
49
5
62
387
55
150
88
134
107
21
72
627
50
217
185
218
114
29
89
902
0
75
107
77
62
104
24
70
519
0
0
25
21
34
25
41
5
17
168
0
0
7
6
6
0
7
0
7
33
Jun qtr 2016
0
0
25
36
12
11
28
10
25
147
Sep qtr 2016
0
0
18
44
25
26
28
9
21
171
a) Lots on a standard format plan intended for detached dwellings, including lots intended for detached dwellings in a community title scheme.
Figure 6: Quarterly standard lot registrations by size, Toowoomba Regional Council
Standard lot registrations
60m² to <450m²
450m² to <800m²
800m² to <2,500m²
2,500m² to 5ha
300
250
Number of lots
200
150
100
50
0
Quarter
Residential land development activity profile, Toowoomba Regional Council, September quarter 2016
5
New lot sales (includes house and land packages)
In the year ending September quarter 2016, there were 542 new lots sold in Toowoomba, of which 460 were vacant (Table 6). The
remaining 82 lots were either part of a developer house and land package sale or consisted of an existing dwelling that was sold after
subdivision of a parent parcel.
In the year ending September quarter 2016, the median sale price of vacant land in Toowoomba was $175,000. This represented
almost no change in median value compared with the previous year (Table 6). Quarterly vacant land sales for Toowoomba are shown
in Figure 7.
Table 6: Sales of new lots, Toowoomba Regional Council
Number of new lot sales a (140m² to 2,500m²)
Year to
September
Vacant
land c
House & land
package d
Total
sales
Median sale price b (140m² to 2,500m²)
Vacant
land c
House & land
package d
Median price per m²
Vacant land bc
(140m² to 2,500m²)
2008
602
102
704
$96,500
$293,000
$96
2009
709
111
820
$117,500
$330,000
$131
2010
542
81
623
$138,500
$344,000
$181
2011
428
85
513
$140,000
$362,000
$157
2012
473
66
539
$155,000
$322,000
$191
2013
579
69
648
$154,000
$340,000
$205
2014
743
66
809
$159,950
$350,000
$226
2015
834
77
911
$172,500
$370,000
$268
2016p
460
82
542
$175,000
$440,000
$251
Dec qtr 2015
136
25
161
$172,000
$475,000
$207
Mar qtr 2016
97
15
112
$174,000
$385,001
$296
Jun qtr 2016
96
19
115
$170,000
$450,000
$231
Sep qtr 2016p
131
23
154
$195,000
$410,000
$242
p = preliminary; subject to revision as a number of sale contracts may not have reached settlement at time of data collection.
a) Normal sales and multi-sale transactions. Excludes part-sales and sales made under other special circumstances.
b) Normal sale transactions. Excludes multi-sales, part-sales and sales made under other special circumstances.
c) May include resales of vacant land. Excludes intermediate vacant land transactions relating to developer house and land package sales.
d) Includes lots as a component of a developer house and land package in addition to subdivided lots containing an existing dwelling.
Figure 7: Quarterly vacant land sales, Toowoomba Regional Council
Sale price b
Lowest quartile
Median
Highest quartile
$250,000
300
250
Sale price
$200,000
200
$150,000
150
$100,000
100
$50,000
Number of sales
Number of sales ª
50
0
$0
Quarter
p = preliminary; subject to revision as a number of sale contracts may not have reached settlement at time of data collection.
a) Normal sales and multi-sale transactions. Excludes part-sales and sales made under other special circumstances.
b) Normal sale transactions. Excludes multi-sales, part-sales and sales made under other special circumstances.
Residential land development activity profile, Toowoomba Regional Council, September quarter 2016
6
Dwelling sales
In the year ending September quarter 2016, there were 3,659 new and established dwellings sold in Toowoomba. Of these dwellings,
3,071 (84 per cent) were detached houses (Table 7).
In September quarter 2016, 732 detached house sales were recorded with a median value of $361,000. This was a decrease of
13 per cent in dwelling sales volume and almost no change in median value compared with the same quarter last year (Figure 8).
Table 7: Dwelling sales, Toowoomba Regional Council
Number of dwelling sales a
Year to
September
Detached
houses
Units &
townhouses
Median sale price b
Total
dwellings
Detached
houses
Units &
townhouses
2008
3,472
572
4,044
$267,500
$223,000
2009
3,794
734
4,528
$277,500
$233,000
2010
2,980
511
3,491
$300,000
$247,000
2011
2,624
403
3,027
$300,000
$253,000
2012
2,819
529
3,348
$299,500
$255,000
2013
3,413
646
4,059
$322,000
$278,000
2014
3,802
866
4,668
$342,000
$299,000
2015
3,410
662
4,072
$360,000
$310,000
2016
3,071
588
3,659
$360,000
$310,000
Dec qtr 2015
794
161
955
$365,000
$310,000
Mar qtr 2016
757
152
909
$358,000
$310,000
Jun qtr 2016
788
143
931
$355,000
$310,000
Sep qtr 2016
732
132
864
$361,000
$290,000
a) Normal sales and multi-sale transactions. Excludes part-sales and sales made under other special circumstances.
b) Normal sale transactions. Excludes multi-sales, part-sales and sales made under other special circumstances.
Figure 8: Quarterly detached house sales, Toowoomba Regional Council
Sale price b
Lowest quartile
Median
Highest quartile
$500,000
$450,000
$400,000
$350,000
$300,000
$250,000
$200,000
$150,000
$100,000
$50,000
$0
1,200
1,000
800
600
400
Number of sales
Sale price
Number of sales ª
200
0
Quarter
a) Normal sales and multi-sale transactions. Excludes part-sales and sales made under other special circumstances.
b) Normal sale transactions. Excludes multi-sales, part-sales and sales made under other special circumstances.
Residential land development activity profile, Toowoomba Regional Council, September quarter 2016
7
Dwelling approvals
In the year ending September quarter 2016, Toowoomba recorded a 4 per cent decrease in residential dwelling approvals compared with
the previous year. There was a total of 1,315 approvals (63 per cent of which were for separate houses) compared with 1,372 approvals in
the year ending September 2015 (Table 8 and Figure 9).
Top local government areas for development activity
Table 9 displays the top 10 local government areas in Queensland for several development activity indicators for the year ending
September 2016. The table shows that a considerable amount of the state's development activity is occurring in the local government
areas of Gold Coast City, Brisbane City, Moreton Bay Regional Council, Ipswich City and Sunshine Coast Regional Council.
Figure 9: Dwelling approvals by type,
Toowoomba Regional Council
Table 8: Dwelling approvals by type,
Toowoomba Regional Council
Number of dwellings
September
Houses
Other
Houses
Total
2009
702
143
845
2010
889
258
1,147
2011
561
142
703
2012
783
164
947
2013
570
415
985
2014
726
599
1,325
2015
848
524
1,372
2016
827
488
1,315
Dec qtr 2015
177
145
322
Mar qtr 2016
174
92
266
Jun qtr 2016
265
152
417
Sep qtr 2016
211
99
310
Other
1,600
1,400
Number of dw ellings
Year to
1,200
1,000
800
600
400
200
0
Year ending September
Table 9: Top local government areas for development activity in Queensland, year ending September 2016
Rank
Lot approvals
Local government area
1
Moreton Bay (R)
Standard lot registrations
No.
3,899
Local government area
Gold Coast (C)
No.
3,126
New lot sales (p)
Local government area
Detached dwelling approvals ¹
No.
Local government area
No.
Gold Coast (C)
2,892
Gold Coast (C)
3,890
2
Ipswich (C)
3,188
Brisbane (C)
2,691
Brisbane (C)
2,293
Brisbane (C)
3,243
3
Logan (C)
2,793
Ipswich (C)
2,504
Moreton Bay (R)
2,091
Sunshine Coast (R)
2,800
4
Brisbane (C)
2,216
Moreton Bay (R)
1,972
Ipswich (C)
2,084
Moreton Bay (R)
2,713
5
Gold Coast (C)
2,037
Sunshine Coast (R)
1,847
Sunshine Coast (R)
1,990
Ipswich (C)
2,244
1,479
Logan (C)
1,022
Logan (C)
1,198
6
Toowoomba (R)
Logan (C)
2,020
7
Sunshine Coast (R)
968
Redland (C)
977
Redland (C)
864
Redland (C)
1,019
8
Cairns (R)
677
Cairns (R)
428
Cairns (R)
704
Toowoomba (R)
827
9
Fraser Coast (R)
663
Toowoomba (R)
425
Townsville (C)
628
Fraser Coast (R)
689
10
Townsville (C)
586
Fraser Coast (R)
407
Fraser Coast (R)
616
Townsville (C)
688
1) Detached dwelling approvals can occur on existing lots and are not directly comparable with new lot approvals, registrations and sales.
(p) = Preliminary (C) = City (R) = Regional Council
Note: Previous editions of this profile are not directly comparable due to ongoing data revisions and indicator classification
adjustments. For the latest time series data, please refer to our online residential development data tables via the link below.
Residential development data tables are available for
download on the QGSO website:
www.qgso.qld.gov.au/products/tables/res-land-devel-indicators
Queensland Government Statistician’s Office
Queensland Treasury
www.qgso.qld.gov.au
Sources for the Residential land development activity profile: ABS
8731.0, Building Approvals, Australia, September 2016; DNRM
Digital Cadastral Database (DCDB); QGSO uncompleted lots
database; QGSO Broadhectare Study; DNRM QVAS database.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
© The State of Queensland
(Queensland Treasury) 2017
Residential land development activity profile, Toowoomba Regional Council, September quarter 2016
8