Prices trigger smaller land size lots in denser communities: UDIA

The latest UDIA-sponsored State of the Land Report has revealed that the national supply of lots rose to a new high of 57,000 in 2016 and sales hit a record 53,000.

But supply barely matched buyer demand in Sydney and Melbourne, sending median lot prices 10 per cent annually to $287,000.

Median lot sizes fell more than 10 per cent in Sydney to 396 square metres and by 5 per cent in Melbourne as shrinking lot sizes reflect rising land prices and increased taxes and charges placed on developers.

According to the report, almost 40,000 lots are needed on the eastern seaboard to bridge the gap between the land supplied over the past five years and housing needed to match population growth and planning targets.

"Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane need to increase supply, in accessible locations, and governments need to reduce the imposts and taxes being applied to new housing, to allow the new supply to be viably delivered at an affordable price," said UDIA president Michael Corcoran.

Perth lot prices fell sharply last year with Adelaide and Darwin's land markets also subdued, according to the report based on the National Land Survey Program conducted by Charter Keck Cramer and Research4.

In Sydney, the median lot price fell slightly to $465,000 despite supply rising 30 per cent to almost 11,000 lots in 2016.

However, prices rose sharply on a per sq m basis. A 508sq m Sydney lot – the median size in 2012 – would have cost $585,000 in 2016 compared with $295,000 four years ago.

Charter Keck Cramer director Robert Papaleo told The Australian Financial Review high land prices in Sydney were a factor in developers releasing half as many lots than in Melbourne.

"Availability of supply is going to be reflective of the capacity of purchasers to access that supply at the available price point," Mr Papaleo said.