Australia’s vacant residential land market continues to show remarkable resilience, underpinned by structural undersupply and steady demand across both greenfield estates and infill developments, according to Herron Todd White valuer Ashleigh Saul (pictured).
Saul said the market remains defined by “constrained supply, extended development timeframes, and buyers competing for increasingly scarce titled lots.”
“The fundamental challenge facing Australia’s residential land market is supply delivery,” she said. “Despite strong underlying demand, the production of serviced lots remains severely constrained across most jurisdictions.”
She added that planning approval bottlenecks, infrastructure delays, and fragmented development systems are slowing the delivery of new land to market nationwide.
The infrastructure delivery lag is now one of the most pressing challenges, Saul said, with water, sewer, and road works often delayed well beyond rezoning and development approvals.
“Developers frequently report extended lead times for basic civil inputs, with some markets experiencing delays of up to six months for essential materials,” she said.
In South East Queensland, englobo sites face persistent delivery delays, while Perth is battling a collision of rapid population growth and limited serviced land availability. Adelaide’s northern and southern corridors are also struggling to keep up with demand.
Despite supply constraints, buyer demand remains robust, supported by elevated migration and a tight rental market. Australia’s population is growing by about 1.7% annually, while the national rental vacancy rate sits near 1.2%, pushing more households towards house-and-land packages.
“Demand extends beyond traditional greenfield estates,” Saul said. “Infill lots created through splitter block developments in Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne are tightly held and absorbed quickly upon release.”
This trend highlights an ongoing appetite for residential land across both greenfield and infill markets, as buyers seek affordable paths to ownership.
Persistent undersupply has driven sustained price growth across many regions, particularly in Perth, Adelaide, and Queensland’s growth corridors.
“Current market dynamics reveal that titled lots rarely remain unsold,” Saul said. “Developers are either pre-selling stages well before completion or strategically withholding stock until title registration to capture additional price growth.”
This approach reinforces perceptions of scarcity and supports strong valuations for englobo development sites.
“The land size of sold properties is declining, and buyer search patterns are aligning with this trend,” Lieu said, adding that developers are “maximising land use” to meet affordability needs.
Saul said the medium-term outlook points to continued supply tension across Australia’s vacant land market. While 2025 interest rate cuts have slightly improved borrowing power, systemic infrastructure and planning challenges will take longer to resolve.
“Until Australia can substantially increase the pace of serviced lot delivery, prices are expected to remain firm,” she said.
Saul said vacant residential land will continue to perform as a price-resilient asset class, with developers competing for subdivision opportunities and valuers closely monitoring infrastructure capacity and planning conditions.
“The scarcity premium will continue to define this vital housing market segment,” the HTW leader said, “making vacant residential land an increasingly strategic asset class for developers and investors alike.”
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