Driveway block sold for $850k may show Brisbane's future zoning

By Lottie Twyford

Topic:Urban Development and Planning

This185 square metre square driveway block in Petrie Terrace was auctioned off for $855,000. (ABC News: Liz Gwynn)

In short:

Brisbane City Council has passed amendments to its planning laws which will allow smaller lot sizes and taller buildings in some suburbs.

The changes are hoped to unlock thousands of new dwellings and provide alternative property types in places people want to live.

What's next?

The council is already being urged to do more to unlock housing supply as Brisbane's population grows.

A "pint-sized driveway" that sold at auction for $855,000 in Brisbane could become future housing under changes being made to lot sizes.

Minimum block sizes in some Brisbane suburbs will be slashed to just 120 square metres in an effort to boost housing supply, but some within the property industry have warned the plans may not go far enough.

An auction on Saturday in the inner-suburb of Petrie Terrace, which is characterised by small block sizes, demonstrated the high demand for land housing.

Under the changes this driveway will be able to be redeveloped into housing. (ABC News)

The block of 185 square metres, labelled as a "pint-sized driveway" was auctioned off for $855,000.

Ray White real estate agent Nick Hall said he believed it could be a record price for the size of land.

"I did sell another property in Petrie Terrace for $1.1 million a couple of years ago but it's a little bit bigger than this," he said.

"This is within walking distance of the CBD, the new Olympic venues, Brisbane Grammar … so it's a very convenient area in which to live and get in and out of."

About 14 per cent of Brisbane is zoned low-to-medium residential. (Supplied: Brisbane City Council)

The changes, adopted by the Brisbane City Council on Tuesday, reduced the minimum lot size down from its current 260 square metres.

They will apply in areas zoned as "low-medium density", which accounts for about 14 per cent of the city's residential land.

Brisbane City Councillor Adam Allan, who chairs the planning committee, said these were areas which were already close to public transport, services and shops.

"It makes sense to put density in a location that has all of those attributes," he said.

Adam Allan says the changes aim to "reinvigorate the opportunity for more housing". (ABC News: Lottie Twyford)

The land sold at auction was part of a deceased estate, and Mr Hall said the buyer was a Brisbane-based builder and investor who will be looking at developing the site.

Lynette Wood and her sister inherited the land and home from her late mother and said she only realised that she could sell the two properties separately when she put it on the market.

"The house and the land are on two titles so they are separate, so we decided to fix up the sewage and water so they could be sold independently … that's offering up two beautiful properties so close to amenities."

Ms Wood said her mother bought the property for $157,000 about 30 years ago.

The property was last purchased for $157,000. (ABC News: Liz Gwynn)

Height limits relaxed

Alongside the smaller block sizes, the council will also relax rules around subdivision and height limits.

That means lots will be able to be subdivided into 300 square metres if they are within 300 metres walking distance of a shopping centre; up from 200 metres under current regulations.

The Australian dream of owning your own home has become a lot smaller in high-demand areas as first home buyers downsize in a bid to break into the market.

Building heights will also increase to either three or four storeys depending on block size and location.

Some rules about minimum parking, street trees and site cover will remain in place, although parking requirements will be reduced in key locations.

Cr Allan said the purpose of the changes was to "reinvigorate the opportunity for more housing".

While acknowledging community concerns about over-densification, he said he was confident infrastructure would be able to keep pace with development.

"It is all about balancing the lifestyle that we have in Brisbane with the need to provide housing for our growing community," he said.

Some parts of Brisbane are set to see more apartments, units and townhouses in the coming years. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)

Industry ready to build

The council expects taller, terrace-style houses, townhouses or units to be the kind of homes which can be built on these smaller lots.

Mike Roberts, executive director of the Housing Industry Association Queensland, agreed — saying the changes would be attractive particularly for smaller builders and developers, rather than larger companies.

"This isn't a new type of development. We've been building homes on small allotments across this country for 20 to 30 years," he explained.

But he said it was important to take into account the reform only impacted small parts of Brisbane, saying he would like to see minimum allotment sizes scrapped entirely, as well as the changes rolled out statewide.

"So we have to maximise the land that we have available and being allowed to create [that] smaller allotment size opens up enormous opportunities."

Mike Roberts says he would like to see the changes rolled out across Queensland. (ABC News: Lottie Twyford)

'A positive step'

The changes were also welcomed by urban planning expert Rachel Gallagher.

Dr Gallagher, who lectures in real estate and property development at Griffith University, said they were a "sensible step" to creating the missing middle of supply.

But she warned more may need to be done to unlock additional housing.

"The 120 square metre lot, it's a great headline, but in terms of practicality, there are a bunch of other planning requirements that need to be met," she said.

That includes parking, as well as frontage requirements which make Brisbane's skinny blocks particularly hard to sub-divide in this way, she said.

Rachel Gallagher has welcomed the changes as a "sensible step". (ABC News: Glen Armstrong)

Dr Gallagher said changing the nature of existing suburbs was hard, but pointed out a range of housing types was necessary.

"If a suburb only has detached houses, then the minimum price to enter that suburb is the price of a detached house," she explained.

"But suburbs that have access to townhouses, row houses, apartments, even smaller houses, there is more opportunity for families and younger people to buy into those communities."

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