Springfield set for new home building boom

Gosford-Springfield is one of NSW’s emerging hotspots according to the 2023 Housing Industry Association Population & Residential Building Hotspots Report.

The Housing Industry Association (HIA) report identifies Australia’s fastest growing suburban regional hotspots based on population growth and high levels of building activity and therefore employment for the building industry.

HIA Hunter Executive Director Craig Jennion said nine areas of the Hunter region, which takes in the Central Coast, qualified as housing hotspots – with five in the Hunter Valley, three in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie and GosfordSpringfield the only one on the Central Coast.

“An area qualifies as a hotspot in the Hunter Valley and Central Coast region if at least $50M worth of residential building work was approved during the 2021/22 financial year, and its rate of population growth is faster than the 1.2 per cent national average,” Jennion said.

“The report found that Australia’s population growth improved after being constrained in previous years due to closed borders, whilst the value of building works approved and the growth rates of the local population has been very high locally.

“COVID-19 has also seen consumer preferences shift away from inner-city apartment-style living to detached housing in regional areas.

“This shift saw strong Hunter/ Central Coast-based areas in the 2023 edition of HIA’s Population and Building Hotspots Report.”

Gosford-Springfield was named on Australia’s Building Momentum Shortlist.

To make this list, an area must have more than $200M in residential building work approved over the 2022 calendar year and have increased by at least 10 per cent compared to the previous list.

In 2021 Springfield recorded $51,104,000 of residential buildings approved. In 2022 it was $253,613,000 – a percentage increase of 396 per cent.

The report showed that overall the Central Coast in 2020/21 had 1,358 new housing approvals (valued at $440,241,000) compared to 1,398 in 2021/22 ($471,425,000) – a 2.9 per cent change.

There was a boost in alterations and additions approvals between 2020/21 ($118,998,000) and 2021/22 ($348,930,000).

Some of the notables in the long list of individual suburbs include Gorokan/Kanwal/ Charmhaven with a 132.6 per cent change in new housing approvals from 46 valued at $9,626,000 in 2020/21 to 107 ($22,216,000) in 2021/22.

Umina/Booker Bay/Patonga recorded a 54.2 per cent change in new housing approvals from 107 valued at $31,934,000 in 2020/21 to 165 ($49,102,000) in 2021/22. The value of new housing approvals at Wamberal/ Forresters Beach more than doubled from the 2020/21 (31 approvals at $11,412,000) to 2021/22 (59 at $23,601,000).

At Summerland Point/ Gwandalan new housing approvals had dropped by 17.1 percent but there was only about $1.4M in value difference between 2020/21 ($12.298,000) and 2021/22 ($13,739,000).

Residents at Chittaway Bay/ Tumbi Umbi appeared to be putting their money into renovations and even though new housing approvals were down by 63.1 per cent the value of approvals for alterations and additions jumped significantly from $4,979,000 in 2020/21 to $16,182,000 in 2021/22.

New housing approvals had dropped from 130 to 48; valued at $46,883,000 down to $16,650,000.

It was a similar story at Woy Woy/Blackwall with new housing approvals down 4.7 per cent but the value of approvals for alterations and additions jumped from $4,863,000 in 2020/21 to $14,271,000 in 2021/22.

And at Blue Haven/San Remo renovation approvals rose from $708,000 in 2020/21 to $11,459,000 in 2021/22 and new housing approvals were up by 52.9 per cent.

Despite having the Central Coast’s highest estimated resident population change of 3.7 per cent, Warnervale/ Wadalba took a big hit with new housing approvals falling from 349 to 157 (-55 per cent) with a value difference of $104,147,000 (2020/21) and $46,788,000 (2021/22).

However, the value of renovations jumped significantly from $4,034,000 to $20,950,000.

Sue Murray

When Central Coast Council is not selling conservation land for less than its market value, it is supporting development applications that would result in the mass clearing of vegetation and destruction of habitat, according to the Central Coast Community Better Planning Group (CCCBPG).

CCCBPG Chair Gary Chestnut says the latest indicator of Council’s ongoing flouting of its obligations to consider ecological sustainability in its decision-making is a recommendation to the Local Planning Panel to grant consent to a development application that would result in the destruction of never-before cleared bushland at Niagara Park.

Chestnut has written to Chair of the Central Coast Local Planning Panel Kara Krason, and Council CEO David Farmer to draw their attention to major problems with the assessment of Development Application 60589/2020 for the proposed development of a new dwelling house at Niagara Park.