No Sunshine for the Coast

"Among the states, hardest hit appears to be Queensland, where 4000 new apartments are going begging: 1000 on the Sunshine Coast, more than 700 in both Townsville and Cairns, and far more on the Gold Coast.

It is believed many of them have fallen into the hands of the financiers, given that most developers make just 20 per cent profit on a project."

The Australian

At least 4000 new apartments are still unsold in Queensland and most of them are believed to have fallen into the hands of their financiers.

Bankers are now asking what to do with the properties, and the problem has prompted property experts to run seminars on how to deal with hotel resorts and the unsold million-dollar beachfront apartments that many now control. Mortgagee sales remain prominent on the Gold Coast, where 1383 new high-rise apartments were for sale in the November quarter. Only 37 were sold in the three-month period.

That compares with 965 for sale in the November 2007 quarter, when there were 142 new high-rise apartments sold.

The Australian