$505m building bounty in city

The value of permits for building and construction in City of Greater Geelong increased 23 per cent in the past financial year, according to state planning department figures.
The total value of permit applications rose to $505 million, compared to $409 million the previous year.
However, new permit applications dropped 3.7 per cent, from 1581 to 1522.
The average cost of works per application rose 14 per cent to $304,635 from $267,760 the previous year.
Authorities approved 906 dwellings and 145 subdivision allotments.
The City’s take from application fees dropped 6.5 per cent, from $980,409 to $916,637.
Council planning portfolio holder Rod Macdonald said a couple of big projects skewed the figures.
“The St John of God project is huge, that’s between $80 and $100 million and it accounts for the lower permit numbers with higher value.”
Cr Macdonald said a national credit squeeze had also affected applications, with developers pursuing fewer projects.
“Projects are still happening but banks have tightened up on the value of projects, so developers have to put up more equity.
“The volume builders are still going well, although some of the smaller ones are finding it tough, but there’s still good activity out there.
“We don’t have a frantic pace of development but we’ve still got decisions being made to invest.
“Interest rates are off their highs, so there’s a bit of encouragement for good projects that stack up.
“I’m confident about Geelong’s economic outlook and I can see steady growth for the next three years.”
Borough of Queenscliffe permit applications were down 16 per cent from 187 to 156 while total value rose 25 per cent to $24.2 million.
Surf Coast applications dropped 23 per cent, from 1,066 to 814, with the value of works falling 20 per cent to $94 million.