Property developers in the Gold Coast are merely waiting for investors to pull out of off-the-plan purchases of more than 900 new apartments.

According to Gold Coast property valuer with LandMark White John Muchall, “it's just unfortunate that, with the financial crisis that we've had, the ability for purchasers to actually settle on these, and to come up with the money, is now the main criteria.”

Many of the purchases were signed with a ten percent deposit and these were done before the financial crisis. Muchall explained that some investors will back out due to a number of factors.

For one, many of the apartments dropped in value during the downturn. Owner-occupiers may also have to pull out because their financial capability has changed, or they cannot get a loan to cover the remaining 90 percent of the deal.

However, Muchall said, “there are going to be fewer developments coming through in the next few years, and it's up to the buyers as to whether or not they want to take the plunge and buy them and sit on them, and hopefully get some growth later on.”

CB Richard Ellis director of project marketing Chris Litfin assured of continued marketing activities. Litfin said, “The developers, or the banks, or whoever's really in control at the time will, historically, put those apartments back into stock and continue to market those apartments as new product - as though they had never been sold before.”

Chris Litfin explained “The developer will hold the deposit, and that will sometimes give them flexibility in prices to move that stock quickly.”