Thousands of apartments across the Gold Coast are sitting in development limbo, with rising construction costs, builder availability and project feasibility continuing to delay the delivery of new homes.

For developers holding land while waiting for the right conditions to commence construction, those delays can mean months, sometimes years, of paying to hold a site that isn't generating any income.

It's a problem Queensland-based Spaces x Get Parked has built its business around solving.

Founded in 2013, Spaces has established a presence across Queensland, particularly Brisbane and the Gold Coast, by turning vacant development sites and underutilised commercial properties into income-generating assets until their owners are ready to proceed with their intended use.

The opportunity on the Gold Coast is becoming increasingly apparent.

New figures from property consultancy PRD reveal that 3,575 apartments across 41 Gold Coast developments, representing an estimated $2.9 billion in construction activity, have been postponed or placed on indefinite hold.

The research forms part of a wider $5.4 billion development backlog across Brisbane and the Gold Coast, where 112 apartment projects comprising more than 10,000 homes are currently deferred.

The figures highlight the growing disconnect between the number of apartments developers want to deliver and the number they can realistically get out of the ground.

Earlier research from the Property Council of Australia and Urbis painted a similar picture.

Their June 2026 Gold Coast Apartment Pipeline Report found that while the market was showing signs of recovery, around 60 per cent of apartments scheduled for completion in 2028 and 2029 were considered at moderate or high risk of delay or withdrawal.

The same report found that just 2,431 new apartments and townhouses were registered in 2025, a 6.3 per cent decline on the previous year and below the targets established under the South East Queensland Regional Plan.

For developers, the issue isn't necessarily a lack of buyer demand.

Urbis recorded 1,361 new apartment sales across the Gold Coast during 2025, a 31 per cent increase on 2024, while 24 new projects launched during the year.

Rather, the challenge is increasingly what happens between acquiring a development site, securing approvals, achieving sufficient pre-sales and ultimately appointing a builder.

That waiting period is where Spaces sees an opportunity.

The business initially focused on transforming vacant sites into managed car parks, but has since expanded its offering to include vacant land, warehouses, offices, hardstand areas, storage facilities and complete asset management.

Instead of leaving a development site fenced off and sitting idle, Spaces assesses whether the land or existing buildings can be put to commercial use in the interim. In the right location, that might mean turning a cleared development site into a managed car park, providing additional parking for nearby businesses, workers, residents or visitors.

On other sites, the opportunity could be temporary storage, commercial occupation or leasing hardstand space to businesses that need room for vehicles, equipment or materials.

For a market such as the Gold Coast, where development activity is concentrated around established coastal centres including Southport, Surfers Paradise, Broadbeach, Burleigh Heads and Palm Beach, the potential uses can vary considerably from one site to the next.

A development site near a busy retail or commercial precinct, for example, may be suitable for temporary parking, while a larger parcel away from the beachfront could lend itself to storage or other short-term commercial uses.

Spaces manages the interim activation on behalf of the landowner, taking responsibility for operations, compliance, technology and customers. Importantly, the arrangement is designed around the developer's longer-term plans for the property.

The intention isn't to replace the proposed development or lock the landowner into a permanent commercial use. It's to generate an income during the period before construction begins, with the site returned when the developer is ready to proceed.

It's an approach that could become increasingly relevant as the Gold Coast works through its substantial apartment pipeline.

The Urban Development Institute of Australia's 2026 State of the Land report identified rising development holding costs, high construction costs and skilled labour shortages among the major constraints facing Australia's housing industry.

Those challenges are particularly relevant in South East Queensland, where competition for construction resources is expected to intensify as the region prepares for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

For developers, even a project with planning approval and an established sales campaign can face a considerable gap before construction commences.

During that time, land acquisition costs, interest, rates and other holding expenses continue to accumulate. While temporary income won't necessarily transform a project's overall feasibility, it can help offset some of those costs rather than leaving the land entirely unproductive.

The opportunity also extends beyond stalled projects.

Developers acquiring sites for future projects may have no intention of commencing construction immediately, particularly if they are working through an existing pipeline or waiting for market conditions to improve.

For those landowners, temporary commercial activation can form part of the holding strategy from the outset.

And with thousands of Gold Coast apartments currently deferred and further projects facing uncertainty over their delivery timelines, the amount of land potentially sitting idle represents a sizeable opportunity.

The proposition is relatively straightforward for Spaces x Get Parked: a development site doesn't have to wait until construction starts to begin generating a return.

On the Gold Coast, where land values and development holding costs can be substantial, making better use of the years between acquisition and construction could become an increasingly important consideration for developers.

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