A consent for a 91-lot residential subdivision in Gladstone Rd South was approved by the Dunedin City Council in February.
The consent involved merging three Gladstone Rd South properties (123, 125 and 135) to form the 12.9ha site.
Paterson and Pitts licensed cadastral surveyor Leon Hallett, who designed the subdivision, said the development was on hold because of ‘fickle’ market conditions.
He said because of interest rates the market had cooled and was "a little fickle".
For a development as large as this one, and for the amount of front-loaded costs, it was best to wait for the market to become buoyant again before launching into construction, he said.
Mr Hallett said the developer, who was also the landowner, had never previously developed a property and was being cautious about when to start work.
"These consents last five years and the land could just sit empty for all of that time," he said.
"At this stage we really don’t know.
"I’ve got no indication from the owner about ramping things up in terms of construction."
He said the land had been zoned well before the changes to the 2GP were implemented.
