Cromwell Community Board member Gordon Stewart, a real estate agent for about 25 years and a property developer, said anyone wanting to build a home in the town probably only had a choice of two or three sections.
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Ninety to 100 residential sections were pre-sold, waiting on titles, he told the board yesterday.
‘‘We've got a problem ... We have to have a serious look at where the whole town is going [to grow].''
There were only about 20 residential sections available in the wider area. All in Bannockburn were signed up, only a couple in Cromwere not signed up, along with two in Lowburn, four in Pisa Moorings, about six in Perriam Cove and six or seven in Shortcut Rd.
Prices had risen as the supply dwindled. A Cromwell section sold six months ago for $125,000 was now worth about $180,000.
Otago Polytechnic land in Molyneux Ave could be available for residential development once the polytech's three sites were merged into one hub, but that could take a year or two.
Maybe the Central Otago district plan review should look at rezoning land down Pisa Rd or Bannockburn Rd for residential development, Mr Stewart said.
Some potential property buyers wanted to build more intensive accommodation , such as apartment-type buildings.
Board chairman and Central Otago deputy mayor Neil Gillespie said part of the Wooing Tree vineyard property across the road from the town's business centre was zoned residential, although it had not been used for that purpose.
Until now, vines had proved more lucrative, but the property owner might think again, considering the demand for sections. Mayor Tony Lepper said initial meetings about the district plan review were held several years ago ‘‘and we've seen a big movement since then''.
Cr Gillespie said there was a risk of bumping up land prices by designating more areas of private land for residential development.
There were ‘‘land banks'' already designated for residential development which had not been subdivided yet. Council planning and environment manager Louise van der Voort said the district plan review was the time to address the issue.
‘‘We, as a council, need to take a good look at this, with the planning expertise we have, rather than individually signalling we might take any piece of land.''
Many factors would dictate where the town would grow and while there was much residential-zoned land in Cromwell, it was not necessarily available now.
A draft district plan review document is expected to be completed by the end of this year or early next year.
Building permits issued last year for houses in the town and the wider Cromwell district made up 65% of the houses being built in Central Otago.
