More than one third of the Gold Coast’s workers, around 150,000 people, will be living outside the city by 2032 unless dramatic changes are made to create new housing, a leading expert has warned.
New research from property analyst Michael Matusik has warned the Gold Coast is now among the least-affordable markets in Australia as its economy continues to grow faster than housing can be delivered.
Mr Matusik warned the issue, raised recently during the Bulletin’s Future Gold Coast campaign, was getting worse.
“In 2016, about 36,000 workers or 13 per cent of the city’s then 272,000-strong workforce lived outside the Gold Coast – rising to 16 per cent, or 48,000 workers, by 2021,” he said.“It now stands at 26 per cent, or 100,000 workers, which is almost triple the actual number of a decade ago.
“I estimate the share will hit 35 per cent by 2032, adding a further 50,000 daily commuters to the M1 and its feeder arterials.
“Every worker priced out of the Gold Coast becomes a car on the M1, and no amount of road widening changes that.
“The congestion problem and the housing problem are the same problem, and only one of them has a fix.”
The Gold Coast’s population is growing rapidly, at a rate of around 15,000 people annually, with the city’s economy also on the rise post-Covid.
Mr Matusik’s report found the city’s economy grew 32 per cent to $58bn since the pandemic, and was expected to top $72bn by the 2032 Olympic Games.
It found there were 89,000 more jobs on the Gold Coast since the pandemic, up 30 per cent in that time, with 385,000 people now employed.
Mr Matusik said these were “among the best results of any local government area in Australia”.
However, while the population has grown significantly, the amount of housing needed has not.
This has led to housing prices skyrocketing.
More than 9000 dwellings must be built annually to meet state government-set housing targets.
Mayor Tom Tate said Mr Matusik’s research appeared “both correct and timely.”
“Our approach has always been to overlay our transport planning with our City Plan and that way, we can focus on building more residential accommodation close to public transport networks as well improving our active travel infrastructure throughout the city,” he said.
“Getting people out of cars is essential, as is the need to provide greater choice when it comes to housing.
“Our current revision of the City Plan, together with the Local Growth Management Strategy, identifies opportunities for densification not only along the coastal corridor but within suburbs.”
Mr Tate said it was critical to deliver key infrastructure, as well as housing, to support the population growth.
“We will continue to support sustainable, well-designed developments across the city as we know that with a further 300,000 new residents expected by the mid-2040s, more stock equals more choice and that leads to downward pressure on prices,” he said.
Deputy Mayor Mark Hammel, speaking at the Bulletin’s Future Gold Coast roundtable earlier this year, said the high prices meant many council staff could no longer afford to live in the city.
“We need to have dwellings in good locations that support all the industries that make the Gold Coast what it is, so baristas and people who work in our hotels, theme parks and tourism should not be getting bussed in,” he said at the time.
“It is scary how many city officers do not live in the city because they cannot afford to live around here.”
Originally Published in The Gold Coast Bulletin. View online article HERE.