Research by respected property analysis firm Urbis revealed the suburb is in flux, with more than 100 projects set to be delivered, including the Coomera Connector arterial road and housing projects.

With the population set to dramatically increase in the next two decades, Urbis senior consultant Lynda Campbell said pressure was growing on the area

She described it as a “hub for growth, predominantly due to high migration into southeast Queensland and affordability compared to other areas of the Gold Coast and beyond.”

“The Upper Coomera catchment experienced strong population growth in the decade to 2021, increasing by 5.8 per cent per annum, or 75 per cent over ten years, but as development land supply becomes scarce, the 20 years to 2041 will see growth of 2.4 per annum,” she said.

“Current household size creates demand for 1163 new dwellings annually to keep pace with the projected population growth of 3490 new residents each year for 20 years, however the past two years saw annual average building approvals fall to just 700, falling well below supply required to meet ongoing demand.

“Strong price growth, higher sales activity, and a low residential vacancy indicate an increasing level of demand across the catchment and the suburb of Upper Coomera, which is unlikely to ease in the short term, and highlights a need to shift to higher density living to meet demand from the growing population.”

The slowdown comes just days after developer Bob Ell, the largest landholder in the area, called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to intervene to secure critical environmental approvals.

The Leda Group boss wants to build more than 4000 homes on a 161ha site fronting George Alexander Way and Cunningham Dr.

The project has already been green-lit by both the Gold Coast council and the state government but the federal government is still reviewing it.

The site, known as Coomera Quarter, sits between Coomera Rivers State School and the heavy rail line, south of Pimpama State Secondary College.

Once completed, it could house up to 10,000 people.

Mr Ell said his project, which had the potential for high-density housing near major transport, health and retail hubs, would take pressure off the housing supply crisis.

“This site is the vast majority of key short-term housing supply for the northern Gold Coast – it needs to happen now,” he said.

“We have a chronic lack of housing supply, and I keep reading that all levels of government are committed to getting more housing on the ground more quickly but perhaps they haven’t worked out yet that it’s their own policies that have prevented that from happening.

“In this case the Federal government can hold up their end of that commitment, show some political will and get this project approved.”

The northern Gold Coast’s overall population is expected to continue increasing.

Research by demographer Mark McCrindle has found it would have a population of around 500,000 people beyond 2046.

“The Gold Coast itself to 2047 is going to grow by 54 per cent while the northern part of the Gold Coast will grow by 67 per cent and indeed the Ormeau/Oxenford area will grow by 75 per cent,” he said previously.

Northern Gold Coast greenfield sites are in high demand, with few undeveloped sites still available.

Developers and city leaders are now pushing for more land to be opened up for development, particularly the cane fields of Norwell Valley.

However this would require a zoning change by the state government.

BULLETIN VIEW: SIGNIFICANT SUMS WILL NEED TO BE SPENT UPGRADING INFRASTRUCTURE

Coomera is one of the Gold Coast’s oldest suburbs, yet one of the newest to see serious development and expansion.

The city’s far north has been one of Australia’s fastest-growing areas for more than a decade and is showing no signs of slowing down.

Today’s special report delves into the future of the area and the serious challenges facing it.

A new forecast predicts the population of the Coomera area will almost double in the next 16 years, becoming home to almost 63,000 new arrivals.

Under the council forecast – which was based on several data sources – Coomera and Upper Coomera will see 62,851 new arrivals, taking its population to 118,065 by 2041.

That will make it larger than the population of Bundaberg at present.

The suburb itself currently has more than $9.2bn worth of development in the pipeline to help the area cope with its dramatic population boom. Research by respected property analysis firm Urbis revealed the suburb is in flux, with more than 100 projects set to be delivered, including the Coomera Connector arterial road and housing projects.

These are startling numbers and raise the question of how Coomera, and the northern Gold Coast more broadly, will cope with this growth.

Purely from a space point-of-view, it is clear towers, and plenty of them, will be rising in Coomera in the coming decades, with the first already in the pipeline.

But beyond that, the infrastructure is another matter.

Foxwell Road is the key juncture of the whole area and it’s already quite busy, even after a recent upgrade which saw it widened.

Council, state and federal governments will likely need to sink significant sums into the upgrading of this infrastructure, as well as new services, in coming years.

Given its size and population, a small courthouse, a council headquarters and more are all realistic options.

The new state government should also look at the option of opening up Norwell Valley in a bid to spread the growth, something which would be welcomed by its residents.