Gold Coast housing crisis: Why Boomers aren’t to blame for population boom

Millenials have been blamed for one of the biggest issues facing the Gold Coast over the next decade and why it will cost the economy billions to cope with.

Baby Boomers are not to blame for the Gold Coast’s massive population boost, with new research revealing the Millennials generation is behind the surge.

The Gold Coast’s population is increasing by 15,000 people annually while housing development is failing to keep pace with the post-Covid migration from NSW and Victoria.

But leading demographer Simon Kuestenmacher says the days of the Gold Coast being derisively known as “God’s waiting room” were over, with the vast bulk of people moving to the city aged between 25 and 40.

Mr Kuestenmacher said the trend would only continue to strengthen through the rest of the decade.

Simon Kuestenmacher from the Demographics group. Picture Glenn Hampson

“Now that many have reached their mid-30s, Millennials are having babies at scale and that hipster inner-city one or two-bedroom apartment that Millennials have been living in with their partner becomes too cramped after they add 1.7 kids to their household,” he said.

“They will not move to the inner suburbs because there is no three-or-four-bedroom housing available.

“They also cannot move to the middle suburbs of our big cities because Baby Boomers are staying in their homes – they are not interested in downsizing at massive scales at this stage because they are still too young and healthy.’’

A report by leading national real estate firm CBRE released in June revealed the level of housing development currently proposed for the Gold Coast will not come close to solving the city’s accommodation crisis.

Simon Kuestenmacher says younger people are fuelling the Gold Coast’s population boom Picture Glenn Hampson

The CBRE report revealed the number of dwellings on the Gold Coast increased by 1222 in 2022, while the population grew by more than 14,000 people, or around 6000 households.

And the report warns pressure will continue to grow for both renters and buyers.

Mayor Tom Tate and state Treasurer Cameron Dick this week traded blows over the slow rate of development and lack of land for housing supply.

“I think council needs to do a bit more to be honest, we have got to get more land to market, the more land we can release, the quicker approvals can go through and the quicker we can get these homes built,” Mr Dick said.

Tate hit back at Mr Dick’s comments, insisting the council was “doing more than it’s fair share in this space”.

“We have been and continue to be a leader in approving appropriate and sustainable housing, across the length and breadth of our city,” he said.

Property expert James Fitzgerald said greater infrastructure spending was needed on the northern Gold Coast, particularly around Coomera to cope with the population growth.

“In Coomera, the population is growing at 10 per cent per annum in one of the most under-supplied markets in Australia and the Gold Coast,” he said.

“There is good existing infrastructure in Westfield, a train station, theme parks and schools.

‘’There is also future-planned infrastructure including public and private hospitals, and the benefit of the new (Coomera Connector).’’

Property Council Queensland Executive Director Jen Williams this week said the city’s slow housing build rate was reaching crisis levels.

“Failure to deliver housing not only impacts the residential sector but has flow on effects to all other sectors as consumers tighten their purse strings to ensure they can stay on top of increasing mortgage payments and rents,” she said.