Gold Coast property market: More than 144,000 new homes needed to be built by 2045 for population growth

An astonishing number of new homes will need to be built by 2045 to cope with the Gold Coast’s population growing to one million people, a new report reveals.

More than 144,000 new homes will need to be built by 2045 to cope with the Gold Coast’s population growing to one million people, a new report reveals.

Ground has broken on a new tower with several others set to follow in the next two months as developers move to accelerate projects across the city.

It comes as the scale of development needed to meet the population growth challenge, as well as deal with spiking property prices, is revealed in a new National Property Research Co (NPRC) report.

National Property Research Co. managing director Matthew Gross. Photo: Contributed

NPRC director Matthew Gross said the pace of construction would need to intensify if the city was to meet state government growth targets.

He warned a lack of available stock was driving up housing costs.

“In the next 20 years the Gold Coast’s population is forecast to surpass one million residents, which means another 144,000 new dwellings will need to be delivered to meet that demand,” he said

“The supply-demand imbalance has had a significant impact on property values in the city, with the median apartment price increasing 343 per cent since 2000 from $174,900 to its current median price of $795,000 for the first quarter of 2025.

“This is already $20,000 above the median apartment price of 2024.

“In the past decade, we’ve also seen the number of apartment sales above $2m grow by 1600 per cent, from just 33 sales in 2014 to more than 528 sales in 2024.”

Lynda Campbell. Picture by Scott Fletcher

Data by property consulting firm Urbis in late 2024 showed more than 50 new towers need to be built every single year for the next decade for the Gold Coast to meet those targets.

The Queensland Government’s ShapingSEQ Regional Plan calls for a further 38,800 high-rise apartments to meet population growth targets across the Gold Coast by 2031.

Urbis senior consultant Lynda Campbell pointed out then that only 11 projects had been launched in 2024 with 800 units.

“At an average building scale of 90-100 apartments - this is the equivalent of 430 new apartment buildings in the Gold Coast by 2032,” she said in December

“The recent slowing of new project launches will hinder the Coast’s ability to hit these targets. “In 2023, for example, 16 new mid- and high-rise apartment towers were launched, containing 1800 apartments.”

It’s a far cry from the market’s peak in 2021 and 2022 when more than 6000 units were launched.

Michael McNab. Picture: Celeste Humphrey.

Construction began this week on developer McNab’s $170m, 28-storey, $170m Elements tower to rise over Oak Ave.

McNab executive chairman Michael McNab, who has bought a unit in the building, said the area was highly desirable.

“Budds Beach is incredibly tightly held, with very few properties exchanging hands in the past five years,” he said. “It’s an enclave you would only discover if you lived locally – a pristine riverfront beach, tree lined streets and village-style cafes, just seven-minutes’ walk from the iconic oceanside of Surfers Paradise.”

It is expected to be completed by 2027.

Artist impression of Twenty Queen, a tower proposed by MRCB to replace the Sundale Motel in Southport.

Developer MRCB International is on the verge of gaining approval for 20-storey Maris where Southport’s Sundale Motel was demolished in March.

MRCB CEO Ravi Krishnan said it would launch in May, with plans to begin construction before Christmas, with the first residents to moving in by 2027.

“Our vision for this prime site in Southport is to deliver a collection of quality, architecturally designed residences that focuses on lifestyle. Maris is ideal for quality-driven buyers looking to gain a foothold in this highly sought-after location.”

George Mastrocostas from Aniko Group.

Further south in Mermaid Beach, developer Aniko Group is building a “state-of-the-art” sales centre next to Pacific Fair before sales of the 240-unit first stage of its $2.5bn The Landmark.

Aniko Group managing director George Mastrocostas said first stage construction of the four-tower project starts mid-year.

The latest crane index shows the Gold Coast has a record high of 62 cranes, a steady figure through 2024.

Artist impression of Aniko Group's The Landmark. Picture: Supplied

At these projects launching, overall unit sales are slowing and industry figures are urging developers who have already secured approvals to work closely with the Gold Coast City Council to ensure projects are feasible and progress to the construction phase to prevent a “crane drain” in the city.

City planning boss Cr Mark Hammel recently revealed a large number of the towers which had been greenlit by the council in the late 2010s and during the pandemic would face alterations thanks to the dramatic changes to the economy and building sector, with several already submitted.

Originally published as Gold Coast property market: More than 144,000 new homes needed to be built by 2045 for population growth