Housing that meets our changing needs
Housing supply, diversity and affordability are critical issues in addressing growth and providing for the basic needs of our community.
When it comes to the future of housing, we learnt:
- around 15% of our community are over 65 years old. This is expected to grow to 20% in 2050. Young people are moving away from Cairns now, and this is projected to continue.
- around 25% of our homes are a 1-person household. We learnt that around 50% of those 1-person households live in single detached houses.
- around 12% of our homes are a single-parent family household. We learnt single-parent families are likely to live in a rented single detached house.
- around only 25% are two-parent family households.
- there are currently around 700 houses being built across Cairns each year.
- our population is expected to increase by 72,000 people, which means we need around 32,500 new homes by 2050.
- as our community grows and changes, we need a variety of housing options to meet our needs. This can look like different housing options for smaller households and older people, affordable housing options for all, social housing options for community members who need support, and accessible housing options for people with disability and reduced mobility.
Northern Beaches and Surrounds
WE HEARD
Around 30% of Phase 1 online survey respondents from the Northern Suburbs and Surrounds agreed or strongly agreed with providing more housing diversity and affordability in their suburb.
20% of Phase 1 survey respondents said a better range of housing types and prices is a top 5 opportunity that can come with growth.
WE LEARNT
The types of housing in the Northern Beaches and Surrounds are mainly detached single houses (78%), followed by apartments (13%) and semi-detached homes (9%).
There are currently around 23,300 homes in the Northern Beaches and Surrounds. This is estimated to grow by 33% to around 30,900 homes in 2050.
Central Cairns and Surrounds
WE HEARD
31% of Phase 1 online survey respondents from Central Cairns and Surrounds agreed or strongly agreed with providing more housing diversity and affordability in their suburb.
46% of responses from pop-up visitors during September and October 2023 told us that a great neighbourhood in 2050 would include affordable housing.
WE LEARNT
The types of housing in Central Cairns and Surrounds are mainly detached single houses (50%), followed by apartments (34%) and semi-detached homes (17%).
There are currently around 28,300 homes in the central Cairns area. This is expected to grow by 42% to around 41,150.
Providing more housing near health precincts can minimise commutes to work for key health workers, and make use of existing infrastructure.
Southern Corridor
WE HEARD
34% of Phase 1 online survey respondents from the Southern Corridor said their suburb does not offer a range of housing options to suit people at different stages in their lives.
95% of Community Panel survey participants said they think there is a type of housing missing in their home suburb.
Most Community Panel survey participants said that keeping population and urban growth to a smaller area is desirable (15%), agreeable (21%) or sensible (31%).
WE LEARNT
The types of housing in the Southern Corridor are mainly detached single houses (93%). There are few apartments (4%) and semi-detached homes (4%). There are currently around 17,400 homes in the central area. This is expected to grow by 80% to around 31,400 homes by 2050.
Developing more single detached housing in the Southern Corridor will be costly as it will require infrastructure like sewerage, stormwater and water to be built.
Increasing urban densities provides housing diversity whilst reducing the development footprint resulting in less impacts on our environmental and agricultural land.
