More people are moving to Logan City than any other place in Queensland – but do we have enough homes for them to live in?
The only local government area in the nation attracting more people than Logan is Melton in Victoria.
The latest official estimates show Logan’s population was more than 392,000 as of June 2024.
With a growth rate of around 4%, that means we have likely passed the 400,000 mark by now.
And with over 260,000 more people expected to arrive in the next 21 years, the Queensland government says the city needs around 98,000 additional dwellings.
That is around 4600 new homes every year, or 2300 homes every six months, until 2046.
The mayor says Logan is one of the few cities in the state meeting its targets.
According to the Logan Office of Economic Development, the local council approved 1400 new dwellings and 2530 new lot applications between July and December 2024.
In the same period, the council received 1764 new residential dwelling approvals, including 1329 stand-alone houses and 145 retirement dwellings.
However, only 1224 homes were actually built during the last six months of 2024 – 984 stand-alone houses and 40 retirement dwellings.
Mayor Jon Raven said the construction of subdivisions and homes was dependent on the construction industry’s access to labour and materials. Â
Plus, many developers are sitting on vacant lots “that should be built on to help ease the pressure of home buyers and renters”.
“The City of Logan is punching above its weight when it comes to housing – this is really important during a housing crisis,” Cr Raven said.
“Council’s role is crucial in ensuring there is an adequate supply of zoned land to accommodate this growth and in processing development applications efficiently. Â
While this growth and the 2032 Brisbane Olympics presents enormous opportunities in terms of business and tourism, Cr Raven admits it presents challenges.
“Logan is an amazing place to raise children, and it’s one of the few locations where families can still afford to buy homes,” Cr Raven said.
“The major challenge with our increasing population though is the sky-rocketing cost of infrastructure required to service our growing city.
“Given the significant infrastructure demands, including those related to the Olympics and overall growth across SEQ over the next decade, maintaining this growth rate will be a considerable challenge for the industry.”
Most of the development is happening and will continue to happen in the western parts of the city, including in and around the Flagstone and Yarrabilba priority development areas (known as PDAs) which are managed by the state government.
“We know that greenfield development is cheap and easy for developers to build, but the infrastructure is incredibly expensive which causes delays in delivery and will continue to put pressure on our ratepayers – unless other levels of government lean in and fund things like roads, water and sewers,” Cr Raven said.
“The recent upgrade to Loganlea Road, for example, was an $80 million dollar project delivered in partnership with the Australian Government. Â
“The community also wants to see more public transport and higher density around public transport corridors, so we can protect the parts of our city that have larger blocks with a suburban and rural residential lifestyle.”
