Change in density in residential areas
Key Finding
Queenslanders are living at higher dwelling densities, including on smaller lots in new urban subdivisions.
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Queensland or regional plan:
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- Cape York Regional Plan
- Central Queensland Regional Plan
- Central West Regional Plan
- Darling Downs Regional Plan
- Far North Regional Plan
- Gulf Regional Development Plan
- Mackay, Isaac and Whitsunday Regional Plan
- North Queensland Regional Plan
- North West Regional Plan
- South East Queensland Regional Plan (ShapingSEQ)
- South West Regional Plan
- Wide Bay–Burnett Regional Plan
Regional planning areas (select locations to filter information)
Queensland
The dwelling density for Queensland increased from 11.4 dwellings per hectare (ha) to 13.5 dwellings/ha between 2011 and 2016.
Median lot sizes for urban lots registered in Queensland decreased from 600m2 for the year ending December 2012 to 450m2 for the year ending December 2019.
While the increased dwelling density in Queensland is predominantly influenced by increased dwelling density in South East Queensland (SEQ) — 13.6 dwellings/ha in 2011 to 16.2 dwellings/ha in 2016 — dwelling density has increased in most other regions as well.
The volume of urban lot registrations in SEQ — increased from 6,621 or 55% of all new lots in Queensland for the year ending December 2012 to 11,573 or 87% for the year ending December 2019 — has affected median lot sizes for Queensland.
Median lot sizes for SEQ declined from 450m2 in December 2012 to 423m2 in December 2019.
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Darling Downs Regional Plan
The dwelling density of the Darling Downs region increased from 5.4 dwellings/ha to 5.7 dwellings/ha between 2011 and 2016.
Lot registrations in the Darling Downs decreased from 432 in December 2012 to 33 in December 2019.
No median lot size data was available for the Darling Downs region.
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Cape York Regional Plan
The dwelling density of the Cape York region decreased slightly from 1.8 dwellings/ha to 1.7 dwellings/ha between 2011 and 2016.
No median lot size data was available for Cape York.
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Gulf Regional Development Plan
The dwelling density of the Gulf region remained static between 2011 and 2016, at 1.4 dwellings/ha.
No median lot size data was available for the Gulf region.
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Far North Regional Plan
The dwelling density of the Far North Queensland region increased from 8.7 dwellings/ha to 9.2 dwellings/ha between 2011 and 2016.
Median lot sizes in Far North Queensland increased from 630m2 for the year ending December 2012 to 663m2 for the year ending December 2019.
Lot registrations increased from 303 in 2012 to 391 in 2019.
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North Queensland Regional Plan
The dwelling density of the North Queensland region increased from 8.3 dwellings/ha to 8.6 dwellings/ha between 2011 and 2016.
Median lot sizes in North Queensland (excluding Charters Towers and Palm Island) increased from 550m2 for the year ending December 2012 to 636m2 for the year ending December 2019.
Lot registrations decreased from 947 in 2012 to 216 in 2019.
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North West Regional Plan
The dwelling density of the North West region increased slightly from 7.1 dwellings/ha to 7.2 dwellings/ha between 2011 and 2016.
No median lot size data was available for the North West region.
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Mackay, Isaac and Whitsunday Regional Plan
The dwelling density of the Mackay, Isaac and Whitsunday region increased from 6.8 dwellings/ha to 6.9 dwellings/ha between 2011 and 2016.
Median lot sizes in Mackay Isaac Whitsunday region increased from 641m2 for the year ending December 2012 to 662m2 for the year ending December 2019.
Lot registrations decreased significantly from 1,425 in 2012 to 216 in 2019.
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Central West Regional Plan
The dwelling density of the Central West region remained static between 2011 and 2016, at 2.6 dwellings/ha.
No median lot size data was available for the Central West region.
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Central Queensland Regional Plan
The dwelling density of the Central Queensland region increased from 6.2 dwellings/ha to 6.5 dwellings/ha between 2011 and 2016.
Median lot sizes in Central Queensland increased from 648m2 for the year ending December 2012 to 747m2 for the year ending December 2019.
Significantly fewer lot registrations were recorded (1,842 in December 2012 down to 149 in December 2019).
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South West Regional Plan
The dwelling density of the South West region increased slightly from 3 dwellings/ha to 3.1 dwellings/ha between 2011 and 2016.
No median lot size data was available for the South West region.
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Wide Bay–Burnett Regional Plan
The dwelling density of the Wide Bay Burnett region increased slightly from 5.1 dwellings/ha to 5.3 dwellings/ha between 2011 and 2016.
Median lot sizes in Wide Bay Burnett decreased from 828m2 for the year ending December 2012 to 801m2 for the year ending December 2019.
Lot registrations increased from 478 in December 2012 to 699 in December 2019.
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South East Queensland Regional Plan (ShapingSEQ)
The South East Queensland region has the highest dwelling density in Queensland and had the greatest increase in density, increasing from 13.6 dwellings/ha in 2011 to 16.2 dwellings/ha in 2016.
Median lot sizes declined from 450m2 for the year ending December 2012 to 423m2 for the year ending December 2019.
Lot registrations increased over the same period from 6,621 in 2012 to 11,573 in 2019.
More information:
Relevant Sustainable Development Goals’ targets
Download data from Queensland Government data
Metadata
Changes in housing density have been calculated using the mean population weighted dwelling density for all Census mesh blocks in each region, which provides a measure of the average local dwelling density at which the population of a region lives, comparable to the net residential density figures used by some regional plans. This is more meaningful than a gross density averaged across the whole area of a region, because all regions comprise large areas without urban settlement, and non-residential mesh blocks with no dwellings or no population have no weight in the calculation (see glossary for further information) (data sourced from Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2074.0 Mesh Block Counts 2011 and 2016).
Median lot size data for Queensland planning regions compares data for urban lot registrations (60 m2 to < 2500 m2) for the years ending December 2012 and December 2019. Data is presented only for those parts of Queensland that are covered by the Queensland Treasury residential development profiles (data sourced from Queensland Government Statistician’s Office, Queensland Treasury), extracted March 2020.