Pricing out the very people our city needs

As school returns and the holiday haze shrinks in the rearview mirror, 2023 is already hinting at what it may have in store. If last year is remembered for record low housing affordability, the new year is shaping as its supercharged sequel.

As house prices soared, landlords have sold out, sending rental stock plummeting as fast as rents went skyward.

The signs of the housing crisis have been making themselves ever clearer, with business owners continuing to struggle to find staff – often because prospective workers would have nowhere to live if they moved to the city.

The effects are not confined to the Coast, with hospitality venues across the Tweed also feeling the ripple effects.

Dolphins Harbourside Hotel manager Michael Cahill says recruiting qualified and unqualified staff was an “incredible challenge” – and he’s not alone.

The negative impact of housing affordability cannot be overstated – and it’s not confined to business.

News that enrolments in Gold Coast state schools, specifically state primary schools, have dropped by more than 1000, is far from reassuring.

As demographers have pointed out, it’s a stark sign that young families are being priced out of the city – a place long valued by exactly that demographic.

The Gold Coast is, quite literally, getting older.

While some in the city may see gentrification of the place as a good thing – it’s a shortsighted and inaccurate view.

It’s no secret that the most diverse cities – in age, culture, race and experience – are the most successful.

Building all the best luxury resorts in the world isn’t going to work if you have no-one to change the sheets or serve guests.