Brisbane is changing and it could impact property prices, development potential, and your suburb’s future.
In this episode of the Brisbane Property Podcast, we break down the proposed Low–Medium Density Residential (LMR) zoning changes from Brisbane City Council and explain what the “Missing Middle” means for homeowners, investors, and developers in 2026.
We cover:
- What LMR zoning is and where it applies
- Proposed height increases (2–3 storeys up to 3–4 storeys)
- Subdivision rule changes (300m rule explained)
- Car parking ratio reductions and how they affect feasibility
- Infrastructure, transport corridors & Cross River Rail
- Will this fix Brisbane’s housing shortage?
- What it means for property prices and supply
With Brisbane’s population growing rapidly and the 2032 Olympics approaching, these planning changes could reshape inner and middle-ring suburbs. But will they go far enough to solve the housing undersupply?
If you live in an LMR zone, are considering investing, or want to understand how these zoning updates may affect Brisbane property values… this episode is essential viewing.
Listen On:
Ready to work with us directly? Click Here
Transcript
0:12: Hi everyone, and welcome back to another episode of the Brisbane Property podcast with Scott and Melinda Jennison, and today we’re going to, Discuss some changes that the Brisbane City Council is proposing, and they’re proposing some changes now to the low medium density zones.
0:26: Yes, this is what has been referred to by Brisbaneites as the missing middle.
0:33: These are areas where we currently have zoning that is under the Brisbane City Planning scheme of low to medium density residential, which generally permits development of up to 2 or 3 stories in height.
0:47: Now, These regions are typically centered around transport corridors in inner and middle ring locations of the Brisbane City Council region.
0:58: Now, this new proposal that we’re going to be discussing in detail today, talks about whether this zoning should change in terms of the density, that is, the number of the level or the heights that buildings can actually be built up to within these zoned regions, so.
1:16: There’s a lot to unpack in today’s episode, and we are going to be going through all of the details to hopefully give you an understanding of what the proposal is, what the timelines are, so that you can have an understanding of how Brisbane could change in the future.
1:29: If we go back a little bit, and I know we’ve had some conversations on the podcast and talked to people as well, I actually spoke to someone this, this morning, a local lady that we know, and she was talking about her block of land, and they’d like to cut the back of it off and, and, and put a dwelling in there or something like that as a separate site.
1:45: Not the granny flat sort of style.
1:46: But if you go back to and I think it was 2014 when the council changed their city plan where they increased car park ratios, they reduced, increased landscaping requirements as well.
1:59: So we, and we’ve talked about this before where it made it really hard for developers because it, it basically from a developer’s point of view, it’s chewing into your profit.
2:09: Because if you can’t sell that type of thing, you sell more of what you can actually build on the.
2:13: Sites.
2:14: So it did make it really, really hard.
2:15: Now this proposal could change things a lot and if you look at Brisbane, I guess now and how we’ve come forward in the last 1015, 10 years since then, I guess, we’ve probably had less infill and we’ve had less developments in closer towards the CBD like this, and we’ve started to branch out and grow wider and wider.
2:36: So you go up towards, in in the Moreton Bay area where you go right up through Caboolture and those sort of areas, you also go, Out to Springfield and and those, so you’re we’re really starting to spread out as well.
2:49: Now we haven’t got the transfer for all of that so, so then it becomes infrastructure problems and again we’re moving further and further from the CBD so coming forward to this, it’s important for people to understand, we’re not talking about big towers either.
3:02: No.
3:02: OK, we’re talking about townhouses, low rise apartments, and smarter rules near and around transport corridors.
3:09: Yeah, that’s right, and you know, when you think of, Other capital cities around Australia, such as Sydney and Melbourne, there are a lot more terrace homes.
3:17: There are a lot more 4-story or 5-story buildings, whereas Brisbane typically is a very low-rise, residential city as a whole.
3:28: So, the proposal that is in place that the Brisbane City Council has put forward for feedback really is to ensure that we are creating more dwellings for our growing population without continuing to encourage the Urban sprawl, which is what you’ve described just now, Scott.
3:45: We’re expanding further and further in terms of our geographical footprint, and yet at the same time, keeping the infrastructure in place to allow for that expansion becomes problematic.
3:56: Road congestion becomes even more problematic.
3:59: We’ve got people sitting in traffic for more than 1, sometimes 1.5 hours from the outskirts of the Brisbane CBD to come into some of the employment hubs of the city.
4:10: So, you know, at some something must change.
4:13: We must become a more densely populated city, and this perhaps is the first step, this proposal that’s being put forward for community consultation.
4:23: So, we’re really going to unpack what this missing middle looks like, which typically will include terraces, duplexes, and townhouses.
4:32: So, we’ll also see multi-level unit complexes.
4:35: Again, we’re not talking about sky-high towers, we’re talking about moderate density.
4:42: That the transition easily sort of blends with the existing landscape as well.
4:47: And, and, and especially if we look at the current market in Brisbane, and again this is a conversation we have with so many people in properties that are more affordable, I guess.
4:57: So that sub-million dollar mark, sort of around that, that sort of price point, you know, we’re seeing so many people wanting to get into that product.
5:06: you know, we, we looked at a property, just I think it was earlier this week.
5:09: There was 30/30 offers on the unit, so.
5:12: These are these smaller complexes that we look at, and we see these high demand for them, and I think people really want this type of product, so they can stay closer to get the lifestyle of the city and things like that as well.
5:24: And I guess this is the question that we must ask ourselves as people who live and reside in Brisbane.
5:29: If you could buy a quality townhouse near Amenity at a sensible price, would you choose that over a house that’s located on the fringe of the Greater Brisbane?
5:42: Area.
5:42: Because ultimately, this is the debate.
5:44: This is what it’s all about.
5:45: Should we be building more dwellings closer in, perhaps closer to the jobs, closer to the transport, closer to the infrastructure, or should we continue to expand our geographical footprint by moving further out, where we might all be able to still retain a large backyard, a large house, and a Hills Hoist in the backyard?
6:05: That is the great Australia dream, as it was once described.
6:08: But the question is, is that great Australian dream starting?
6:12: To change as we become a more densely populated city.
6:15: Alright, we’re gonna show a bit of age here because we’ve talked about the old brick six pack units and now a Hills Hoist.
6:21: So for those that don’t understand that, look it up, Google it if you like.
6:26: I think people are changing.
6:27: You know, people want low maintenance access to those entertainment areas, you know, we look at the Olympic Games coming to Brisbane, for example, and majority of the, the Olympics are going to be within 5 kilometers of the CBD.
6:41: So people will.
6:42: Want to get access to that.
6:43: They, they don’t want to be 30, 40 kilometers from the CBD if they want this, you know, to enjoy Brisbane as it is.
6:49: And if you look at Brisbane from an aerial map, you will notice that the majority of land across Brisbane is actually zoned for residential use.
6:58: It’s actually capped at a very low height.
7:01: Most of the land is either single-story or double-story zoned land.
7:06: There are small pockets around the city that are zoned for 2 to 3 stories.
7:12: At the moment, and they are the low to medium density residential zoned areas.
7:16: Throughout this podcast, if you are watching on YouTube, you will see some of the areas that are earmarked for changes to the LMR zones.
7:25: We’ve captured some of the existing LMR areas around each location across Brisbane where they exist, and we’ve highlighted some of the suburbs that this new change will actually relate to.
7:37: So, keep an eye out for that if you are watching this podcast on YouTube.
7:41: But we’re gonna be talking Through some of those areas as well.
7:43: For people that don’t understand, LMR, can you just give us a, a very quick breakdown or, or explanation of LMR so people understand?
7:51: Yeah, so, LMR zoning, or low to medium density residential land, occupies about 14% of Brisbane’s residential areas.
8:00: The Brisbane City Council has recently stated that the delivery of homes in LMR zoned land has dropped to around 445 homes in 2023.
8:12: And that’s down from about 1100 homes annually in these areas previously.
8:18: So we’ve seen a decline in the number of properties that have been constructed in LMR zoned areas in Brisbane in recent years.
8:27: A lot of that has come about because of changes to things like landscaping, car park ratios, etc.
8:33: and it has resulted in a reduction.
8:35: In the number of properties that can be built in a way that’s feasible for developers to deliver.
8:41: And then on top of that, so just, just to add a bit more I guess fuel to the fire, you know, we’re talking about the growth of the amount of people that are still coming here.
8:48: So I think there’s 600 plus people moving to Brisbane each week, and that’s a statistic quoted by the Brisbane City Council themselves.
8:56: So you add that onto that and again, I’m not saying everyone loves it, but again, where are the people coming from?
9:03: If you look at people coming from, and I think you touched at the very beginning, Melinda, when you talked about how we’re different to to Sydney and to Melbourne and how they, how they have the terrace houses and they’ve got the, you know, they are quite compact.
9:15: If the people are moving from, for example, the southern states, they are used to that lifestyle.
9:20: That’s right.
9:21: They don’t need the big yards and to be really honest, I’m, I’m almost done with my big yard, and, and mowing and maintenance and things like that.
9:28: So I guess when you look at that side of it, when you’ve got so many people moving to Brisbane, we need accommodation.
9:34: We need to accommodate the people that are moving here, and if they’re used to that type of lifestyle, then it seems like this infill sort of growth proposal.
9:43: See more accommodating for the amount of people that are coming to Brisbane.
9:46: Yeah, and I think, you know, it’s not surprising when we look at some of these delivery numbers, and how they’ve dropped in recent years.
9:53: When you hear that the number of those properties that have actually been delivered to the market have dropped at a time where demand has also escalated, is it any wonder that we’re in this current situation where prices just keep escalating, because we simply have not built enough, and we’ve talked about that previously.
10:08: So, perhaps this is a way that we can Stimulate more building activity to create more dwellings, and potentially look to achieve something that’s more in line with the housing accord targets, because at the moment, we’ve definitely fallen well behind those targets.
10:25: And, of course, there’s so much that needs to be considered in delivery.
10:28: It’s not just about building, it’s making sure that they’re feasible.
10:31: We’re building something that people want to buy at a price point that people can afford to pay, and that’s the critical piece.
10:37: I, I guess, back to what I, and I don’t want to.
10:39: People think that I just wanna knock down all the Queenslanders and build units and things like that as well.
10:44: I protecting the character of Brisbane I think is incredibly important.
10:48: Brisbane is again is very different to other areas.
10:51: We’ve got some beautiful Queenslanders.
10:53: I love the history and I love that part of it.
10:55: So don’t get us wrong, we’re not talking about knocking all the Queenslanders down.
10:59: I think that history and that it has to be done really smart the way that it’s going to be done, the designs to, to comply obviously with with the requirements, but, Protecting that character is also something that’s really, really important for Brisbane.
11:11: You, you touched on the, the feasibilities and the approvals and costs and things like that.
11:16: I think delivery of those, that’s a critical part.
11:20: So the approvals and the time frames of those approvals and also the cost of them, and the cost of the infrastructure and the cost of the construction, they’re really, really important factors in this as well.
11:31: Yeah, let’s talk about what are some of the proposed.
11:33: Changes to heights, lot sizes, etc.
11:36: because I think this is getting into the meaty part of what council is proposing.
11:40: So, generally, any land that is in LMR zoning now, that may be zoned for 2 or 3 stories of development, that’s likely to be increased to 3 stories as a minimum.
11:51: But some of that land may actually have the scope to go up to 4 stories, especially land in well located.
11:59: Sites near frequent public transport corridors.
12:02: So we expect that definition to include train corridors, busways, metro corridors.
12:08: So, at this stage, the detail of the exact locations is not known, but this is the proposal, generally speaking.
12:14: Yeah, so increase it all by probably 1 height, 1 or 1 or 2 levels, that’s right, levels as well.
12:20: Also the lot sizes.
12:21: So when we’re talking subdivisions, we obviously have minimum block sizes.
12:25: They’re going to be reduced to enable more homes.
12:28: And that’s in the LMR zone and there’s also a subdivision rule for 300 m lots.
12:34: Now some people might not know a lot about this.
12:37: I guess we’ve we’ve probably grown up with the, the 810, so the.
12:42: 32 perch as we used to call it, and people would buy an 810, chop it in half, create 20405s.
12:49: we then as Brisbane started to grow, we went into a, like a 600 m site, basically.
12:54: If you are within a walking distance of a, of a district center or a shopping center.
12:59: At a certain size, that is, it, it’s now going to be within, it is within 200 m now, and that will increase to within 300 m.
13:07: So just for clarity, in any residential low density zoned land, at the moment, you can subdivide a 600 square meter block into 2 300 square meter blocks if it sits within 200 m walking distance from a district zoned center that is greater in size than 2000 square meters.
13:26: That is proposed to change.
13:28: To a 300 m walking distance, which of course will capture a lot more dwellings in Brisbane that have the potential to be subdivided if they are 600 square meter blocks.
13:39: So that’s actually also beneficial news for people in low density residential zoned areas because it will increase the capacity of subdivision across the city.
13:49: And another one that they’re looking at is the process and the designs.
13:52: Now I talked about times and time frames and approvals, so a simplified assessment.
13:57: And a faster pathway to those approvals.
14:00: I think that’s really important.
14:01: So when you look at someone that owns a site like that, or and they want to deliver a property, generally it’s going to sit and you’ve got your holding costs.
14:09: So your holding costs could sit there for 6 months with no income whatsoever, could be even longer.
14:14: So, I think a simplified assessment process is something that’s really, really critical for it as well.
14:19: And I think a meaningful question to ask is, is this proposal going far enough?
14:24: And when we really assess LMR’s owned land across Brisbane at the moment.
14:28: A lot of the properties that are already developed on those sites, perhaps, are brick unit complexes that may have been built throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
14:38: We’ve seen some more modern town home and unit complexes, 2 to 3 stories in height.
14:44: Depending on the size of the, the land, there may be anywhere from 4 to 8 units within that complex.
14:50: Now, in, in these sorts of properties, each owner is an individual.
14:55: Landowner or individual title owner, and therefore, to redevelop land that already has been developed, but not potentially to its highest and best use, you’ll need consent from all of those landowners.
15:06: There’s actually not a lot of land left in Brisbane that hasn’t already been developed in those LMR zones.
15:13: So, there’s very few pockets where you’ve got a lot of those existing houses still sitting in place that would be ripe for development to take it to the highest and best use.
15:22: So, I guess my question, Scott, Is, is it actually a little, a little conservative based on the fact that a land zone change alone might not be the trigger that would actually create more housing simply because a lot of those LMR pockets have already been developed.
15:38: Hm, true.
15:39: That’s a hard question to answer, that one, but, look, I think there’s a lot more things involved in it as well.
15:44: So, when we’re talking about setbacks, we’re talking about, and this is setbacks from boundaries and things like that, frontage widths, those types of things, street trees.
15:52: I mean.
15:53: You, you know, you’d go, I’ve been involved in some in some development or not done the developments, but I’ve seen some developments where people will buy a site that they want to split because there’s a street tree there.
16:02: They can’t actually do it.
16:04: So I think those types of things can, can help and and add if they can say well look you have to replace the tree and put it somewhere else or something like that.
16:12: So I think there’s some smarter ways to do that sort of things as well.
16:15: And I think look it it’s, it’s a change.
16:18: Is it enough?
16:19: I think time will tell if it does go through.
16:22: I just want to also talk a little bit more about those car park space changes.
16:26: Now, at the moment, a lot of developers are restricted by being able to construct something that’s feasible to sell, because council requires so many car parks, and the car park ratio per unit that is constructed is fairly high for Brisbane.
16:42: And yes, at the moment, we are a very car-dependent city in many locations that are not part of a public transport corridor.
16:50: However, As our city grows, that will change, it must change.
16:53: So, council are also proposing changes to decrease those car parking ratios.
16:59: That is, when they do build or approve a development to be built, they’re going to require fewer car parks within that development for that development to meet acceptable standards that council sets.
17:10: Now, council also claims that car parking space can add up to $82,000 onto the cost of purchasing a property.
17:19: So if they’re reducing the number of car parks required, potentially they can actually reduce the cost of delivery, which ultimately increases or improves affordability for the end buyer.
17:31: But, because we are still a car dependent city, obviously that’s going to put potentially more cars in neighborhoods of private property, because many households still have two cars.
17:41: So, it’s an interesting debate, and I think something that council will explore as part of this proposal.
17:46: Yeah, I mean.
17:47: All that will do is probably increase the amount of cars that are on the street and you’ll probably end up with neighbor conflict.
17:54: If you look at our place, for example, and we’re about 3.5 kms, 3, 3.5 kms from the CBD, our three boys live at home and our street is just full of cars.
18:03: That’s because of our boys and they’ve all got a car each.
18:07: But we’re not far from the train.
18:08: So then we get the, the unrestricted parking area, which is where we are.
18:13: We get a lot of people starting to park up and down there which can catch the train.
18:16: So I, I think there’s, you know, yes, there’s going to be street parking, there’s going to be changes to that.
18:20: I think eventually we will change, and I think people will start to use the public transport more and more, which is, I guess, what they’re trying to encourage as well with this type of increasing that density inside and, and near public transport corridors.
18:33: And I think it’s all relative to accessibility to public transport and usability of public transport with the cross river rail development, well and truly, you know, pushing.
18:44: Ahead.
18:44: We’re going to see, once that is completed, an opening up of the rail network and much more frequent services.
18:52: At the moment, some of those trains are jam-packed full, coming into the CBD and out of the CBD during peak hour.
18:59: So, obviously, with more frequent services, we’re gonna be able to carry and transport more people.
19:04: That may mean more people are attracted to taking public transport as an option.
19:09: Right now, I mean, throughout Brisbane, it’s 50 cents.
19:12: For public transport.
19:14: I mean, it, it doesn’t cost anything to jump on a train, but people still choose to jump in the car for the convenience sake, and it’s a behavioral change that is actually needed, because the reality is, parking is actually very expensive to build.
19:27: Running a car is much more expensive than taking public transport, especially at the moment when public transport’s 50 cents per ride.
19:34: But you can’t ignore the fact that Brisbane is still a car-dependent city, and, you know, I think that there’s a balance between Suggesting public transport is the way to go when our public transport infrastructure is still being developed to become a more efficient system.
19:49: I think, look, I, I touched on it at the start and you’ve just done it again then.
19:52: The car parking thing that again, as I said earlier, that one of the reasons that developers have started to go away from this type of product was, was the cost because the cost to to build a car park seems like a minimal return on the investment.
20:07: So the amount of money that you actually have to spend to build.
20:09: A simple car park compared to what a room or a bedroom.
20:13: It just doesn’t make sense that you have to have that much, you know, car parking when it comes to the development side of it as well.
20:19: So, if this means something to you, if you feel like you’re going to be negatively impacted, or if you, in fact, support this proposal, there is a consultation period that you need to be aware of.
20:29: Now, these details can be found on the Brisbane City Council website.
20:34: Consultation is commencing early in 2020.
20:38: So, jump on that website and have a look at those critical dates.
20:42: By mid this year, there’s going to be a complete review, and by late this year, late in 2026, there’s going to be an adoption of what the outcome will be.
20:53: So if you do want to say, your time to act is now.
20:56: Yeah, I think if people are interested to have a look at it, definitely jump on there and, and have a look, because, as we said, it, it will change.
21:03: I think it is up to people to have that say as well, if they get that opportunity as well.
21:06: And I think the big issue, and the conversation needs to remain in place, will these targeted incremental changes be enough to make a difference to Brisbane’s critical undersupply of housing, or this missing middle?
21:21: Are we targeting the right areas in that we’re targeting these low to medium density residential zoned areas where we perhaps have multi Unit dwellings that are owned by multiple different owners.
21:33: So, consent to sell from multiple owners would be required in order to redevelop some of these sites.
21:39: Or perhaps a council focusing on the wrong areas, the wrong, wrong land.
21:44: Should council be focusing on other low density residentially zoned land in transport corridors, emerging community land, where they previously were really targeting for townhouse development, and that recently got pulled in, in council planning update changes.
22:00: So, I guess, you know, your input, council would love to hear from you, but equally, we’d love to hear from you, and, in fact, we’d love for you to message us your review.
22:08: What do you think?
22:09: Reach out to us at info@streamlineproperty.com.au.
22:14: Share your view with us, and, we’re happy to share some of the, the views that you have as listeners on our next podcast episode.
22:20: And also the, the 3 to 4 story, you know, going from 22 to 3 to 4 stories, doesn’t make a big difference.
22:27: You know, if, if you’re, say for example, you’re in the neighborhood or you’re in the area and there’s, there’s a 3 story building, to go just 1 more story, does it make a big impact?
22:37: Does it?
22:38: Yes, it’s going to create more housing, it’s going to create more car parks.
22:41: So again, there’ll be more cars there because you’re creating extra density and things like that.
22:45: So they’re the sort of things that people need to consider.
22:48: Will it make a big difference?
22:49: Will it help more than what it will actually affect the neighborhood?
22:52: Hm.
22:52: And I guess if you’re in that neighborhood and you’re negatively impacted by that increasing density, perhaps you, you’re less supportive.
22:59: And if you’re outside of these LMR zoned areas, perhaps you’re more supportive.
23:03: Let’s not forget that in Brisbane, we do have a lot of character protection.
23:06: We’ve got a lot of character Queenslander homes that cannot be demolished, and they will sit amongst some of these areas that perhaps have buildings that are not protected by demolition, and can actually be developed up to 3 or 4 stories.
23:18: So, yeah, we’d love to hear your opinion and your view on, whether you think that this is enough, or in fact, whether you think this has gone too far.
23:25: Or go further.
23:28: You know, should, should they, should they go beyond the, the LMR in the suburbs, and if there’s an area where there’s, Transport corridors, so where there’s stations, bus stations, train stations, things like that, should those areas be allowed to increase their density as well to allow people to move closer again to those public, as long as the public transport corridors are there, that’s something to consider as well.
23:50: So that’s a rundown of what has been proposed.
23:53: Yes, this could have significant impacts in some areas across our city.
23:57: Yes, it’s something you must consider if you’re thinking of buying in and around these zones.
24:01: It doesn’t mean to say that we’re going to see this huge influx of new supply.
24:05: It’s really important to understand at a neighborhood level, how much real supply is even possible based on what’s already there and whether there’s a lot of character protected homes in that area anyway.
24:17: But yeah, it’s, it’s good to really deliver this information to you, our listeners, so that you can get an understanding of what might be coming here in Brisbane and, and what’s potentially changing.
24:27: And how they could change the missing middle in Brisbane.
24:30: Excellent.
24:31: I think it’s been a good rundown.
24:32: Hopefully that’s been good information.
24:33: As Melinda said, if, if you’ve got any sort of feedback or questions or anything, shoot it through to info at streamlineproperty.com.au.
24:39: We’d love to hear from you and we’re, we’re happy to chat further on it.
24:42: As usual, I will let Melinda wrap things up from myself.
24:46: thanks very much for listening.
24:47: Take care and bye for now.
24:49: Yes, thank you once again for joining us on the Brisbane Property Podcast.
24:52: We hope you have enjoyed this episode.
24:54: As always, if you think this will benefit any of your friends or family, please share the episode link, but don’t forget to also leave us a review.
25:02: If you are watching on YouTube, please also feel free to leave a comment.
25:06: We always value the interaction.
25:08: Until next time on the Brisbane Property Podcast, you take care and bye for now.