According to the district council’s April quarterly economic update, the region is expecting to see $4.7 billion “flow in” in the years leading to 2035. The district’s unemployment rate was lower than elsewhere, but house prices had more than doubled in the past six years to more than $520,000. Worboys said the consequence of the increased opportunities in the region, and subsequent increase in population, was rents rising 14.7 per cent and public housing demand almost doubling. To combat this, the council intended to consult the district about social housing investments, including medium- or high-density housing, as it developed its housing strategy.