MORE Queenslanders are downsizing to medium-density homes, new research shows.
Figures from recent Census data and research by Bankwest found 38 per cent of home approvals in Queensland in the last 12 months were for medium-density dwellings.
This is up from 32 per cent in 2006 and includes units, townhouses and semi-detached houses.
Bankwest Retail chief executive Vittoria Shortt said Queenslanders were moving to a different style of living. "It's primarily due to affordability, access to services and a tight rental market," she said.
"In Queensland the move to medium-density dwellings is right across Queensland and you see a lot more areas becoming medium-density."
Redcliffe saw the biggest increase in the share of medium-density dwellings in the state at 62 per cent, up from 25 per cent in 2006.
Ms Shortt said the change came from first-home buyers moving into the market and baby boomers downsizing.
"Gen Y are really struggling to achieve their aspiration of home ownership and it goes to the affordability and ability to save for the deposit," she said.
"Part of it is a downsizing for some of the baby boomers and a reflection of where their superannuation is or isn't at.
"I think the affordability goes across a lot of the generations and we are really seeing it play out."
Thirty-one of the 35 local areas in Queensland had an increase in the share of medium-density housing in the past five years.