Forest Lake
QLDForest Lake is a growing suburb in QLD with 22,676 residents.
- SAL code
- 31064
- SA2
- 310011564
- Population
- 22,676
Forest Lake, QLD had 22,676 residents at the 2021 Census, with the broader statistical area showing a 5.2% growth over the last five years. The predominant age group is 45-54 years, and the median age sits at 37. Households are most often couples with children, and those with a mortgage repay a median of $1,690 a month. Around 71.7% of homes are owner-occupied, with the largest single tenure being owned with a mortgage at 46.9%. Most dwellings are separate houses, making up 94.9% of the suburb's housing stock. The suburb has 70 parks and reserves mapped within its boundary. Source: ABS Census 2021 and Estimated Resident Population, with amenity counts from state Open Data and OpenStreetMap.
Suburb analysis
Forest Lake, QLD at a glance
Forest Lake is a master-planned outer-southwest Brisbane suburb roughly 22 km from the CBD in Brisbane City Council. Built around an artificial lake from the early 1990s, it's a settled family suburb of detached brick-and-tile homes, plenty of green space, and a single dominant shopping precinct. The data tiles below cover the demographic baseline; this card adds the live market and lifestyle context they don't.
For homebuyers
Forest Lake is built around its namesake lake, with about 3.5 km of pedestrian and cycle paths and roughly 8 hectares of adjoining parkland anchoring weekend life. The dwelling stock is overwhelmingly detached 3- and 4-bedroom houses on standard lots, most built between the early 1990s and mid-2000s, so streets feel uniform and well-established rather than under construction. Forest Lake Shopping Centre handles weekly groceries and services in-suburb; for bigger trips, Mt Ommaney is about 10 minutes north and Orion Springfield around 15 minutes southwest. Forest Lake State School and Forest Lake State High serve the public catchment, and St John's Anglican College is the private standout. Richlands station (Springfield line) is the closest rail at roughly 6 km, and TransLink routes 100, 460 and 461 run direct to the CBD via the Centenary Highway, with city trips around 35-45 minutes off-peak. In short: a settled, lake-and-parks family suburb with everyday needs in-suburb and the CBD reachable but not on the doorstep.
For investors
Forest Lake is a growth-leaning, lower-yield Brisbane house market. Median house sale sits around $934,000 with 12-month capital growth near +12.5% (htag April 2026); Your Investment Property reports a similar profile with a median around $950,000 and ~10.5% annual growth. Median house rent is roughly $650/week for a gross yield around 3.6-3.8%. Houses spend about 15 days on market, with circa 374 house sales over the past 12 months and a vacancy rate near 2.5% (SQM/htag April 2026).
Strengths
- Strong recent capital growth (~+10-12% YoY houses across multiple sources, April 2026).
- Tight rental market with vacancy ~2.5% and ~15 days on market — limited tenant downtime.
- Deep liquidity for an outer-Brisbane house market — ~374 house sales in the past 12 months means clean exits.
- Master-planned layout with mature parks, lake foreshore and in-suburb retail supports long-hold tenant demand.
Trade-offs
- Yield is modest — ~3.6-3.8% gross on houses; not a cashflow play at current prices.
- Dwelling mix is dominated by detached houses; very thin stratified stock means few unit-level entry points.
- No train station inside the suburb — Richlands (Springfield line) is the nearest at ~6 km, so commute relies on bus or drive-and-park.
- Median house already near $934k (htag April 2026), so the affordability gap to inner-southwest Brisbane has narrowed compared with five years ago.
What's coming
Brisbane City Council's 2025-26 Annual Plan continues funding for Brisbane Metro rollout (M1/M2 lines launched 2025) and ongoing road and active-transport upgrades across the southwest corridor. Forest Lake itself is a built-out suburb with no large greenfield release left, so future change is more likely to come from incremental Centenary Highway and bus-network upgrades feeding the Springfield line than from new estates.
Bottom line
For homebuyers: a master-planned family suburb with the lake, parks and shops on the doorstep and the CBD a bus or short drive away. For investors: a growth + stability play on Brisbane houses, not a yield one.
Population
?22,676
Suburb · Census 2021
5-Year Growth
+5.2%
3yr: +4.5% · 10yr: +8.7%
SA2 · 5yr
Household Income
$1,921/wk
Suburb · Census 2021 median
Median Age
37
Suburb · Census 2021
Socio-Economic Index
?5/10
SA2 · middle-range
Unemployment
?2.6%
SA2 · Q4 2025
Schools
4
2 primary, 2 secondary
Hospitals
No data for this suburb
Childcare services
?11
5 long day, 5 OSHC, 1 family
Parks & green space
?70
Parks, reserves
Transport stops
?34
GTFS stops
Dwelling approvals
No data for this suburb
Median Weekly Rent
Based on rental bond lodgements recorded by the state government.
Median House Sale Price
state Valuer-General sale price data not yet loaded for QLD
Safety & Crime
2025 Q4Reported incidents from QLD police. Offence rates may not reflect all crime.
Population over time — Forest Lake - Ellen Grove (SA2)
ABS publishes annual estimates only at SA2; Forest Lake suburb alone is ~22,676 (Census 2021).
Source: ABS ERP (latest release · 2025) · Census 2021. Numbers refreshed quarterly.
Growth at a Glance
Population grew from 14,091 to 24,080 over 24 years, averaging 2.3% per year.
Schools
4 in suburbSector
3 public · 1 private
Type
2 primary · 2 secondary
Total enrolment
3,610(3 of 4 reporting)
Avg per school
1,203
Government school catchment
Catchment data is not yet available for QLD.
Source when available: QLD Department of Education — QSpatial State School Catchment Areas.
Profile
Census snapshot
Housing
Public housing 1.3%Almost entirely detached houses (94.9%), owner-occupied (71.7%), built for families (44% are 4 bed).
Dwelling mix
Tenure
QLD 33%
Number of bedrooms
Bushfire risk
Source: QLD QRA Bushfire Prone Area
As of Apr 2026
Overlap is the percentage of the suburb's land area inside the mapped bushfire polygons. Always verify the exact property address with the relevant authority before making decisions.
Flood risk
Source: QLD Local Government Flood Planning Areas
As of May 2026
Overlap is the percentage of the suburb's land area inside the mapped flood polygons. Always verify the exact property address with the relevant authority before making decisions.
Planning zones
13 zones in suburb| Code | Zone | % covered | Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| LDR | Low Density Residential ZoneResidential | 43.9% | 4.31 km² |
| OS | Open Space Zoneparks | 10.0% | 0.98 km² |
| CF | Community Facilities ZoneSpecial use | 3.9% | 0.38 km² |
| RR | Rural Residential ZoneRural | 2.7% | 0.26 km² |
| CN | CNOther | 2.2% | 0.22 km² |
| IN | INOther | 1.5% | 0.15 km² |
| DC | District Centre ZoneBusiness | 1.3% | 0.13 km² |
| SR | Sport and Recreation ZoneRecreation | 1.0% | 0.10 km² |
| MDR | Medium Density Residential ZoneResidential | 1.0% | 0.10 km² |
| EC | Environmental Conservation ZoneEnvironmental | 0.2% | 0.02 km² |
| NC | Neighbourhood Centre ZoneBusiness | 0.2% | 0.02 km² |
| LMR | LMROther | 0.2% | 0.02 km² |
| SP | Special Purpose ZoneSpecial use | 0.1% | 0.01 km² |
Source: QLD DSDILGP Local Government Planning Scheme Zones (ZONE_QLD/2026-05-12/be11464ce5af1cd4) · As of May 2026. Zone boundaries are amended periodically; verify the exact property with the relevant council before relying on permitted use.