The average price of Australian residential property has risen over the past ten years, and in September 2024, it reached a new high of 985,900 Australian dollars. Nonetheless, property experts in Australia have indicated that the country has been in a property bubble over the past decade, with some believing the market will collapse sometime in the near future. Property prices started declining in 2022; however, a gradual upward trend was witnessed throughout 2023 and 2024. Australian capital city price differences While the national average residential property price has exhibited growth, individual capital cities display diverse trends, highlighting the complexity of Australia’s property market. Sydney maintains its position as the most expensive residential property market across Australia's capital cities, with a median property value of approximately 1.19 million Australian dollars as of December 2024. Brisbane has emerged as an increasingly pricey capital city for residential property, surpassing both Canberra and Melbourne in median housing values. Notably, Perth experienced the most significant annual increase in its average residential property value, with a 19.1 percent increase from December 2023, despite being a comparably more affordable market. Hobart and Darwin remain the most affordable capital cities for residential properties in the country. Is the homeownership dream out of reach? The rise in property values coincides with the expansion of Australia's housing stock. In the September quarter of 2024, the number of residential dwellings reached around 11.25 million, representing an increase of about 53,100 dwellings from the previous quarter. However, this growth in housing supply does not necessarily translate to increased affordability or accessibility for many Australians. The country’s house prices remain largely disproportional to income, leaving the majority of low and middle-income earners priced out of the market. Alongside this, hikes in mortgage interest rates have made taking out a loan increasingly unappealing for many potential property owners, and the share of mortgage holders at risk of mortgage repayment stress has continued to climb.

Key information about House Prices Growth

• Australia house prices grew 6.6% YoY in Sep 2024, following an increase of 6.7% YoY in the previous quarter.
• YoY growth data is updated quarterly, available from Sep 2004 to Sep 2024, with an average growth rate of 6.0%.
• House price data reached an all-time high of 24.1% in Dec 2021 and a record low of -6.1% in Mar 2019.

CEIC calculates quarterly House Price Index Growth from quarterly Residential Dwellings: Mean Price of Eight Capital Cities. The Australian Bureau of Statistics provides Residential Dwellings: Mean Price of Eight Capital Cities in local currency. House Price Index Growth prior to Q3 2012 is calculated from Residential Property Price Index: Weighted Average of Eight Capital Cities.

The Report Covers Residential Real Estate Market Size and It is Segmented by Type (Apartments and Condominiums, Villas, and Landed Houses) and Cities (Sydney, Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Other Cities). The Report Offers Market Sizes and Forecasts in Value (USD) for all the Above Segments.

The Outlook of the Australian Commercial Property Market Report is Segmented by Type (office, Retail, Industrial and Logistics, Hospitality, and Other Types) and by Key Cities (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra, and Perth). The Report Offers Market Sizes and Forecasts in Value (USD) for all the Above Segments.

House price affordability for Greater Sydney Region. Details on the methodology can be found here: http://blogs.unsw.edu.au/cityfutures/blog/2016/03/where-is-housing-affordable-in-sydney/

In 2024, the largest share of houses sold in Sydney, Australia were in the price category of 2.3 million Australian dollars and above. Around 30.2 percent of house sold in Sydney were in the less than 1,699,999 Australian dollars price bracket.

The average house price in Nova Scotia in 2024 stood at approximately 447,800 Canadian dollars. In the next year, house prices are forecast to further increase by about five percent. Compared to other provinces, Nova Scotia ranked below the national average in terms of house prices. However, the average price of a house in Nova Scotia was twice lower than in Ontario or British Columbia. Exploding population growth in recent yearsNova Scotia is the second-smallest province after Prince Edward Island, and had a population of just under one million in 2018. The population of this province was relatively steady between 2000 and 2015, but has taken off since then. This sudden growth may be a factor in the increasing house prices, as demand also increases due to the greater number of residents looking for homes. The future of housing affordability in Nova ScotiaHalifax, the provincial capital, had an affordable housing market as of 2018, with mortgage payments only constituting about 30 percent of average household incomes. The number of housing starts in the region has increased in the past few years, which also suggests an increase in demand. Only time will tell whether this will ensure a sufficient supply of homes for the region in response to its growing population.

Australia Consumer Price Index (CPI): Sydney: Housing: New Dwelling Purchase by Owner-Occupiers data was reported at 175.100 2011-2012=100 in Dec 2024. This records a decrease from the previous number of 175.800 2011-2012=100 for Sep 2024. Australia Consumer Price Index (CPI): Sydney: Housing: New Dwelling Purchase by Owner-Occupiers data is updated quarterly, averaging 99.500 2011-2012=100 from Jun 1998 (Median) to Dec 2024, with 107 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 175.800 2011-2012=100 in Sep 2024 and a record low of 60.000 2011-2012=100 in Jun 1998. Australia Consumer Price Index (CPI): Sydney: Housing: New Dwelling Purchase by Owner-Occupiers data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Australian Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.I007: Consumer Price Index: 2011-12=100: Eight Capital Cities.

Australia Consumer Price Index (CPI): Sydney: Housing: Utilities data was reported at 132.500 2011-2012=100 in Dec 2024. This records a decrease from the previous number of 147.900 2011-2012=100 for Sep 2024. Australia Consumer Price Index (CPI): Sydney: Housing: Utilities data is updated quarterly, averaging 41.950 2011-2012=100 from Sep 1972 (Median) to Dec 2024, with 210 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 156.400 2011-2012=100 in Sep 2023 and a record low of 7.500 2011-2012=100 in Jun 1973. Australia Consumer Price Index (CPI): Sydney: Housing: Utilities data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Australian Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.I007: Consumer Price Index: 2011-12=100: Eight Capital Cities.

Real estate, and especially when located in prime locations, is often referred to as a safe haven for investments. According to the forecast, Auckland and Mumbai are going to see some of the highest growth in luxury real estate prices in 2024. Dubai, Madrid, and Sydney which also right high, were forecast to witness high-end properties prices rise by five percent.

In 2022, Sydney was listed as the second-least affordable city worldwide in terms of housing affordability, as well as the most unaffordable capital city for houses in Australia, with a median multiple house price relative to income value of 15.3, meaning that housing prices in Sydney were over 15 times the average annual gross median household income.

This statistic depicts the annual change in residential property prices in Australia between April 2018 and April 2019, by city. In this period, the average house price in Sydney decreased by around 10.9 percent; the largest change across Australia.

In 2024, one square meter of greenfield land cost an average of 1,617 Australian dollars in Sydney, marking an increase of over 100 Australian dollars from the previous year. Sydney has one of the highest land price rates for greenfield development in Australia.

In 2024, Sydney had the highest price per square meter of land across major cities in Australia. Lot buyers expected to pay a premium of 1,617 Australian dollars per square meter in the capital of New South Wales. Conversely, lot buyers in Adelaide expected to spend around 750 Australian dollars per square meter of land. Prices through the roof Over the past decade, the surge in land and housing costs has been attributed to rapid population growth, driving up median prices for property and land, particularly in cities. In Sydney, the per square meter price of land has almost tripled since 2010, while the number of new property listings has declined over the years. A shortage of residential land available to build on has exacerbated the housing affordability crisis in Australia. Will lending rates continue to climb? The homeownership dream is out of reach for the average Australian without a housing loan. Nevertheless, Australia's high mortgage interest rates for both owner-occupiers and investors have impacted current and aspiring mortgage holders, with the value of household lending trending downwards over the past two years. While rates remained high in the first half of 2024, they likely reached their peak, as shown by the gradual plateau in the second half of the year. This stabilization should, in turn, accelerate buying, selling, and lending activities.

In December 2023, the Housing Consumer Price Index (CPI) in Sydney, Australia reached 150 index points. The CPI for housing in Australia had experienced a sharp increase over the past year, rising just under 10 index points.

In the first half of 2020, the rental price of retail colocation space in Sydney, Australia, was between 230 and 280 U.S. dollars per month. Pricing in hyperscale cloud and wholesale colocation was less expensive, with monthly rent between 145 and 160 U.S. dollars for hyperscale, and 175 and 255 U.S. dollars for wholesale colocation. Hyperscale data centers have the largest power requirements and customers are usually a cloud or large tech company. Wholesale and retail colocation, on the other hand, have smaller power requirements.

In December 2024, commercial property sale asking prices were forecasted to witness a decrease of around 0.86 percent. Within the given time period, the largest growth in commercial property asking prices was recorded in June 2021.

As of June 2024, the average weekly rent for a house in Sydney was 750 Australian dollars, which was the highest average rent across all major cities in Australia that year. That same year, the average weekly rent for a house in Melbourne was around 580 Australian dollars.

The need for office space in Australia’s expanding cities has drawn investors to commercial property, with many wanting to cash-in on strong capital growth rates in the office segment. In the first quarter of 2021, the office yield rate in the central business district of Perth, Australia was around 6.5 percent. This was the highest rate across all states in Australia and the second highest yield rate was in Perth, Australia.

What is office yield?

In terms of commercial property, the yield represents the expected return on investment on a property. For investors, this is an important value as it indicates future income on an investment. Yield can be based on a property’s market value, annual income, and running costs. Capital growth, however, is not included in the calculation. The office yield was the lowest in Sydney. The vacancy rate in the CBD office market was also the lowest in Sydney compared to other major Australian cities.

Growth in the office segment

In 2019, Australia showed strong growth as a destination market for cross-border commercial real estate investment inflows in Asia Pacific. In the same year, transaction volumes reached a high in the office segment, with this segment also accounting for the highest share of foreign investment in commercial property. In addition, megadeals (greater than 400 million Australian dollars) reached a peak, solidifying the importance of the office segment in the commercial real estate industry in the country.

The statistic depicts the strongest rental growths of office rental markets in Asia in 2018, with forecasts up to 2020, broken down by market segment. In 2018, Sydney offices recorded the strongest rental growth with around 8.55 percent. In 2020, the Osaka office rental market was forecast to reach a four percent growth.