Australia’s real house price index fell to ***** in the fourth quarter of 2024. House prices fluctuated over the reported period compared to the base year of 2015, experiencing a sharp increase throughout 2021, with the country’s house price index peaking in the first quarter of 2022 at ***. Prospective homeowners priced out of the market Recent house price increases reflect the ongoing challenges of housing affordability in Australia. Property prices largely outpace income growth, reigniting discussions about whether the country is stuck in a property bubble, a topic that has been debated for over a decade. The country’s house price-to-income ratio hit ***** in the second quarter of 2024, the highest ratio recorded over the past five years, making it increasingly difficult to get on the property ladder. Unaffordable rental conditions Australia’s rental market has also seen challenges, with the rent price index continuing to climb throughout 2024 into the first quarter of 2025, making the prospect of renting less appealing. As of March 2025, the average weekly house rent price in Sydney stood at *** Australian dollars, the highest across the country’s major cities. Canberra, Darwin, and Perth were the next most expensive markets for house rents, while Hobart was the most affordable capital city for both house and unit rent prices.

Graph and download economic data for Real Residential Property Prices for Australia (QAUR628BIS) from Q1 1970 to Q4 2024 about Australia, residential, HPI, housing, real, price index, indexes, and price.

The average price of Australian residential property has risen over the past ten years, and in December 2024, it reached 976,800 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, with minor fluctuations in 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 April 2025. 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 10 percent increase from April 2024, 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 December quarter of 2024, the number of residential dwellings reached around 11.29 million, representing an increase of about 53,200 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, elevated mortgage interest rates in recent years 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.

Sydney had the highest median house value compared to other capital cities in Australia as of April 2025, with a value of over **** million Australian dollars. Brisbane similarly had relatively high average residential housing values, passing Canberra and Melbourne to top the pricing markets for real estate across the country alongside Sydney. Housing affordability in Australia Throughout 2024, the average price of residential dwellings remained high across Australia, with several capital cities breaking price records. Rising house prices continue to be an issue for potential homeowners, with many low- and middle-income earners priced out of the market. In the fourth quarter of 2024, Australia’s house price-to-income ratio declined slightly to ***** index points. With the share of household income spent on mortgage repayments increasing alongside the disparity in supply and demand, inflating construction costs, and low borrowing capacity, the homeownership dream has become an unattainable prospect for the average person in Australia. Does the rental market offer better prospects? Renting for prolonged periods has become inevitable for many Australians due to the country’s largely inaccessible property ladder. However, record low vacancy rates and elevated median weekly house and unit rent prices within Australia’s rental market are making renting a less appealing prospect. In financial year 2024, households in the Greater Sydney metropolitan area reported spending around ** percent of their household income on rent.

Key information about House Prices Growth

• Australia house prices grew 2.9% YoY in Dec 2024, following an increase of 5.8% YoY in the previous quarter.
• YoY growth data is updated quarterly, available from Sep 2004 to Dec 2024, with an average growth rate of 5.8%.
• 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 house price-to-income ratio in Australia was ***** as of the fourth quarter of 2024. This ratio, calculated by dividing nominal house prices by nominal disposable income per head, increased from the previous quarter. The price-to-income ratio can be used to measure housing affordability in a specific area. Australia's property bubble There has been considerable debate over the past decade about whether Australia is in a property bubble or not. A property bubble refers to a sharp increase in the price of property that is disproportional to income and rental prices, followed by a decline. In Australia, rising house prices have undoubtedly been an issue for many potential homeowners, pricing them out of the market. Along with the average house price, high mortgage interest rates have exacerbated the issue. Is the homeownership dream out of reach? Housing affordability has varied across the different states and territories in Australia. In 2024, the median value of residential houses was the highest in Sydney compared to other major Australian cities, with Brisbane becoming an increasingly expensive city. Nonetheless, expected interest rate cuts in 2025, alongside the expansion of initiatives to improve Australia's dwelling stock, social housing supply, and first-time buyer accessibility to properties, may start to improve the situation. These encompass initiatives such as the Australian government's Help to Buy scheme and the Housing Australia Future Fund Facility (HAFFF) and National Housing Accord Facility (NHAF) programs.

In the third quarter of 2024, the house price-to-rent ratio in Australia was estimated at 130.4, marking a decrease from the same quarter of the previous year. An indicator of how strong the property market is, the house price-to-rent ratio was calculated by dividing nominal house prices by rent price indices. After reaching a peak in 2017, the price-to-rent ratio decreased each quarter until the third quarter of 2019. From then on, the house price-to-rent ratio continued to increase, reaching a high in the first quarter of 2022. Since the second quarter of 2022, the house price-to-rent ratio has started to trend downward. Is Australia in a property bubble? Many industry experts believe the country is in a property bubble, indicated by the rapid increase in Australian property market prices to the point that they are no longer relative to incomes and rents, followed by a decline. The house price-to-income ratio has been on an upward trend over the past two years, hitting 122.1 in the third quarter of 2024. Rental property demand In December 2024, the rental vacancy rate, which indicates how many properties are available for rent out of all the rental stock, was relatively high in Melbourne, Canberra, and Sydney. That year, the average weekly rent prices varied across the country depending on the city, with the highest average weekly rents for houses and units in Sydney and Canberra. Hobart, on the other hand, had the most affordable rental properties across Australia's capital cities.

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.

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.

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.

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.

As of September 2024, the average rental yield of houses in Sydney, New South Wales, was 2.98 percent. In Darwin, the rental yield for houses measured 6.27 percent, which was the highest across all Australian capital cities during that quarter.

Mortgage Rate in Australia decreased to 5.97 percent in March from 6.03 percent in February of 2025. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for Australia Mortgage Rate.

Over the past decade, cowork spaces have developed into a small, but important, feature of Australia's commercial office property mix. The Australian market is slowly catching up to surging numbers of cowork spaces around the world, although its development is mostly concentrated in Melbourne and Sydney. A flood of new entrants have set up coworking sites in major cities and annual revenue has grown over time as a result. Coworking sites are pegged as an alternative to traditional commercial office leasing, offering shared workspaces to a variety of downstream clients, including freelancers, start-ups and small businesses. Instead of long-term commercial leases, customers tend to buy memberships or rent out offices on a temporary basis. This has become increasingly popular among certain sections of Australia's economy, driving growth in enterprise, establishment and employment numbers over the past decade. As larger sites have opened up with greater scope to drive additional revenue streams and charge higher prices, the industry’s profitability has also expanded over time. The pandemic upset an otherwise consistent growth narrative, as prolonged citywide lockdowns in Melbourne and Sydney drastically constrained downstream demand. With this rough period, annual revenue is expected to marginally drop at an annualised 0.1% to $537.2 million over the five years through 2024-25. However, this trend includes an anticipated rise of 8.3% in 2024-25 as occupancy rates are trending back towards pre-pandemic averages and new coworking sites are expected to open up. The ratio of office stock accounted for by coworking spaces is rising again after falling during the pandemic. Revenue is forecast to climb at an annualised 5.3% to $693.9 million through the end of 2029-30. New providers will continue to enter the industry, particularly in areas of the country where the market is less developed. In more mature markets, larger operators are forecast to account for a rising share of industry revenue, opening up bigger and more profitable sites that lift the average revenue per establishment.

Sydney topped the residential rental pricing market in Australia in March 2025, with house rent prices reaching an average of *** Australian dollars per week. The average weekly rent for a unit in Sydney was the highest among all capital cities in the country, followed by Brisbane.