National Home Prices Hit New Record, But Growth Shows Signs of Cooling
Australian home values continued to climb in November, rising 0.5% nationally and lifting annual growth to 8.7% the fastest pace since mid-2022. While momentum has strengthened through 2025, stretched affordability is keeping price increases well below the rapid 20–30% gains seen in earlier booms.
Key Highlights
- Home values reached a new national peak in November, though monthly growth slowed slightly from October.
- Prices are up 8.7% over the past year, adding roughly $77,900 to the median home value, now sitting at $873,000 — 51% higher than five years ago.
- Capital city markets rose 0.5% in November and are now 8.5% higher year-on-year, with values at record highs.
- Perth and Adelaide led November growth among the capitals (both +0.9%), followed by Brisbane and Canberra (both +0.6%).
- All capitals except Hobart (still 2.8% below its peak) hit new record values, though each recorded slower monthly gains than in October.
- Over the past year, Perth (+15.5%), Darwin (+14.1%), and Brisbane (+13.7%) posted the strongest capital-city increases. Regionally, WA (+13.2%) and Queensland (+12.5%) performed best.
Regional Markets
Regional home prices rose 0.6% in November and 9.3% over the year, continuing to outpace capital cities over both the past year (9.3% vs 8.5%) and the past five years (64% vs 47%). Affordability and lifestyle preferences have supported this strength, though the gap is narrowing as capital-city markets now show faster momentum.
In several capitals including Darwin, Hobart, Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney annual growth has firmed since late 2024. Meanwhile, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth remain strong performers, though their growth is no longer accelerating compared with a year ago.
Across all these markets, unit prices are rising faster than house prices, both quarterly and annually, as buyers shift toward more attainable options.
Outlook
Demand remains supported by strong population inflows, rising investor participation, and government incentives such as the expanded Home Guarantee Scheme. A new federal low-deposit shared-equity program, opening applications on Friday, December 5, is expected to further bolster interest.
At the same time, available housing stock remains tight and new construction is still constrained factors that continue to favour sellers and point to further price gains over summer.
However, with monthly growth slowing from October’s pace and interest rates expected to stay on hold for an extended period, affordability pressures are likely to moderate price growth through 2026.