A buyer entering the market Down Under might expect to fork out more than $802,000 to do so as of the end of August, according to the latest CoreLogic House Price Index.

In the nation's capital cities, the median house price has climbed to over $997,000 and the median unit price is a hair away from $680,000.

Regional buyers, meanwhile, face a median house price of nearly $652,000 and a median unit price of approximately $566,000.

To put this into perspective, CoreLogic notes a household earning $100,000 a year with a 20% deposit can afford to pay around $506,000 for a home before their repayments exceed 30% of their income in the current interest rate environment.

As of the end of August, Darwin remains the only capital city with a median dwelling value under that threshold, while Melbourne is officially more affordable than Perth and Adelaide.

See also: How much of your income should you spend on a mortgage?

Change in Australian dwelling values, as at 31 August 2024

Median value Monthly change Quarterly change Annual change
Sydney $1,180,463 0.3% 0.8% 5.0%
Melbourne $776,044 -0.2% -1.2% -1.0%
Brisbane $875,040 1.1% 2.9% 15.0%
Adelaide $790,789 1.4% 4.0% 14.9%
Perth $785,250 2.0% 5.7% 24.4%
Hobart $655,114 -0.1% -0.4% -1.2%
Darwin $504,367 -0.2% -0.3% 1.6%
Canberra $845,875 -0.4% -0.2% 1.5%
Combined capitals $885,877 0.5% 1.3% 7.1%
Combined regional $637,660 0.5% 1.1% 7.0%
National $802,357 0.5% 1.3% 7.1%

Source: CoreLogic

Housing price growth in mid-sized cities 'unsustainable'

Perhaps, then, it's unsurprising that buyers appear to be increasingly being priced out of the nation's strongest property markets, CoreLogic head of research Eliza Owen noted.

"Housing values cannot keep rising at the same pace in the mid-sized capitals of Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane when affordability is becoming increasingly stretched," she said.

"Particularly in the context of elevated interest rates, loosening labour market conditions, and cost of living pressures."

The trend of buyers deviating towards units and lower-cost housing options is continuing, with demand keeping prices in such segments strong.

Over the three months to August, prices in the most affordable quarter of Australia's housing stock lifted 2.7%, compared to a 0.3% rise across the broader market.

Looking forward, homeowners can expect their property's value to rise thanks to a lack of new supply hitting the market.

While the number of new residential building works being approved appears to be heading higher, it remains below historical levels, figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Monday reveal.

"[Approvals of] private dwellings excluding houses rose 32.1% after a low June result [and] private sector house approvals also rose by 0.6%," ABS head of construction statistics Daniel Rossi said.

Dwellings excluding houses include the likes of semi-detached houses, townhouses, and apartments.

Approval for the construction of more than 2,500 high-density apartments was granted in July,

"Despite the bounce in July, total dwellings approved remain 5.1% lower than the five year average," Mr Rossi said.

Adelaide & Perth property prices top Melbourne

Adelaide's median property value has surpassed $790,000 to sit nearly $15,000 higher than Melbourne's.

Simultaneously, Perth's median property value is now $785,000 - $9,000 above Melbourne's at $776,000.

It comes as housing supply in Melbourne remains robust amid shortages in the city's westerly neighbours.

Such shortages helped to drive dwelling prices in Adelaide and Perth $13,600 and $15,300 higher respectively over the course of August, while Melbourne property prices recorded a $3,100 fall.

"This is the first time that Perth's median dwelling value has been higher than Melbourne's since February 2015, when the city was just coming off the highs of an iron-ore boom," Ms Owen said.

"It is also the first time in CoreLogic's forty-year median dwelling value series that Adelaide has had a higher median than Melbourne."

Demand in Melbourne's housing market has failed to keep pace with supply, thanks to an influx of new builds and, in part, to taxes charged to property investors.

"[Victoria] saw more dwelling completions over the past decade than any other state or territory," Ms Owen said.

That may have helped drive total listings in Melbourne to around 25% above its previous five-year average last month, while the number of listings hitting the market in Perth and Adelaide remain more than 40% lower than historical averages.

Image by Vlad Kutepov on Unsplash

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