Australia's regional housing markets performed strongly over the first half of the year despite the risks arising from the COVID-19 outbreak, according to the latest report from PRD Real Estate.

Regional housing markets, on average, reported a 3.4% growth in median prices over the first six months of 2020, with Tasmania leading the gains at 9.8%. Of all states, only Western Australia registered a decline, with median prices dropping 0.5%.

"In the face of COVID-19 regional markets were slightly more insulated from economic shocks as there was less reliance on international trade and a more affordable housing market," the report said.

The table below shows the movement of regional prices in each state:

While the capital city markets experienced the "most tumultuous" ride amid the COVID-19 outbreak, they managed to report a small gain in average median prices at 1%. However, this pales in comparison to the 6.7% gain they recorded during the same period last year.

Sydney and Melbourne reported the strongest increases at 10.8% and 14.3%, respectively. South Australia, on the other hand, posted the steepest decline at 15.4%. Median prices also declined in Western Australia and Northern Territory.

Metropolitan markets outperformed capital cities in terms of price growth. On average, the median value across these markets gained 2.7%. Tasmania and New South Wales were the best performers.

"This is not surprising, considering that metropolitan markets are more affordable compared with capital city markets, and are fast growing in terms of infrastructure and commercial projects," the report said.