Canberra rose as one of the top-performing housing markets at the end of 2020, according to the latest report from CoreLogic.

Over the year to December, dwelling prices in Canberra grew by 7.5%, the second highest annual gain next to Darwin's 9%.

Sandra Howells, property valuer at Herron Todd White, said Canberra was relatively insulated from the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on the real estate industry.

"Baited buyer demand began making itself known again at auctions and open homes. However, housing stock levels of established properties remained down on levels prior to the pandemic,” she said.

Howells said the stable employment conditions in Canberra as well as the increased competition amongst buyers for the limited properties available have protected prices from falling.

"In short, this return of demand and limited stock saw Canberra’s house prices remain unaffected by the economic impacts of the pandemic," she said. "The residential property market for houses remained steady and robust with prices across Canberra’s suburbs not showing any drops in value and properties of unique offering in desirable suburbs fetching record prices."

In terms of the local unit market, conditions remained unchanged. However, Howell said market conditions for the unit market are not as good overall as the housing market, given the volatility.

"The unit market, particularly apartments, performed as predicted remaining quite stagnant with growth often negated by the continual flow of new apartments coming onto the market," she said.