It’s an age-old debate — are houses a better investment than units? Standard advice is to always buy a house if you can afford it because of the land value, but not in all cases.

Over the past 12 months, unit price growth in Brisbane has exceeded house price growth, with Perth and Adelaide not far behind, according to new research by Nuestar and Hotspotting.

Nuestar founder Michael Wilkins said more buyers were moving away from traditional housing stock in favour of units close to the city centre with more affordable price points.

Brisbane’s median unit price has grown more than 17 per cent in 12 months, according to new data. Image: Darren England.

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“The growth in Brisbane’s unit sector has been phenomenal, with its median unit

price soaring more than 17 per cent over the year to July,” Mr Wilkins said.

“Correspondingly, the Brisbane house price has risen by 13.4 per cent over the same

period.”

MORE: How interest rate cut will change value of your home

Hotspotting director Terry Ryder said the unit markets in Perth and Adelaide had both

recorded significant unit price growth over the past year.

“In Perth, the median unit price has soared more than 20 per cent over the year to July,

and in Adelaide, it has strengthened an impressive 12.4 per cent over the same period,”

he said.

Perth’s median unit price has jumped more than 20 per cent in the year to July.

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“These sorts of growth levels are only slightly below the performance of housing in

both of these cities, with more price uplift likely on the horizon, too.”

The median house price in Perth increased nearly 24 per cent over the year to July, according

to PropTrack, and 15.5 per cent in Adelaide over the same period.

MORE: PropTrack Housing Affordability report 2024 Australia’s worst ever

Unit markets are also performing strongly in Sydney, Mr Wilkins said.

“Sydney unit markets are pumping, and house markets are not,” he said. “Plus, the market share of attached dwellings continues to rise.

“In most of the Greater Sydney municipalities where sales activity is strong, it is

the unit markets that are most active.

Units in Sydney are also recording strong price growth, particularly in the inner-city market.

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“Outer-ring house markets are generally subdued, suggesting that those seeking

affordable options are choosing apartments and townhouses in the Harbour City

instead.”

Mr Ryder said the strength of the unit sector was likely to encourage more development activity in the future, especially boutique apartment projects.

“It is expected that buyers and investors will turn their focus to boutique and

medium-rise projects, where the construction times are less than two years, and

there is more certainty that the project will proceed within a reasonable timeframe,” he said.

Spyre Group is one of the boutique residential developers pushing ahead with unit projects, reporting more than $16m in sales in its Brisbane and Melbourne markets in the month of August alone.

Data from Place Estate Agents reveals unit listings in Brisbane are tracking 43 per cent below the previous five-year average. Image: Darren England.

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“Data from CoreLogic has now tipped Brisbane units to increase in value by more than 20 per cent in total across 2024,” its latest market update stated.

“This continued growth in apartment value will push the median price upwards of $700,000 by the end of the calendar year, surpassing Melbourne and Canberra.

“A continued lack of supply particularly in inner city Brisbane has bolstered value increases repeatedly throughout the year.”

New data from Place Estate Agents’ research team reveals Brisbane unit listings are tracking 43 per cent below the previous five-year average, which means there is still not enough stock to meet buyer demand.

Place Bulimba agent Tom Kralikas, who specialises in inner-city apartments, said he had noticed a trend in downsizers and ‘rightsizers’ choosing units close to Brisbane’s CBD.

This unit at 6201/222 Margaret St, Brisbane City, recently sold to a downsizer for $2.3m.

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“The river city is emerging as the new hotspot for rightsizers, who are opting to purchase in the CBD over traditional sea change destinations,” Mr Kralikas said.

“The appeal is the city’s vibrant urban amenities and walkable attractions.”

Mr Kralikas recently sold a unit in Margaret Street for $2.3m to a buyer relocating from Sunnybank.

“His plan is to downsize from a large house to a secure unit to have more ability to travel and less maintenance,” he said.

“We had over 50 buyers through that property and almost all were ‘rightsizers’ looking for an increase in lifestyle and to immerse themselves within a vibrant CBD area.”