The home price gap is closing between Sydney and Brisbane, with new figures showing only $244,000 stands between the Queensland capital and its southern rival.
Brisbane’s median home price hit a new record high in November, rising another 0.28 per cent of $13,000 to $868,000, the latest PropTrack Home Price Index, released on Monday, reveals.
That’s up from $855,000 in September, with prices rising more than 80 per cent in the past five years.
But PropTrack senior economist Eleanor Creagh said an increase in listings during spring had slowed the pace of growth in Brisbane.
“The increase in properties hitting the market this year has been met with strong demand, but increased stock for sale has been a contributor to slowing price growth, along with affordability constraints and the sustained higher interest rate environment,” Ms Creagh said.
“Despite this, Brisbane remains one of the strongest performing capital city markets over the past year, with home prices sitting 12.56 per cent above November 2023 levels.
“This prolongs a run of strong growth in Brisbane that has seen Brisbane become the second-most expensive capital, ahead of Melbourne and Canberra.”
Home prices in regional Queensland gained 0.21 per cent to hit a new record of $709,000 last month.
Townsville has been a star performer this year, with its median home price climbing a whopping 28 per cent in the past 12 months to $493,000.
Heading into summer, Ms Creagh said she expected home prices to continue to rise, though at a slower pace than in previous years.
Despite inflation now being within the Reserve Bank of Australia’s target range, coming in at 2.8 per cent for the September quarter and 2.1 per cent for October, Ray White chief economist Nerida Conisbee expects the RBA to keep interest rates on hold after their next board meeting this month.
“Up until a few weeks ago, markets were predicting four rate cuts for 2025. Now they are predicting two with the first to come in around May and the second in September,” Ms Conisbee said.
“The main driver of this has been the election of Trump in the US and the potential for widespread economic challenges in the US, and by extension, for us.”