Australia's housing market is running at two speeds. Over the year to March, the mid-sized capitals surged — Darwin +25%, Perth +22%, Brisbane +21%, Adelaide +15% — while Sydney (+2.4%) and Melbourne (+1.8%) barely moved. The shift is striking: a typical Brisbane ($1.15m), Perth or Canberra house now costs more than a Melbourne one ($850k). The RBAcash rate is steady at 4.35%, so borrowing power hasn't changed this week. What it means for you — owners in the resource and sunbelt capitals have had a strong year; Sydney and Melbourne owners have seen prices flatten; for buyers, nothing shifted on rates.
What's happening, city by city
The boom has rotated to the mid-sized capitals — Perth (+22%), Brisbane (+21%), Adelaide (+15%) and Darwin (+25%) led the past year on strong interstate migration and tight supply, while Sydney and Melbourne lagged against affordability ceilings.
A possible turning point — in the most recent quarter, Sydney (−4.8%) and Melbourne (−4.7%) median prices fell, while Perth (+4.2%), Brisbane (+3.6%) and Darwin (+5.6%) kept climbing. But one quarter of median data is noisy — watch whether it holds.
Melbourne is now the cheapest mainland capital on this measure ($850k), having been overtaken by Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra — a big structural shift in the map of Australian housing.
Listed property rose today — the A-REIT index gained about 1.8%, tracking the broader share-market rebound.
What it means for you
If you own: Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide and Darwin owners have seen double-digit annual gains; Sydney and Melbourne have been flat-to-softer.
If you're buying: the cash rate is unchanged at 4.35%, so how much you can borrow hasn't moved this week — the next RBA decision is the lever to watch.
A note on the numbers: these are ABS median sale prices — quarter-lagged and composition-sensitive. They're great for the trend and the city-vs-city picture, less so for week-to-week precision. The live weekly edition will add weekend auction clearance rates (cited from Cotality).
What to watch
The RBA cash rate (next decision) — the single biggest lever on borrowing power and prices.
Weekend auction clearance rates (Sydney and Melbourne especially) — the fastest read on momentum; the live brief cites these from Cotality each Monday.
Whether Sydney and Melbourne's quarterly dip continues — one soft quarter is not a trend.
Median house price by city
Sydney
$1.49m
▲ +2.4%/yr
Melbourne
$850k
▲ +1.8%/yr
Brisbane
$1.15m
▲ +21.4%/yr
Adelaide
$980k
▲ +15.0%/yr
Perth
$1.00m
▲ +22.0%/yr
Hobart
$740k
▲ +3.5%/yr
Canberra
$1.07m
▲ +9.9%/yr
Darwin
$750k
▲ +25.0%/yr
Established-house medians, ABS, quarter 2026-Q1. Change is year-on-year.
General information only — not financial, credit, tax, or property advice. Figures are quarter-lagged (ABS) and capital-city level. Data as at the dates shown.
Thinking of buying? Work out your real upfront cost
Stamp duty is usually the biggest upfront cost after your deposit, and it differs a lot between states. Use the stamp duty calculator, or jump to your state for exact rates and first-home-buyer concessions:
NSW · VIC · QLD · WA · SA · TAS · ACT · NT. Then check your mortgage repayments and borrowing power.