Brisbane house prices: Median hits $1m, ahead of six other capital cities

Brisbane’s median housing price has nearly doubled since the Covid-19 pandemic, making it the second most expensive capital.

Aerial of Brisbane

Brisbane’s median housing price has nearly doubled since the Covid-19 pandemic, making it the second most expensive capital city in Australia after Sydney.

Data from Cotality Australia showed the state’s capital city median house value skyrocketed to $1.006m in May and peaked at $1.011m in June, marking an 81 per cent rise in five years.

Brisbane houses have been more expensive than those of six other capital cities for nine months straight, about 7 per cent higher than those of Melbourne and 3 per cent more than Canberra’s, while Sydney houses remained roughly 50 per cent pricier than Brisbane.

Cotality Australia head of research Eliza Owen said one of the biggest driving factors for the rapidly growing market was the surge in demand from a shift in interstate migration.

“Prior to 2020, the Brisbane market had experienced a long-term period of softer growth conditions – setting the market up for a more affordable starting point when the Covid housing boom arrived,” she said.

“As well as initially being more affordable than Melbourne, and remaining more affordable than Sydney, Brisbane’s warmer weather and lower housing density may have presented more ‘lifestyle’ appeal during the pandemic.

“The rapid boost to population growth at a time of constraints on housing supply is likely what led to a substantial boost in values – and urgency – in the housing market.”

La’ace de Vries and husband Adam Danielli in Nundah. Picture: Annette Dew

Government data showed the more than 270,000 people moved to Greater Brisbane since 2020, bringing the population to near 2.8m.

Former Miss World Australia Queensland finalist La’ace De Vries purchased her first house in Nundah in 2022 during the housing boom.

“Brisbane's always been home. We don’t want to live anywhere else, and we love it here,” she said.

“We tired as soon as possible, but it took us three years to get into the market.”

Her husband Adam Danielli said Brisbane got a great climate and a sense of community.

“It’s still not one of the biggest cities that you get down south, although it is growing,” he said.

The architect revealed the couple’s plans of renovating the two-bedroom house with himself completing the drawings.

“We did have a couple of times we started to try and make a place we were renting home, and then the owner decided to sell, which meant that we had to leave and find something else,” he said.

“We found that now we own the home, we can really turn it into what we want it to be and improve it as we go on in our career.”

Mr Danielli said the government should reassess how they can make housing cheaper to accommodate people who struggle to get into the market.

Originally published as Brisbane house prices: Median hits $1m, ahead of six other capital cities