Brisbane’s housing market nudges trillion-dollar milestone

The total value of homes in every Brisbane suburb has been revealed. SEARCH YOUR SUBURB

The total value of Brisbane’s housing market surged to a staggering $968.9 billion after a year of breakneck price growth which placed the River City as the nation’s second-most expensive.

Buyers aspiring to live in the most cash-stacked suburbs, led by inner-city New Farm, risked “debt up to their eyeballs”, with high property prices and a concentration of new housing driving their value.

The overall value of houses across the city nudged the $1 trillion benchmark as Australia’s total residential market topped a record $11 trillion in 2024, data by Core Logic shows.

This townhouse at 4/34 Elystan Rd, New Farm is priced at $3.2m

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New Farm’s housing stock of 7,035 dwellings was worth an eye-watering $10.6bn, which was evenly split between houses and apartments.

The suburb’s median buy-in is $2.5m for houses and $881,000 for units – the latter up 9 per cent over the past year bolstered by new high-end developments.

Recent sales include a $7m-plus sub-penthouse in the luxurious One Five Six project by Azure under construction on Oxlade Dr.

Rob Gray, director of boutique developer Graya, said buyers across their contemporary New Farm projects were a mix of downsizers and young professionals.

“It’s no secret New Farm is one of the most expensive suburbs in Brisbane and it is easy to see why, with such an attractive lifestyle offering,” Mr Gray said.

Brisbane buyer's agent Jordan Navybox. Pic: Jamie Hanson

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Buyers’ agent Jordan Navybox said the Calile Hotel, opened on James St in 2018, had spurred gentrication of the area with trendy boutiques and eateries.

“New Farm is now a real target suburb for young people and interstate buyers, and with its rising popularity comes a certain level of ego and status,” Mr Navybox said.

But the top-valued suburbs weren’t just home to the wealthy, with more affordable areas like Carindale, Caboolture, and Cleveland also ranked highly due to their larger number of dwellings or higher-density living options.

Coorparoo, 5km south of the CBD, held the city’s second highest total property wealth at $9.5bn across 8,439 dwellings.

This house at 32 Coneflower St, Caboolture was under contract within 48 hours for more than $1m

Carindale was in third place, with a combined value of $8.9bn for 5,716 dwellings, then The Gap at $8bn , Ashgrove at $7.8bn, and West End, $7.7bn.

Next was Caboolture in the city’s north, comprising a total of 11,241 dwellings – the most of any Brisbane suburb surveyed — worth a total of $7.7bn. Most dwellings were free-standing houses and the median price of $710,000 was up 13.6 per cent from last year.

First National Moreton agent Matt Stone said the greatest demand was for houses priced under $750,000, as first-home buyers sought to claim stamp duty exemption introduced last year.

Meanwhile, homes in newer developments were highly sought after by upgrading owners as well as investors, with a 2021-built four-bedroom house on a 716 sqm block on Coneflower St under offer for over $1m — about $500,000 more than the asking price — within 48 hours of listing.

A three-bedroom unit at 713/100 Holdsworth St, Coorparoo, on the market via an expressions of interest campaign

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“Houses that are less than five years old are going for ridiculous prices,” Mr Stone said.

“Demand is very strong, and because Caboolture is entry-level, the market is inflated. There are a lot more people in the bottom end and they are pushing prices up.”

CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless said several suburbs nationwide had a combined real estate value of well over $10bn.

Mr Lawless said the most valuable suburbs generally had a higher volume of housing and were coveted by home buyers for their rich amenities, easy access to work hubs and good schooling.

“It goes further than just the individual value of homes. It comes down to how expensive and how large the suburb is,” Mr Lawless said.

“There is a real concentration of value in our capitals. This points to where people want to live and where they believe they can get a high standard of living.”

Being in one of the country’s most valuable suburbs would be a source of pride for many people – provided they could afford to live there, Mr Lawless said.

CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless

“Living in a more valuable suburb will make a difference in a social sense. People do aspire to live in more desirable areas, but in a financial sense it will depend on how much debt you have.

“Those who are in a more valuable, more expensive suburb but in debt up to their eyeballs will be in a more precarious situation.”

On the flipside, areas with lower combined property wealth included rural markets located far from the coast with limited amenities.

Suburbs with the lowest housing stock value were located in Brisbane hinterland areas such as Moore outside Caboolture, where a total of 130 dwellings were worth $57m, followed by Somerset Dam outside Ipswich, and Rathdowney in Beaudesert.

A mid century-inspired architectural house at The Gap, priced at $2.2m

The latest PropTrack Home Price Index shows Brisbane’s median value fell by 0.04 per cent in December after 25 months of sustained growth.

Over the past 12 months, house prices increased by 10.63 per cent to a median value of $972,000, while unit prices were up 15.36 per cent, to $666,000.

Brisbane’s median price across all dwellings hit $863,000 in December — $83,000 more than Melbourne and $243,000 less than Sydney.

CoreLogic’s estimates were derived by multiplying the number of dwellings by the median value for houses and units across the suburb, and excluded areas with fewer than 100 dwellings.

Originally published as Brisbane’s housing market nudges trillion-dollar milestone