Second Australian city becomes million-dollar housing market

Brisbane has become Australia's latest million-dollar property market, as median house prices surged into seven figures for the first time.

According to analysis from Cotality, median house prices in the Queensland capital reached $1,006,000 in May, up from $996,000 in April, and from $942,000 in May 2024.

The price increase continued in June, lifting to $1,011,000.

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It's the first time on record median house prices in Brisbane have topped $1 million, putting it next to Sydney for average property values.

Brisbane has been the house market with the second highest-prices in Australia - behind only Sydney - for nine months as of June, overtaking Canberra in October last year and Melbourne in June last year.

However, there remains considerable daylight between Brisbane prices and Sydney prices.

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Cotality found the gap between Sydney's median home values and Brisbane's was aat $549,000, down a little from its peak of $567,000 last October.

Meanwhile, Brisbane's median is $63,000 above Melbourne's and $30,000 higher than Canberra's.

Cotality said Brisbane house values had risen steeply since the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, surging 76.1 per cent from June 2020 to June 2025.

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Their research found that much of the price increase had been driven by interstate migration, which had its foundations in cost of living and lifestyle motivations.

Brisbane's population grew 9.2 per cent - or by 235,000 people - between June 2020 and June 2024, Cotality said, compared to six per cent growth nationally in the same period.

However, the booming house prices that mark Brisbane's success in attracting new residents could also see that very trend reversed.

Cotality also found house price growth was slowing if still solid, rising 1.9 per cent in the latest quarter, compared to 3.5 per cent in the June 2024 quarter and a high of 10.2 per cent in the three months to November 2021.

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