Property prices are surging nationwide, with several capital cities posting double-digit gains in the last year.
Across Australia, values climbed 9.9%, year-over-year, led by Perth, Brisbane and Darwin, which recorded increases of 24.3%, 19% and 19.7%, respectively, according to National Australia Bank’s (NAB) April 2026 Housing Monitor. Momentum remains strong in the short term as well: over the past three months, Perth prices edged up at an annualised rate of 33%, while Brisbane has risen 22.5%.
"It's interesting times," Luke Ashby, a broker at Brisbane-based Emerge Finance, told Australian Broker. "It's still super challenging with the prices going up at that level each month for the last couple of months. People's borrowing capacities are going down as a result of the rate rises. But with the couple of rate rises that we've had, plus the uncertainty in the Middle East and fuel going up, and a couple of lenders predicting that there'll be a couple more rate rises, there's still a lot of fear of missing out, especially at the price point of first-time homebuyers. And there's a lot of urgency that if they don't get in now that they never will.
"So the market is still very active. And there's still a lot of investor activity as well," he continued. "I think the first-time homebuyer bracket will continue to be quite busy, because people still need roofs over their heads. However, property is selling for $1.5 million to $2 million-plus, it's a lot quieter. We're in a very unique market."
NAB's Housing Monitor shows the median dwelling value nationwide now sits around $900,000, underscoring how a persistent housing shortage is pushing homeownership further out of reach for many would-be buyers.
Meanwhile, housing supply is still struggling to keep pace with demand. Building approvals jumped in February, but that followed two straight months of declines. In January, approvals fell 7.2%, after dropping 14.9% in December. And while approvals mark the first step toward new homes, many never reach completion.
Bucking the trend in prices were markets like Sydney and Melbourne, where prices fell 0.8% and 2.5%, respectively, in the last three months.
But Ashby said that doesn’t necessarily translate into an easier path to homeownership in those markets.
"Sydney has always pretty difficult [to buy], and there hasn't been a huge shift in terms of a decline in property values in Melbourne," he said. "There's a bit of talk around investors in Melbourne, but Melbourne hasn't performed for such a long time. And if you've got the budget to be able to afford an investment property in Brisbane or Southeast Queensland, that's where a lot of people are putting their money, because it's been performing well."
