This Kewarra mansion is one of the most expensive properties on the market in Cairns

Cairns home prices jumped 10.36 per cent over the past year to hit a fresh high of $601,000 across all dwellings — outperforming the Queensland capital over the same period.

PropTrack’s latest Home Price Index, out today, showed Cairns retained its affordability edge in comparison to Brisbane despite its stellar run, with strong population growth and hot competition for entry-level prices property driving demand.

Ray White Cairns principal Ray Murphy said homes priced under $800,000 were attracting multiple offers, with owner-occupiers also jostling with investors for apartments are prices continued to soar.

An award-winning renovation project at Palm Cove. Photo: Supplied.

“A lot of the price growth here in Cairns has been driven by the lower end of the market, and we anticipate that is only going to increase exponentially with the government’s expanded Home Guarantee scheme, which comes in October.”

The scheme removes place and income limits and raises property price caps, allowing more first-home buyers to enter the market with a 5 per cent deposit and no Lenders Mortgage Insurance.

While Cairns had traditionally attracted young families from Melbourne and Sydney, more buyers were relocating after being priced out of southeast Queensland markets, Mr Murphy said.

“People are just loving the lifestyle of Far North Queensland — it is a perfect storm of conditions creating a great property market for us, and there are no signs of it slowing down,” Mr Murphy said.

Affordable property and an attractive lifestyle were perks drawing buyers

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Brisbane’s property sector also showed its strength, with prices up $93,700 or 10.23 per cent since last year, outpacing national trends.

The hefty rise was the largest annual dollar increase of all capital cities, and close to double the national average increase of $54,100 or 6.24 per cent over the same period, highlighting the River City’s continued climb despite markets cooling most recently.

Brisbane values recorded monthly growth of 0.46 per cent in September, topping up a whopping 92.47 per cent increase over the last five years. The city’s median value hit $952,000.

REA Group senior economist Eleanor Creagh said price growth was expected to continue, as all mainstream economists tipped the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to keep interest rates steady at 3.6 per cent at its September meeting yesterday.

REA Group senior economist Eleanor Creagh

“For households, earlier rate cuts this year have lowered mortgage repayments and boosted borrowing capacities and confidence,” Ms Creagh said.

“This has helped to drive a synchronised housing market upswing, with demand building into the spring selling season.

“While affordability pressures remain, this year’s series of interest rate cuts, improved sentiment, and the October expansion of the Home Guarantee Scheme, and expected to keep upward pressure on home prices in the months ahead.”

The post Cairns home price jump 10.36pc, blitz capital appeared first on realestate.com.au.

Lower interest rates and intensifying buyer competition have fuelled further home price growth across Australia, driving values to new highs.

Home prices climbed higher in September across all capital city and regional markets as increased borrowing capacities and improved buyer confidence fuelled strong growth.

But one city’s housing market is now back to its former glory, with home prices in Melbourne now at a record high, eclipsing the previous peak in 2022. 

The PropTrack Home Price Index shows Australia’s median home price rose 0.5% in September — the ninth straight month of growth — with values now 6.2% higher than a year ago.

The broad lift in prices came after the Reserve Bank slashed interest rates in August – the third rate cut delivered this year.

PropTrack senior economist Eleanor Creagh said prices were climbing steadily higher, with borrowers able to spend more to purchase a home.

“The housing market remains on a firm upward trajectory this spring selling season,” she said.

“The combination of increased borrowing capacities and lower borrowing costs, stronger buyer confidence and renewed competition is underpinning a broad uplift.”

How home values changed around Australia in September

Ms Creagh said momentum in the housing market was shifting, with price growth in the top-performing capitals now slowing and previously-lagging cities catching up. 

“Price growth in Sydney and Melbourne is re-accelerating, Hobart is rebounding, and Darwin is leading annual gains amid surging investor activity,” she said.

“By contrast, Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide are normalising after exceptional multi-year runs, with growth slowing, though prices continue to rise and values remain at record highs.”

Melbourne prices return to record highs

After a slow few years, home prices in Melbourne have turned a corner and are now higher than at any point in history.

Melbourne’s median home value rose 0.5% in the past month and 3.4% in the past year.

The city’s slower price growth in the past few years relative to the smaller capitals meant it slipped from being one of the priciest cities to one of the most affordable.

Melbourne prices have increased by 20% in the past five years, while prices are up about 40% in Sydney and about 90% in Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.

That relative affordability has put it back on the radar for investors, many of whom exited the Victorian market amid the slower recovery following the pandemic and changes to property tax laws.

Melbourne real estate agent and Barry Plant North Eastern Group director David Moxon said buyer sentiment had improved throughout the year.

“Even prior to rates coming down in August, you could sense that buyer activity and sentiment was more positive,” he said.

House prices rose by 5% in the past year in Melbourne’s north east, a region Mr Moxon said was in a relatively affordable ‘sweet spot’ that appealed to first-home buyers.

Investors had also become increasingly active, Mr Moxon said, particularly those from outside Victoria.

“A lot of investors started to see the Melbourne market as undervalued and as a consequence we’re seeing a lot of buyer advocates representing interstate investors,” he said.

Momentum shifts to more affordable markets

Darwin recorded the fastest price growth in the past year, with values up 11.4% compared to a year ago as investor interest surges amid a shortage of homes on the market.

A tight rental market, strong rental yields and affordable prices have coaxed more investors to the Northern Territory, resulting in many homes selling rapidly to interstate investors sight unseen.

Hobart had the strongest monthly growth, with values rising 0.8% in September, but values in the Tasmanian capital are still 5.4% below the peak recorded in early 2022.

“Hobart is rebounding after a period of underperformance, leading monthly gains in September and showing one of the sharpest annual accelerations in price growth across the capitals,” Ms Creagh said.

Local agents have reported increased numbers of investors seeking properties in Hobart, attracted by higher rental yields and stabilising prices.

Sydney had the next fastest growth in September with values rising 0.7%.

The city’s median house value is now $1.6 million – a figure that’s $500,000 higher than the second-priciest city, Brisbane.

On an annual basis, price growth has been strongest in the city’s more-affordable south west (up 9%), but the strongest quarterly growth was recorded in the eastern suburbs (up 4%)

Real estate agent Cameron Airlie of NGFarah in Sydney’s east said there had been an increase in buyer activity in recent weeks, particularly for more affordable properties in a region that’s one of the priciest in the country.

“Buyers are starting to get a little bit more aggressive,” he said. “The market definitely feels a bit stronger than where it was a few months ago.”

The post Aussie home prices strengthen as Melbourne hits record high appeared first on realestate.com.au.

South Australia’s property sector continues to kick goals, with metro home values up on the previous month and recording the fourth best growth of any capital city, a new report shows.

According to PropTrack’s September Home Price Index report, South Australian regional properties recorded the highest growth in the nation over the past year, with combined regional dwelling – both house and unit – prices up 12.3 per cent over the past year, and metropolitan dwelling prices up 8.6 per cent over the past year.

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Adelaide’s median value now sits $71,900 higher than this time last year at $862,000, while regional SA’s median dwelling price sits at $470,000 – some $52,000 higher than last year.

REA Group senior economist and report author Eleanor Creagh, said the housing market remains on a firm upward trajectory this spring selling season.

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“National home prices rose 0.5 per cent in September, extending the upswing to a ninth straight month and lifting values 6.2 per cent higher than a year ago,” she said.

“The combination of increased borrowing capacities and lower borrowing costs, stronger buyer

confidence and renewed competition is underpinning a broad uplift, while momentum is shifting.

REA Group senior economist Eleanor Creagh

“Although national growth has accelerated in 2025, it remains below long-run average with stretched affordability leaving limited room for prices to surge at the 20-30 per cent pace of previous booms.”

Adelaide’s house price remains at its record high – up 0.58 per cent for the month and 8.43 per cent for the year to $933,000 – while metropolitan units have increased 0.32 per cent over the past month and 9.54 per cent over the past 12 months to $645,000.

That’s an increase of $74,500 for houses and $54,600 for units.

Regionally, the median house price sits at $478,000, and the median unit price $428,000.

Over the past five years, metropolitan Adelaide’s combined dwelling price has increased by 88.56 per cent, while regional homes have increased by 95.69 per cent.

Ms Creagh said this year’s series of interest rate cuts, improved sentiment and the October expansion of the Home Guarantee Scheme will add support.

Adelaide home values are up. Picture: Supplied by Knight Frank

“With stock on market constrained and new supply challenged, demand-side stimulus will intensify competition,” she said.

“The housing market is poised for further gains throughout spring, though the pace will vary across cities as momentum shifts.”

Price gains aren’t good for everyone though, with a rising market meaning buyers are having to pay more to secure their dream home, and first home buyers needing a larger deposit to get into the market.

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According to the report, home values in the state’s South East area have increased over the past 12 months by 12.69 per cent to a $527,000 median, while dwellings in the state’s Barossa – Yorke – Mid North region have increased 11.95 per cent to a median of $475,000.

Finder’s head of consumer research Graham Cooke. Picture: Supplied

Graham Cooke, head of consumer research at Finder, said many homeowners were still doing it tough.

“While relief is starting to filter through, 35 per cent of homeowners are still struggling to pay their mortgage in September,” he said.

“Even with another cut expected before Christmas, you don’t need to wait to get a better deal.

“If you’re currently paying more than 5.5 per cent for a variable rate, you’re probably paying too much.”

The post $74,500 more than last year – Adelaide home prices surge appeared first on realestate.com.au.

When much of the real estate industry is consolidating, Parker Pemberton, who runs the No. 1 team globally at eXp Realty, has decided it is time to strike out on his own. 

“I think that the marketplace needs strong local leadership and with the consolidation going on right now, it is getting very corporate out there for a lot of these brokerages, so we want to be a strong local brokerage that can stand up to that and offer agents another choice,” Pemberton said.

The Pemberton Homes Team has been with eXp Realty since 2018. In those seven years, Pemberton said his team has grown 110% year over year, and now encompasses roughly 200 agents and seven offices, all of which are making the move to the newly launched PembertonRE.

Pemberton said he is grateful for his time at eXp, noting that it was the Glenn Sanford-founded firm that enabled his team to grow at the rate it did. 

In addition to a real estate brokerage, Pemberton also owns and runs independent title, mortgage, insurance and real estate investing firms. By becoming an independent brokerage, these services companies will be able to more seamlessly serve Pemberton’s consumers, he said.

“When I joined my first brokerage I realized they gave me a handbook and a cubicle and said good luck. I quickly found out the brokerage wasn’t going to supply you with things like lead generation, personalized coaching from someone who’s actually done the thing you’re trying to do, access to internal transaction coordinators, listing coordinators, marketing support, videography, etc.,” Pemberton said. “I had to go outside the brokerage to hire coaching, marketing consultants, independent transaction coordination companies, staging, design, all the services.”

Through this experience, Pemberton said that when it came time to build his own team, his goal was to create a model where everything an agent could possibly need to run their business was available to them in-house. 

“We currently offer all of our service to agents a la carte style. We have our own videographers and a full marketing department, and we do branding shoots for agents, as well as coaching and training and of course lead generation,” Pemberton said. “It is a team model, but we have scaled it into a brokerage and now we want to introduce that to the marketplace.”

While Pemberton is excited to launch his brokerage, he is taking some tips from eXp, including its revenue share program. 

“I think if any brokerage doesn’t have a revenue share model internally moving forward, they are way behind,” he said. 

In 2024, Pemberton’s team closed 1,223 transaction sides with a total sales volume of $455.54 million, making it the No. 2 mega team in Minnesota according to the 2025 RealTrends Verified Rankings. According to Pemberton, in 2025, his team is expected to close over 2,000 transaction sides, exceeding $800 million in sales volume. Additionally, his team is the No. 1 team worldwide at eXp by transaction count and the No. 1 for volume.