Brisbane homes jump $135,900 in a year despite rate hike fears

The dwelling price in Brisbane jumped by almost $136k in just one year.

Brisbane homeowners woke up $135,900 richer at the start of the new year, with median home values growing at more than double the annual pace of Sydney and triple that of Melbourne, with regional markets also sizzling.

The Queensland capital led the eastern states with an annual jump of 14.6 per cent to a median of $1.013 million in the latest PropTrack Home Price Index, released nationally on Monday – with shock trends emerging across the state.

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The latest PropTrack Home Price Index results show Brisbane leading the eastern seaboard growth. Source: PropTrack.

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Brisbane units defied decades of conventional wisdom by outperforming houses, surging 18.3 per cent (up $125,500) compared to houses at 13.5 per cent (up $146,900). The unit outperformance signals a fundamental market shift in demand, driven by affordability, downsizers, interstate migrants and young professionals.

The shock results come after multiple interest rate cuts in 2025, but REA Group senior economist Anne Flaherty expects price growth to continue across 2026 despite the threat of hikes by the Reserve Bank.

“Home prices are predicted to head to new highs in 2026,” she said.

Queensland regions have logged an even more unusual market trend with the traditional house-unit price gap collapsing to just $21,000 – a fraction of the typical 30-40 per cent discount units used to command compared to houses.

Overall, regional house owners became $99,800 richer in the past year with the median hitting $797,000, while units rose $99,100 to $776,000 – a convergence that signals continued acute undersupply of both property types across regional markets. Regional units are rising faster than houses (13.7 per cent versus 12.7 per cent) and on track to equalise in 2026.

Overall, Queensland regions saw all dwellings rise 13 per cent annually, or $100,000 in just 12 months, to a median of $790,000.

Brisbane and Perth were the best performing capitals on a year-on-year basis, with Perth leading at 17.2 per cent growth, followed by Brisbane (+14.6 per cent). Source: PropTrack

Ms Flaherty expected three factors to drive price growth in 2026 even in the face of rate hikes.

“Price growth in 2025 was supported by three rate cuts. This year, no further cuts are expected, and there is a possibility rates could rise if inflation persists,” she said.

“Counteracting this headwind, however, is limited new housing supply and persistent demand. The Australian Government 5 per cent Deposit Scheme is also likely to support price growth by driving up demand, particularly at the more affordable end of the market.”

The latest figures show only Perth had a higher level of growth nationally than Brisbane (17.2 per cent), with Sydney managing just 6.4 per cent and Melbourne 4.5 per cent.

But monthly momentum figures reveal an accelerating divergence: Brisbane and Perth continued surging in December (both up 0.5 per cent), while Sydney and Melbourne both fell 0.3 per cent.

The monthly data showed Adelaide leading all capitals with 0.8 per cent growth, while Darwin was flat and Canberra fell 0.2 per cent.

“Just as Perth, Brisbane, and Adelaide have been the best performing capital city markets over the past year, their respective regional markets have likewise led growth regionally,” Ms Flaherty said.

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