Queensland’s long-term standing as the nation’s affordable property haven is officially dead, with new data revealing Brisbane is now harder for locals to buy into than Sydney.
A catastrophic collapse in new apartment construction has driven Brisbane’s median apartment price to $750,000, pushing the city’s price-to-income ratio to five times the average household income.
For the first time in history, that ratio has eclipsed Sydney, which sits at a 4.5 multiplier.
The shock milestone is the direct result of a shock 69 per cent surge in construction costs over just two years, which has effectively killed off the affordable apartment market in the Sunshine State.
Building for the rich
Explosive new research from OurTop10.com.au reveals it now costs a staggering $708,680 just to build a single dwelling in Queensland, making it the most expensive major market in the country.
That figure is 25 per cent higher than the national average, far outpacing New South Wales ($555,995) and Victoria ($529,380).
Because costs are so high, developers have abandoned volume housing in favour of boutique luxury builds, causing apartment construction across the state to plunge by 51 per cent.
Building in Queensland now costs more than in any other state
OurTop10.com.au CEO Simon Ma said building homes for everyday Aussies had simply become unviable.
“Queensland used to be one of the more affordable places in the country to build an apartment. Now it is the most expensive,” Mr Ma said.
“Many of the people moving to Queensland are doing so to find affordability. What they’re finding is a market that’s increasingly building for someone else.”
Rental vacancy rates are shrinking
The failure to build has pushed buyers into an already crippled rental market.
A fresh H1 2026 market outlook by JLL shows Brisbane’s rental vacancy rate shrank to a tiny 0.8 per cent in April.
In another grim first, the proportion of household income required to pay median apartment rent in Brisbane has reached nearly 21 per cent, matching Sydney.
JLL Australia residential research manager Will Silk said the state was buckling under a structural supply-demand imbalance.
“Brisbane’s overall affordability has deteriorated faster than any Australian capital,” Mr Silk said.
A critical gap between approvals and completions persists
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While apartment approvals in Queensland surged by 45.9 per cent in the year to March, JLL warned the critical gap between approvals and completions persists, with construction cost inflation and labour shortages exacerbated by the looming 2032 Olympics constraining delivery.
The dual crises come as Queensland hosts the highest numbers of net internal migration in the country.
In 2025 alone, the state needed to build at least 39,150 new homes to keep pace with population growth. It delivered just 32,796, an annual shortfall of 6,354 homes and the worst deficit of any Australian state.
With the Reserve Bank’s recent rate hikes to 4.35 per cent reducing buyer purchasing power, experts warn the pressure cooker environment will only intensify, leaving average wage earners locked out of the market entirely.
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