Despite three back-to-back interest rate rises, these regions are powering ahead and earning homeowners hundreds of thousands of dollars.
At the national level, the property market’s momentum has cooled this year following the recommencement of a rate rise cycle that unwound all of last year’s rate cuts in just 91 days.
The median national value was flat across May following a pullback in investor demand after measures were introduced in the federal budget to abolish both negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount for existing properties.
But analysing price movements at local level paints a very different picture, revealing where values have surged in the past year, where prices are still rising higher and where the market has cooled.
Even though price growth has slowed nationally, there are dozens of property markets where the value of a typical home has jumped by more than $100,000 in just 12 months.
Where house prices rose by more than $100,000 in a year
| Region (SA4) | Median house value | 12-month change (%) | 12-month change ($) | |
| 1 | Perth - Inner | $2,263,000 | 13.6% | $280,000 |
| 2 | Perth - North West | $1,167,000 | 21.4% | $212,000 |
| 3 | Perth - South West | $1,130,000 | 21.1% | $202,000 |
| 4 | Brisbane - North | $1,337,000 | 16.4% | $193,000 |
| 5 | Perth - South East | $1,043,000 | 20.6% | $192,000 |
| 6 | Brisbane - West | $1,526,000 | 15.4% | $184,000 |
| 7 | Perth - North East | $1,038,000 | 20.2% | $181,000 |
| 8 | Brisbane - South | $1,533,000 | 12.7% | $171,000 |
| 9 | Moreton Bay - South | $1,150,000 | 16.1% | $166,000 |
| 10 | Brisbane - East | $1,270,000 | 14.2% | $164,000 |
| 11 | Sunshine Coast | $1,363,000 | 12.1% | $157,000 |
| 12 | Ipswich | $943,000 | 19.4% | $152,000 |
| 13 | Moreton Bay - North | $1,031,000 | 16.8% | $150,000 |
| 14 | Mandurah | $899,000 | 20.2% | $149,000 |
| 15 | Brisbane Inner City | $2,003,000 | 7.5% | $147,000 |
| 16 | Logan - Beaudesert | $1,003,000 | 17.4% | $147,000 |
| 17 | Gold Coast | $1,447,000 | 10.5% | $145,000 |
| 18 | Adelaide - Central and Hills | $1,399,000 | 10.8% | $142,000 |
| 19 | Toowoomba | $883,000 | 17.6% | $137,000 |
| 20 | Adelaide - West | $1,116,000 | 13.6% | $135,000 |
| 21 | Bunbury | $882,000 | 17.0% | $126,000 |
| 22 | Adelaide - South | $1,035,000 | 12.4% | $124,000 |
| 23 | Adelaide - North | $859,000 | 15.5% | $115,000 |
| 24 | Western Australia - Wheat Belt | $636,000 | 20.7% | $109,000 |
| 25 | Darwin | $707,000 | 17.1% | $108,000 |
| 26 | Cairns | $762,000 | 15.3% | $103,000 |
Breaking Australia up into SA4 regions reveals the nuance in the numbers, with some markets defying the downturn to surge higher.
An SA4 region is a geographical area defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), which is usually larger than a local government area (LGA) and has a population of between 100,000 and 500,000 people. SA4 regions may vary in size from one part of a capital city to a less densely-populated corner of a state.
The data shows that the hottest local property markets of Perth and Brisbane have earned property owners more in equity than anywhere else in Australia.
But despite delivering six-figure gains to typical homeowners, a little bit of heat may be coming out of some of these markets, with the latest data showing prices beginning to come off the boil.
Inner Perth had the largest jump in house values in the past year. This three-bedroom Mount Hawthorn house sold for $1.765 million in March. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
A typical house jumped in value by $280,000 in inner Perth in the past 12 months, making it the region where prices increased by the largest dollar figure.
House prices jumped by $212,000 in Perth’s north west, and $202,000 in Perth’s south west.
Brisbane’s north recorded a $193,000 rise, while prices in the city’s west grew by $184,000.
Values rose $135,000 in Adelaide’s west, while prices jumped $108,000 in Darwin, which occupies one whole SA4 region.
Unit prices have climbed by more than $150,000 in most parts of Brisbane, while values have increased by $120,000 to $150,000 across most of Perth.
Outside the capitals, house values jumped by $157,000 on the Sunshine Coast, $145,000 on the Gold Coast, $137,000 in Toowoomba, $126,000 in Bunbury and $103,000 in Cairns.
Where unit prices rose by more than $100,000 in a year
| Region (SA4) | Median house value | 12-month change (%) | 12-month change ($) | |
| 1 | Logan - Beaudesert | $740,000 | 28.6% | $165,000 |
| 2 | Ipswich | $772,000 | 27.0% | $163,000 |
| 3 | Brisbane - West | $962,000 | 20.2% | $162,000 |
| 4 | Moreton Bay - South | $822,000 | 22.7% | $160,000 |
| 5 | Brisbane Inner City | $933,000 | 19.9% | $160,000 |
| 6 | Brisbane - South | $913,000 | 19.1% | $150,000 |
| 7 | Perth - North West | $763,000 | 23.3% | $150,000 |
| 8 | Brisbane - North | $875,000 | 20.0% | $146,000 |
| 9 | Perth - South East | $724,000 | 25.2% | $142,000 |
| 10 | Perth - Inner | $741,000 | 22.6% | $141,000 |
| 11 | Perth - North East | $645,000 | 26.9% | $133,000 |
| 12 | Perth - South West | $734,000 | 20.4% | $124,000 |
| 13 | Toowoomba | $630,000 | 24.5% | $124,000 |
| 14 | Brisbane - East | $911,000 | 14.8% | $119,000 |
| 15 | Gold Coast | $988,000 | 11.9% | $118,000 |
| 16 | Sunshine Coast | $976,000 | 11.3% | $116,000 |
| 17 | Moreton Bay - North | $758,000 | 17.2% | $112,000 |
| 18 | Mandurah | $607,000 | 21.9% | $111,000 |
| 19 | Townsville | $518,000 | 25.2% | $106,000 |
| 20 | Adelaide - Central and Hills | $755,000 | 16.1% | $104,000 |
| 21 | Adelaide - West | $723,000 | 16.1% | $103,000 |
Prices are still accelerating in some regions, the data shows.
House values in Brisbane’s west jumped almost 1.5% in the past month and 4.7% in the past quarter. The median price there has climbed $184,000 higher in the past year.
Real estate agent Alex Jordan of McGrath Paddington said more upgrading family buyers were flocking to Brisbane's west for education opportunities, helping drive values higher in a market where supply was tight.
“One of the drivers of the western suburbs that attracts families to the area are the school catchments,” he said.
“A lot of buyers are moving from the southern suburbs, and we’re also seeing strong interstate migration with buyers moving from Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.”
Meanwhile, house prices in Brisbane’s inner city rose 1.6% in the past quarter, while values in Cairns are 2.8% higher.
In the unit market, prices in Ipswich are up about 1% in the past month and 3.4% over the quarter, while Townsville recorded a 3.8% quarterly rise.
Rate rises dent price growth
The data shows that interest rate-sensitive inner-city areas have led declines in recent months.
Values are about 2-3% lower in Sydney’s inner west and eastern suburbs and Melbourne’s inner east and south in the past quarter.
PropTrack executive manager of economics Angus Moore said cooler conditions were evident in other markets too.
“The slowdown has not been confined to Sydney and Melbourne,” he said.
“Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide have clearly slowed, after an extremely strong 2025.”
“Prices were down slightly in Perth, and while prices were up modestly in Brisbane and Adelaide, it was the slowest month of growth for both since late 2022 to early 2023.”
Price growth has slowed a little in some of Australia's hottest markets, such as Perth's north. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
Perth’s inner and north east regions and Brisbane’s east have recorded small price falls in the past few months, however this comes after price growth delivered hundreds of thousands of dollars in housing wealth to typical homeowners in the past year.
While easing conditions may open up the opportunity for some buyers to get a foot into the market, the run-up in values means affordability remains a barrier.
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Mr Jordan said strong demand and a lack of supply meant values in Brisbane were holding up better than other cities, despite hesitancy from some buyers.
“We've seen a shift in buyer behaviour with slightly less activity at inspections and some buyers are slightly more nervous to commit than they were before all the geopolitical tensions,” he said.
“It hasn’t hit values noticeably but I don’t think we’re immune from that. Maybe the growth will be more subdued, but it’s hard to see any major softening.”
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