Up $145k: Gold Coast to overtake Sydney house prices within a year

Sophie Foster

Updated 1 Jun 2026, 5:04am

First published 1 Jun 2026, 5:00am

House prices on the Gold Coast could overtake Sydney within a year at the current pace of growth and decline.

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Gold Coast houses have hit $1.45m – now within $154k of Sydney and closing fast – with units teetering on the verge of a shock $1m median, even as growth begins to slow.

The PropTrack Home Price Index for May 2026 – out Monday – showed houses surged $145k in a single year and units added $118k, with the market growing 11 per cent overall before going flat in May as higher interest rates begin to bite.

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PropTrack senior economist Angus Moore

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At current rates of growth on the Gold Coast and decline in Sydney, the $154k gap between the two markets could close within a year – with Gold Coast growing at $145k annually while Sydney house prices fall at an annualised rate of around $38.5k.

This as PropTrack Senior Economist Angus Moore said the market was now at a clear turning point.

“Prices were essentially flat in May, though over the past year they’re still up around 11 per cent, which is pretty strong growth. Much of what we’ve spoken about with Brisbane applies to the Gold Coast as well. Houses were flat to slightly down – about -0.1 per cent – while units were up about 0.1 per cent for the month. House median is around $1.45m, and units are approaching $987k – so it’s an expensive market.”

Gold Coast units at $987k were $122k more expensive than Brisbane units at $865k – and just $13k short of a million dollars. For buyers priced out of houses, units on the Gold Coast were no longer a cheap alternative – a trend Mr Moore said was playing out across Australia’s more expensive markets.

Aerial view of Gold Coast. Source: realestate.com.au

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May’s flat result was the clearest sign yet that the Gold Coast’s extraordinary run is now losing steam, mirroring a pattern PropTrack was seeing nationally – with markets that ran hard now feeling the brakes as three consecutive rate hikes flow through to buyer capacity.

“Given that the Gold Coast is now quite an expensive market, we might expect to start to see some softer performance over 2026 under the weight of higher interest rates, in the same way that’s affecting more expensive markets more broadly.”

The result comes as regional Queensland continues to run hard – up 10.5 per cent annually and 81.9 per cent over five years.

Townsville grew 0.6 per cent in the month and 16.94 per cent in the past year, adding $89k to its median, while Cairns jumped a whole 1 per cent in May alone – up 16.32 per cent annually, adding $96k.

“The fact that it’s still up 0.6 per cent in May, despite three consecutive rate hikes, suggests there’s still plenty of demand supporting prices there,” Mr Moore said of Townsville in particular.

“People are looking for those more affordable areas and that’s holding prices up there. That’s not just true in capital cities versus regional areas – it’s true even within cities.”

PropTrack expects the Gold Coast to soften further through the rest of 2026, given its $1.45m house median has priced out a significant share of owner-occupier demand – with high-end buyers and investors sensitive to rate movements and the post-Budget pullback in investor activity.

One to watch on the Gold Coast was the unit market at $987k which could cross $1m in the next few months as buyers hunt any opportunity to get a foot in the market.