Australian housing market data — property prices, rents, mortgages and affordability.
Australia’s housing affordability has reached the worst levels on record. The national median dwelling value sits at $922,838 as at February 2026 according to Cotality, while the average Australian household needs 11 years to save a deposit. Only 14% of median income households can afford to buy the median-priced home nationally — down from 43%…
Australia’s rental vacancy rate fell to 1.0% in March 2026 according to SQM Research — down from 1.1% in February and approaching the acute shortage threshold. That means just 31,732 rental properties were sitting empty across the entire country. For tenants, it means competition for available properties is as intense as it has been in…
Home prices in Australia in 2026 remain among the highest relative to income of any country in the developed world, with Sydney’s median dwelling value sitting above $1.1 million and every major capital city recording prices that have, in real terms, outpaced wages by a significant margin over the past decade. The ABS Residential Property…
Rent prices in Australia in 2026 are at record highs, with the national median dwelling rent reaching $681 per week by the end of 2025 and continuing to climb into the new year. For the roughly one-third of Australian households who rent, that number is more than a statistic — it is the single largest…
Rent vs buy in Australia in 2026 is the most consequential financial question millions of Australians face — and the honest answer is more complicated than either camp wants to admit. Renting is cheaper month-to-month in every major city. Buying builds long-term wealth that renting never can. The right answer depends entirely on your city,…
The RBA cut interest rates three times in 2025, from 4.35 per cent down to 3.6 per cent. Hundreds of thousands of Australian mortgage holders finally caught a break. Then in February 2026, the RBA hiked again. Then March. Then May. The cash rate now sits at 4.35 per cent — and the number of…
Sydney vs Melbourne vs Brisbane cost of living in 2026 is one of the most searched questions for anyone moving to Australia — whether you are a skilled migrant choosing where to settle, a domestic worker considering a relocation, or a student picking a university city. The differences are real and significant, particularly for housing,…
Australian property prices have continued rising in 2026, but the story is more complicated than a single national figure suggests. Affordability has reached record lows, the gap between cities is widening, and the data on what it now takes to buy a home in Australia is confronting. Here is what the publicly available data shows…
Australian renters are facing some of the toughest conditions in years. Rents have risen sharply, vacancy rates remain near historic lows, and new data suggests the pressure is unlikely to ease significantly in the near term. Here is what the publicly available data shows about Australia’s rental market in 2026, explained as clearly as I…