Australian house prices have continued to soar, with every major city except one reaching record high levels.
Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Darwin, Perth and Hobart reached the grim milestone, marking a massive blow for buyers, with only Canberra not making the list.
Domain data released on Thursday showed house prices across the country increased by a combined 3.9 per cent in the December quarter.
It marks a 9.6 per cent spike across 2025, with prices shooting up by $111,728.
Perth has become the sixth capital city where the median house price has soared over $1million, with the Western Australian capital joining Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, and Adelaide.
Domain chief of research and economics Dr Nicola Powell said the level of growth was ‘ferocious’ and the million-dollar median marks ‘a real psychological milestone’.
‘It is going to have an impact on confidence among first-home buyers and this feeling of the inability to keep up,’ she said earlier this week.
‘When there is a lack of choice, that means that budgets get deeper for buyers, because they become very fearful of missing out.’
Australians in cities across the country saw house prices hit new heights in 2025 (pictured, an auction in Homebush in Sydney in May 2025)
‘Rapid price growth has pushed home ownership further out of reach for many buyers, forcing tougher trade-offs and longer saving times.’
Demand in the Sydney housing market remains high, with the median house price rising by 6.4 per cent ($105,487) in a year.
The median price for a home has reached a record $1.76 million, signifying a third consecutive quarter of growth.
‘Sydney’s housing market is still strengthening, albeit at a more measured pace,’ Domain’s quarterly report said.
‘Momentum is now clearly shifting toward units.
‘Sydney unit prices rose 2.1 per cent ($17,370) in the December quarter to a record $844,390 – the strongest quarterly rise in 2.5 years.
‘While units have outperformed houses this quarter, the price gap remains near a record at 108 per cent, meaning a house still costs more than double the price of a unit – reinforcing why demand is increasingly tilting toward higher-density housing.’
House prices in Melbourne rose by 7.4 per cent ($76,342) in the last year, to reach a record median of $1,111,084.
Six capital cities have a median house price of more than $1 million including Perth – which saw its median reach seven figures in 2025 (stock image)
‘Growth has accelerated for the third straight quarter and is running at almost double the pace of the same time last year,’ the Domain report said.
‘Momentum had also strengthened in the unit market.’
Unit prices climbed 4.4 per cent ($25,505) annually, the strongest in four years, leaving the median at $601,184.
‘Despite this growth, for the first time on record, Melbourne is now the third most affordable capital city in which to buy a unit,’ Domain said.
Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Darwin are leading the upswing in house prices, ‘underpinned by tight supply, lifestyle-driven demand and resilient local economies’.
Brisbane’s median house price is now $1,171,237, compared to $1,033,999 a year ago, with an annual change of 13.3 per cent.
The median price for a home in Adelaide is now $1,094,427, up 11.9 per cent which Domain called the ‘fastest rate in a year’.
In Darwin, house prices soared 22.4 per cent to a median of $690,896, up from $564,581 in December 2024.
Momentum also continues to build in Canberra as house prices experienced an annual growth of 6.1 per cent ($65,147), with the median price now $1,139,969.
It marks the strongest result in three-and-a-half years, with prices just 2.8 per cent ($33,108) below their previous peak.
Hobart house prices climbed 6.1 per cent ($44,310) in the December quarter to a record $767,451 – the strongest quarterly result in four years.
