Canberra house prices surge to highest point in three years

Canberra house prices have reached their strongest level in more than two years as momentum returns to the capital’s property market.

The newly released Domain House Price Report for the September quarter reveals the median house price rose 2.4 per cent over the past three months to $1.1 million – its highest since mid-2022.

The result marks two consecutive quarters of growth and the strongest quarterly gains in 18 months.

Domain chief of research and economics Dr Nicola Powell said annual growth had accelerated by 2.7 per cent, the strongest in nine months, signalling price recovery was now clearly underway.

“However, house prices remain 6.2 per cent below their mid-2022 peak,” she said. “Canberra’s underperformance compared to other cities has caused it to slip to the third most expensive city in which to buy a house, as Brisbane overtakes it for the first time.”

Turning to units, Canberra was the only capital city in which prices declined, falling 1.5 per cent over the quarter to a median of $597,929.

This dip erased half of the previous quarter’s gains, leaving prices 4.4 per cent below their September 2023 peak.

While unit prices fell this quarter, over the past year they recorded a modest 0.2 per cent annual increase – the first positive year-on-year result in nine months.

The diverging performance has widened the price gap between houses and units to a 2.5-year high, with houses now 84 per cent more expensive than units.

Canberra has also slipped to the fourth most expensive city in which to buy a unit, with Adelaide overtaking it for the first time.