Record house price clocked in two capitals – and it's not Sydney – Nine

The property downturn is well and truly over, with prices recovering to come within $2000 of a new national house record.
To finish 2023, Domain analysts expect the Aussie combined capitals house and unit median prices to be at a new benchmark, and Sydney and Brisbane are anticipated to hit record medians by December.
It has never been more expensive to buy a home in Adelaide or Perth, which both struck record house prices over the quarter, according to the Domain September 2023 House Price Report.
Rising mortgage rates have prevented price growth from being even greater, Domain chief of economics and research Dr Nicola Powell says.
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The report, which covers the previous three months of data to September, shows the combined capitals national median house price is $1,072,480 – just $2000 off a record.
For units, the combined capitals national median has landed at $622,734, which is $5000 short of a record.
"Houses have outperformed unit prices for four consecutive quarters, making Sydney one of only two capital cities with a record price gap between property types – a house is twice the price of a unit," the Domain report says.
Dr Powell tells Nine it's important to note how "Sydney led the recovery with prices rising quicker than any other capital city". However, Dr Powell anticipates the rate will slow down slightly as more supply becomes available.
Unit prices have clocked their strongest streak of growth since the later part of 2019, and compared to the previous quarter, house price rises sped up. Canberra was for many months the second most expensive city to buy a unit in (from March 2022 onwards), behind Sydney, but that title belongs now to Melbourne.
Dr Powell considers affordability a key factor in Melbourne's unit market, which registered the most powerful six months of growth in four years, and overseas migration – apartments are more affordable than houses – could be part of that demand.
One of two cities this quarter to achieve a record unit price, closing the price difference between a unit/apartment and a house, Domain found. "For the first time in the city's history, unit prices have outperformed house prices for six consecutive quarters, narrowing the price gap between property types to just over a two-year low," the report says.
Dr Powell tells Nine: "There is a lack of overall supply particularly in Brisbane. This can be down to tight rental markets, property growth and high levels of construction costs."
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"Adelaide is currently the best-performing capital city for houses and units, providing homeowners with the fastest quarterly gains," the report found.
House and unit prices grew but for units, the surge was not as powerful as previous quarter, which was rocketing at a level not seen since 2007.
"Canberra's housing market is rising again, with house prices increasing over the September quarter for the first time since mid-2022 – a turnaround that follows four consecutive quarters of decline," the report says. "It suggests that house prices have officially passed a trough to end the steepest downturn the Canberra property market has ever seen."
Dr Powell says it's important to note that different dynamics are at play in Canberra. "Canberra is seeing unit prices fall and is better at providing supply."
Perth is also the country's tightest rental market, a status it shares with Adelaide, which is incidentally is the other capital to hit a record house median this quarter.
Interstate and international migration continues to stoke the market.
House prices rose three-times faster over the September quarter than the three months before, but unit prices took a tumble – the steepest annual fall in about ten years.
House prices are cheaper here than a year ago, but the unit market is on the up, when measured quarterly and over 12 months.
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