{"id":189170,"date":"2025-05-16T19:30:52","date_gmt":"2025-05-16T09:30:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/propertyupdate.com.au\/?p=189170"},"modified":"2025-05-17T09:07:43","modified_gmt":"2025-05-16T23:07:43","slug":"what-does-1-million-now-buy-in-australias-housing-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/propertyupdate.com.au\/what-does-1-million-now-buy-in-australias-housing-market\/","title":{"rendered":"What does $1 million now buy in Australia\u2019s housing market?"},"content":{"rendered":"

When it comes to most aspects of life, $1 million goes a long way.<\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s a lifetime of family groceries1, 75 years\u2019 worth of household transport costs2, or smashed avocado for breakfast every day, for over 100 years3.<\/p>\n

For housing, however, $1 million is increasingly standard.<\/p>\n

In August last year, the median house value across the combined capitals surpassed the million-dollar mark, breaking the perception that Sydney was the only millionaire\u2019s club for homeowners.<\/p>\n

New research from Cotality (formerly CoreLogic) shows a over a third of homes nationally are now valued at $1 million or higher, with that vast amount of money buying less in the housing market now than ever before.<\/p>\n

\"Portion<\/p>\n

Data going back ten years shows the portion of dwellings valued at $1 million or more has risen from 9.7% in April 2015 to 34.4% as of April 2025, a series high.<\/p>\n

This includes 19.4% of homes across regional Australia (up from just 0.5% a decade ago) and 41.6% across the combined capitals (up from 14.3% a decade ago).<\/p>\n

Both were at a series high.<\/p>\n

The trend reflects strong price growth across Australia\u2019s housing market, where values have increased 67.3% in the past ten years.<\/p>\n

Capital cities<\/span><\/h2>\n

Sydney<\/strong>\u00a0had the highest portion of homes over $1 million, where almost two-thirds of stock are past the million-dollar threshold (64.4%, a series high).<\/p>\n

This is unsurprising given that the median value of all houses and units in Greater Sydney was $1,195,000 in April.<\/p>\n

Even for those with a budget of $1,000,000, the kind of property available in Sydney is generally smaller and further afield than a decade ago.<\/p>\n

Only houses with five or more bedrooms had a median value over $1 million in Greater Sydney a decade ago.<\/p>\n

Now the median house value for all bedroom types is over $1 million, ranging from a median of $1.3 million for a three-bedroom house to $2 million for a house with five or more bedrooms.<\/p>\n

Brisbane<\/strong> had the next highest proportion of homes valued at $1 million or more, at 40.2%.<\/p>\n

This is up from just 2.8% a decade ago and is the highest increase in the period of any region.<\/p>\n

Figure 2 highlights the stark trajectory change of homes at $1 million or more, which went from 6.2% to 40.2%, in just five years.<\/p>\n

\"Portion<\/p>\n

Brisbane will almost certainly be Australia\u2019s next \u2018million-dollar\u2019 house market of the capital cities, with a current median house value of $990,000.<\/p>\n

Even if Brisbane house values rise at half the rate that they did in the 2024 calendar year, they would hit $1,010,000 by the end of 2025.<\/p>\n

Third in the capital city rankings was Melbourne<\/strong>, where 30.9% of homes have a $1 million-plus value as of April.<\/p>\n

This is down from a high of 33.1% in January 2022, shortly before interest rates were adjusted from historically low levels.<\/p>\n

While this reflects more subdued market performance and more affordable housing conditions across the city, the portion has increased from 30.0% in February of this year, and is up from 12.4% of homes a decade ago.<\/p>\n

Adelaide<\/strong> and Perth<\/strong> followed a similar trajectory to Brisbane, with strong value increases since the pandemic, creating a sharp increase in the portion of million-dollar-plus homes across these cities.<\/p>\n

Adelaide saw million-dollar homes go from 4.2% of the market in March 2020 to 27.8% of homes in April this year.<\/p>\n

For Perth, just over a quarter of homes are now $1 million or more, up from 6.0% in March 2020.

<\/div><\/p>\n

Hobart<\/strong>\u00a0stands out as a city that has seen a reversal of the million-dollar home status, as dwelling values sit 11.1% below a high in March 2022.<\/p>\n

Between March 2022 and April this year, the portion of dwellings in greater Hobart with a million-dollar-plus price tag went from 20.3% to 11.9%.<\/p>\n

A combination of rapidly rising interest rates, weak population growth trends and relatively weak job growth may have contributed to sustained home value declines across the city.<\/p>\n

Darwin<\/strong>\u00a0had the lowest portion of million-dollar homes, at just 1.3% in April 2025.<\/p>\n

This has been consistent across the city, where 1% of homes were valued at $1 million or more a decade ago.<\/p>\n

Since the strong price rises through the 2000s infrastructure boom, values have been stagnant across Darwin over time.<\/p>\n

While certainly the most affordable capital city by value, its remote location and relatively small economy mean it is simply not a viable option for many aspiring homeowners.<\/p>\n

Why does a $1 million market matter?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Australia\u2019s million-dollar housing markets are in part a reflection of our wealth and prosperity as a nation.<\/p>\n

After all, housing markets wouldn\u2019t have<\/em>\u00a0a million-dollar price tag if at least some Australians couldn\u2019t come up with\u00a0that level of finance.<\/p>\n

As values continue to rise, the chance that homeowners hit millionaire status increases, opening up new opportunities for further investment or accessing that wealth through the sale of a property.<\/p>\n

However, the downsides of such an extraordinary price point are also increasingly evident.<\/p>\n

The rate of home ownership has gradually declined over time, particularly among younger, low-income households where income cannot keep pace with growth.<\/p>\n

The average age of first home buyers has increased, and increasingly wealthy households are stuck renting for longer, which increases competition for low-income, renting households.<\/p>\n

Housing debt has also blown out to keep pace with rising values relative to more subdued wages growth.<\/p>\n

Housing debt relative to income was recorded by the RBA at 135% at the end of last year (albeit down from a high of 139% before the bulk of cash rate rises in September 2022).<\/p>\n

This was up from 122% a decade prior.<\/p>\n

With values expected to continue rising on the back of rate falls in 2025, the wealth divide between homeowners and non-homeowners is also likely to expand.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\r\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When it comes to most aspects of life, $1 million goes a long way. Whether it\u2019s a lifetime of family groceries1, 75 years\u2019 worth of household transport costs2, or smashed avocado for breakfast every day, for over 100 years3. For housing, however, $1 million is increasingly standard. In August last year, the median house value…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":71,"featured_media":189175,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[54,1118,1186],"tags":[572,1183],"class_list":["post-189170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-property-updates","category-news-and-features","category-weekly_latest","tag-feature-featured","tag-homepage-top"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat does $1 million now buy in Australia\u2019s housing market?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When it comes to most aspects of life, $1 million goes a long way. 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