The premium for a house over a unit in Australia's combined capital cities has grown to an approximate $363,000, reaching a series high that is just shy of half (49.9%) the median capital city unit value.

This new high comes as detached house values continue to grow faster than units, illustrating a significant structural shift in the housing market, according to Cotality's November Monthly Housing Chart Pack.

The 49.9% premium marks a substantial increase from just 20% five years ago, propelled by persistent demand for houses. The median house value across the combined capitals now sits at $1,091,000, compared to the median unit value of $728,000.

The new house premium

Stronger growth in detached houses, with values rising 3.1% over the three months to October compared to 2.3% for units, has pushed the price gap to a record. Cotality Economist, Kaytlin Ezzy, said the long-term outperformance of houses is tied to the value of the associated land.

“Houses have always seen stronger uplift than units in the long term because of the associated land value,” Ms. Ezzy said. “That price sensitivity appears to have blown out through the strong growth cycle over the past five years.”

Across the different capital city markets, the house price premium ranges from 31.6% in Hobart to a commanding 77.8% in Sydney.

“Due to affordability constraints, we may see more of a deflection towards units in cities like Sydney in the short term, but over the long term we still expect houses to outperform even if the premium on houses falls,” Ms. Ezzy added.

 Affordability dictates growth patterns

The market's performance continues to be heavily influenced by affordability, with lower-to-middle value segments driving the strongest uplift across most capital cities. Cotality's Monthly Housing Chart Pack highlights that the lowest 25% or middle 50% of market values are seeing the fastest appreciation.

This outperformance of lower-value segments, a feature of the market for nearly two years, is a clear result of affordability constraints pushing buyers to more accessible price points. Government support schemes, such as the recent expansion of the 5% deposit scheme with its price caps set around median values, may also be contributing to growth in these segments.

Ms. Ezzy expressed surprise at the trend given recent changes to the cash rate.

“It is somewhat surprising to see such persistent outperformance of lower-value housing market segments given there were three rate cuts in 2025,” Ms. Ezzy commented. “Usually the high-end of the property market is more responsive to rate cuts. However, we have only seen 75 basis points of rate cuts delivered this year, after a tightening cycle of 425 basis points, so perhaps this just wasn't enough easing to push demand back into the high end of the market.”

Australian property market hits $12 trillion milestone

Amid a rapid surge in values through October, the total value of Australia's residential property market has reached the $12 trillion milestone - faster than initially expected.

This unprecedented value is more than double the market's size a decade ago, with the majority of the growth occurring over the past five years. Interestingly, the composition of this value has shifted geographically, with South Australia, Western Australia, and Queensland picking up a larger share of the combined housing value, while New South Wales and Victoria make up a smaller share than five years ago.

“Victoria has seen the biggest drop off in housing market share in the past five years, from 29% five years ago, to less than a quarter of market share as of October this year,” Ms. Ezzy noted. This shift illuminates new opportunities across the property ecosystem.

Other highlights from the November Housing Chart Pack include:

• Quarterly growth in national dwelling values continues to pick up steam, rising 2.8% over the three months to October. This is the largest increase since July 2023 when the three-month change came in at 3.2%.
• Darwin and Perth led quarterly growth in values at 5.4%, followed by 4.9% in Brisbane. The weakest quarterly result across the capitals was 0.5%in Hobart.
• Sales activity is once again trending higher with Cotality estimating 48,764 sales nationally through October. The regions have seen a steady uptick in annual sales activity, with the rolling 12-month estimate up 5.1% compared to this time last year and 1.6% higher than the previous five-year average.
• The national median time on market inched higher over the three months to October to 29 days, up from 28 days in Q3. While above the selling times seen this time last year, properties are currently selling around a week faster than the average over the past decade (37 days), with Hobart (31 days) being the only capital to see its median days on market exceed the 10-year benchmark (20 days).
• Low stock levels and rising buyer activity have skewed conditions further in favour of sellers, with the national median vendor discount rate reaching its lowest level in more than three and a half years at 3.1%. Vendors in Brisbane (2.6%) and Perth (2.6%) recorded the lowest discounting rates over the three months to October, while sellers in regional Tasmania offered the highest (3.8%).
• Total listings remain subdued, with a strong rate of absorption from sales keeping stock levels low. At the national level, Cotality observed 127,833 properties advertised for sale over the four weeks to October 26th, -18.3% below the average for this time of year. Total listings were lower year-on-year in all capital city and regional markets, except for Regional where values are unchanged.