{"id":109486,"date":"2026-03-03T08:31:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T21:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/?p=109486"},"modified":"2026-03-02T20:54:43","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T09:54:43","slug":"housing-boom-2-0","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/housing-boom-2-0\/","title":{"rendered":"Housing Boom 2.0? The Cities Where Prices Are Exploding"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Higher interest rates were supposed to cool the housing market. Instead, prices are climbing again. Even with economic uncertainty hanging in the air, buyers are still stepping in \u2014 and the numbers are turning heads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Australia\u2019s property market has once again defied expectations. According to the latest <a href=\"https:\/\/www.proptrack.com.au\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">PropTrack data<\/a>, national home prices rose 0.5% in February alone. Over the past year, values are up 9.1% \u2014 an increase of nearly $90,000 on the typical home. That kind of jump, particularly in a rate-hiking environment, is not what many economists predicted twelve months ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone wp-image-109487 size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"731\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/03\/visual-selection-31-731x800.png\" alt=\"housing\" class=\"wp-image-109487\" srcset=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/03\/visual-selection-31-731x800.png 731w, https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/03\/visual-selection-31-347x380.png 347w, https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/03\/visual-selection-31-475x520.png 475w, https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/03\/visual-selection-31.png 1096w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 731px) 100vw, 731px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Credit: Econostrum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Smaller Capitals Drive Housing Growth<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While Sydney and Melbourne continue to see growth, the real momentum is in the mid-sized capitals. Perth recorded the strongest annual performance, with dwelling prices rising close to 20% \u2014 roughly $170,000 added in a single year. Brisbane followed with gains of nearly 16%, and Adelaide wasn\u2019t far behind at 15%. Hobart also showed signs of renewed strength, posting the largest monthly rise in February at 1%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sydney\u2019s growth, by comparison, looks more measured \u2014 6.1% annually. But because prices are already high, that still translates to around $103,000 in added value. Sometimes percentage figures can mask the real dollar story, explains <a href=\"https:\/\/www.realestate.com.au\/news\/aussie-property-prices-surge-despite-rate-hikes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Realestate<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Aussie property prices surge despite rate hikes<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/IFGBNrMfOE\">https:\/\/t.co\/IFGBNrMfOE<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/MpwnKNkPOR\">pic.twitter.com\/MpwnKNkPOR<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Sunny Lu (Skysea International Group) (@SunnyLu14) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SunnyLu14\/status\/2028301319690465514?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">March 2, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why Haven\u2019t Rate Hikes Slowed Things Down?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Reserve Bank began tightening policy again in February, and banks quickly passed on the higher rates to borrowers. In theory, that should reduce borrowing capacity and cool buyer demand. Yet demand has held up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Several forces are at play. Listing volumes remain low in many markets, creating competition among buyers. Construction activity has slowed, limiting new supply at a time when population growth remains strong. Add to that the federal government\u2019s expanded First Home Guarantee Scheme \u2014 which allows eligible buyers to enter the market with smaller deposits \u2014 and you have fuel for continued competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Interestingly, units are now outperforming houses in several areas. With <a href=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/where-house-prices-are-about-to-explode\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">house prices<\/a> already stretched, buyers appear to be pivoting toward more affordable stock. It\u2019s a subtle shift, but an important one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Million-Dollar Market Becomes the Norm<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the most striking developments is how many capital cities are hovering around or exceeding the $1 million median mark. Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane are approaching price levels that would have seemed almost unimaginable five years ago. It represents a significant transformation in Australia\u2019s housing landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Still, economists urge caution. While February\u2019s 0.5% growth is considered strong, further rate hikes could temper momentum. A slowdown may be gradual rather than dramatic, unlike the sharper pullback seen in 2022. For now, though, the market appears resilient. Whether that resilience lasts will depend on supply, interest rates, and buyer confidence \u2014 three variables that rarely move in perfect harmony.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Australia\u2019s housing market is defying expectations, with prices rising again despite higher interest rates. Here\u2019s what\u2019s driving the surge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":108773,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-109486","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-housing","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109486","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109486"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109486\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":109488,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109486\/revisions\/109488"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}