The startling new median house price in Australia

The median value of a home in Australia has edged over the $800,000 mark for the first time, even with the rate of price growth continuing to ease.

The new high was reached at the end of November, according to PropTrack's latest home price index, following a 0.15% rise in national home prices during the last month.

Over the last 12 months though, property prices have increased by 5.53% across the country.

"Australian home prices hit a new peak in November after 23 consecutive months of growth," says Eleanor Creagh, senior economist at REA Group (of which PropTrack is a subsidiary).

"While housing demand has remained resilient to persistent affordability constraints, we have seen the pace of home price growth slow since earlier in the year."

Creagh says that the slowdown in price growth has coincided with an uptick in the number of homes being put up for sale, though she notes that the injection of supply has also been absorbed by interested buyers in some areas.

"The increase in properties hitting the market this year has been met with strong demand, but increased stock for sale has been a contributor to slowing price growth, along with affordability constraints and the sustained higher interest rate environment."

Hobart prices jump while Melbourne slump continues 

Looking beyond the national figures, PropTrack's research highlights the variation in property price changes across the major cities and regions.

Hobart (up 0.43%) recorded the highest rate of price growth among the capital cities during November, continuing its recent recovery. However, Creagh notes that prices in the Tasmanian capital still remain 7.22% below their peak.

Adelaide (up 0.40%), Brisbane (up 0.28%) and Canberra (up 0.28%) were not far behind Hobart, while Sydney notched a more subdued price growth rate of 0.08% over the month.

Melbourne continued to track in the opposite direction to the other capitals though, with home prices declining by 0.07% in November - the seventh time in the last eight months that prices have retreated.

Price growth in regional markets (up 0.26%) comfortably outpaced the combined growth rate of the capitals (up 0.11%) during November though thanks, in part, to a particularly strong increase in prices in regional areas of South Australia.

What is the median home price in Australia?

Even with months of relatively muted price growth, PropTrack's data shows that Sydney is still the most expensive capital city market in the country by a country mile.

In fact, the median value of a home in Sydney ($1,112,000) is nearly $250,000 dearer than that of Australia's second most-expensive capital city, Brisbane ($868,000).

Interestingly, despite being just behind Sydney in terms of population, Melbourne has fallen to fifth spot among the capital cities by most-expensive property prices. Melbourne's median home value ($792,000) now sits behind that of Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra and Adelaide.

Creagh notes that there are a couple of reasons behind Melbourne's comparatively weaker price growth in recent years, including higher property taxes and greater choice for buyers thanks to construction being aligned more closely with population growth in the city.

What's the outlook for home prices in 2025?

Taking a look at the year ahead, a new report published by Domain has forecast that home prices will continue to tick up over the course of 2025.

Price growth is likely to be driven by continuing supply issues and easing financial constraints, though the report does highlight the fact that uncertainty in the economic sphere could dampen growth.

"Australia is likely to experience a tale of two halves in 2025," says Dr Nicola Powell, Domain's chief of research and economics.

"The first half will be weaker as the dynamics of 2024 carry over, while the second half should see a rebound, with the RBA potentially moving to cut the cash rate, which would serve as a strong catalyst to drawing more buyers back to the market."

At the national level, Domain is anticipating that the median house price will increase by 4% to 6% throughout 2025, while the median unit price will rise by between 3% and 5%.

Meanwhile, Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane are expected to be the standout capital city markets for price growth once again next year, for both houses and units.

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