Brisbane property market update, November 2025

Against the other capitals, Brisbane remains one of the frontrunners. Perth is still the standout, with values up 2.4 per cent over the month and 7.4 per cent over the quarter, while Adelaide matched Brisbane’s 1.9 per cent monthly result but posted slightly softer quarterly gains. Sydney and Melbourne, by comparison, delivered more modest monthly rises of 0.5 per cent and 0.3 per cent and quarterly growth around 1.6–1.8 per cent, highlighting that price growth remains skewed towards the mid-sized capitals where listings are tighter.

On the ground in Brisbane, we are seeing buyer activity more skewed towards the more affordable price points, which remained extremely competitive in November, particularly under the $1 million price cap that applies for many buyers accessing the expanded First Home Buyer Guarantee Scheme. That segment has been busy since October, but in November, we also saw a noticeable lift in competition between $1 million and $1.5 million, with multiple-offer scenarios becoming the norm rather than the exception. It’s not unusual, at the moment, to see at least half a dozen offers on well-located houses, units and townhouses, and buyers who hesitate are simply missing out.

Brisbane’s auction clearance rate lifted to just under 74 per cent in November, up from about 72 per cent in October and well above last year’s mid-50 per cent range. Median days on market remain very low at around 21 days, unchanged from October and roughly a week faster than the decade average, underscoring how quickly buyers must move.

Investor and first home buyer activity is still underpinning a large share of demand. In Queensland, investors account for around 38.3 per cent of housing finance commitments, while first home buyers make up roughly 27 per cent, confirming that both groups remain very active in this market.

The expanded First Home Guarantee scheme, which allows eligible buyers to purchase with a 5 per cent deposit and no lenders’ mortgage insurance and has had its income and property price caps substantially lifted, is expected by Domain’s research team to lift home prices nationally by 3.5 per cent–6.6 per cent in its first year, mainly by pulling forward demand into the sub-cap price brackets.

For Brisbane, where the new cap has been set at $1 million, that means ongoing pressure in the lower- and mid-priced segments through 2026.

Investor sentiment remains remarkably upbeat. The Australian Property Investor Q3 2025 Sentiment Report still ranks Queensland as the state with the best property investment prospects over the next 12 months, although Victoria has closed the gap, reflecting improved affordability in Melbourne.

Around 69 per cent of survey respondents intend to buy as investors in the next year, with a clear preference for detached houses but rising interest in townhouses, villas and even commercial property as buyers search for value.

For Brisbane and regional Queensland, this suggests investor demand will remain a key driver of activity through 2026, particularly in middle-ring suburbs where yields are comparatively stronger and rental demand is deep.

Forward-looking forecasts are broadly aligned in expecting further price growth, albeit at a more moderate pace. SQM Research's Boom & Bust Report by Louis Christopher sets out several scenarios for 2026. Across all four scenarios, Brisbane dwelling prices are projected to rise, with ranges between roughly 8 per cent and 18 per cent depending on the macro backdrop. The base case points to growth of around 10–15 per cent for Brisbane, while a stronger economic rebound scenario pushes that to 13–18 per cent. By contrast, Sydney and Melbourne are forecast to grow more modestly across most scenarios, while Perth remains a standout alongside Brisbane and Darwin for potential double-digit gains.

Domain’s 2026 Forecast Report paints a similar picture but separates houses and units. It expects Brisbane house prices to rise another 5 per cent in calendar 2026 (on top of an estimated 9–10 per cent lift through 2025), while units are forecast to grow by around 7 per cent, the fastest unit price growth of any capital city.

This reflects a structural shift towards more affordable attached products as detached houses push through new price ceilings.

On the supply side, the story has not changed. Brisbane remains chronically undersupplied. According to SQM Research, both new listings and total listings are lower than a year ago, and total stock on market sits well below long-term averages, as it does in Perth, Adelaide and Darwin. This tightness is a key reason Brisbane continues to outperform the combined capital averages.

In terms of macro-policy, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) left the cash rate unchanged at 3.6 per cent in November, and markets no longer expect further near-term cuts. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has also stepped in with new macro-prudential settings that will, from February 2026, cap loans with a debt-to-income (DTI) ratio of six times or more at 20 per cent of new lending. Cotality’s analysis suggests this will only affect a small share of borrowers, as just 5.5 per cent of recent loans have DTIs at or above six, but it does signal regulators’ desire to avoid an excessive build-up of leverage in this late-cycle phase.

The surprising piece of the macro puzzle this month is sentiment. The Westpac–Melbourne Institute Index of Consumer Sentiment jumped 12.5 per cent in November to 103.8. This is the first reading above 100 in almost four years, indicating that more households are now optimistic than pessimistic about their financial outlook. While one month does not make a trend, it helps explain why buyers are still prepared to stretch for quality property despite affordability remaining very tight.

Brisbane Dwelling Values

As noted above, Brisbane dwelling values rose 1.9 per cent in November, following a 1.8 per cent rise in October. Quarterly growth accelerated from 4.9 per cent at the end of October to 5.5 per cent at the end of November, while annual growth stepped up from 10.8 per cent to 12.8 per cent. The median dwelling value now sits at $1,015,767, up from $992,864 a month earlier.

Source: Cotality

In comparison, the combined capitals posted 1.0 per cent monthly and 3.1 per cent quarterly growth, with annual gains of 7.1 per cent, so Brisbane is clearly outpacing the capital-city aggregate. Perth is the only capital currently growing faster on both monthly and quarterly measures, while Adelaide is broadly in line with Brisbane over the month but behind on the quarter and year.

From a segmentation point of view, the November Cotality Chart Pack shows that price growth across Brisbane’s value bands is becoming more even. Over the three months to October, the lower quartile of the Brisbane market was still leading, but the middle and upper quartiles have now narrowed the gap as higher-value properties play catch-up.

Source: Cotality

In other words, we are no longer seeing growth confined to the affordable suburbs. Blue-chip family homes and prestige property are also moving, particularly when they present well and are scarce assets in their own right.

PropTrack’s index tells a similar story, with Brisbane dwelling values up 0.6 per cent over the month of November, reinforcing the view that this is a broad-based upswing rather than a quirk of one data provider.

Brisbane House Values

Brisbane houses continued their strong run in November. Median house values rose 1.8 per cent for the month, matching October’s monthly gain, and are now 5.3 per cent higher over the quarter and 12.2 per cent higher than a year ago.

The median house value has pushed from $1,087,183 in October to $1,111,431 in November, an increase of around $24,000 in just one month.

PropTrack reports that Brisbane house prices rose 0.6 per cent in November, consistent with the positive trend we are observing in the Cotality data.

Source: Cotality

Brisbane Unit Values

Units remain the quiet achiever of this cycle in Brisbane. Median unit values climbed 2.2 per cent in November, outpacing houses yet again, following a 1.9 per cent gain in October. Quarterly growth now sits at 6.3 per cent, up from 5.3 per cent a month earlier, and annual growth has lifted from 14.0 per cent to 15.8 per cent. The median Brisbane unit value has moved from $774,498 in October to $792,896 in November, edging closer to the $800,000 mark.

The combination of relative affordability, very tight rental conditions and limited new supply is clearly supporting this segment. With around 94 per cent of Brisbane suburbs still having a median unit value under $1 million, compared with only about 43 per cent of house markets, units are the primary way many first home buyers and investors can participate in this phase of the cycle.

PropTrack’s index shows unit prices up 0.9 per cent in November, slightly ahead of houses, reinforcing the sense that attached dwellings will continue to be a key outperformer in 2026.

Source: Cotality

Brisbane's Rental Market

Brisbane’s rental market remains incredibly tight. The city’s vacancy rate was 1.0 per cent in October, up only marginally from 0.9 per cent in September and still well below a balanced-market level. Annual rent growth is re-accelerating. House rents are now 6.0 per cent higher than a year ago, up from 5.6 per cent in October, while unit rents have lifted 6.9 per cent over the year, compared with 6.5 per cent a month earlier. Both segments are again growing faster than inflation, which is putting real pressure on tenants.

Source: Cotality

Gross rental yields have softened slightly as prices have risen faster than rents. House yields sit around 3.3 per cent, while units are yielding roughly 4.1 per cent.

That’s still attractive compared with Sydney and Melbourne, but the gentle drift lower shows how much capital growth has led this phase of the cycle. For investors, Brisbane continues to offer a compelling balance of yield and growth, particularly in the unit market, where annual rent growth is outpacing houses and yields are about 0.8 percentage points higher.

Importantly, low vacancy is not just a tenant issue. It also complicates life for owner-occupiers who need to sell before they buy their next home. When rental options are scarce and expensive, many households are reluctant to sell without having secured their next property, which in turn reduces the flow of new listings coming to market. This feedback loop is part of the reason stock levels remain so tight and price competition so intense.

Domain’s rental forecasts suggest that both house and unit rents in Brisbane are likely to continue rising through 2026, broadly in line with the combined-capital average, as persistent undersupply keeps vacancy rates low despite some easing in population growth.

Summary

Brisbane’s housing market ended spring on a strong footing. Dwelling values are rising faster than the national average, houses and units are both posting solid gains, and rental conditions remain extremely tight. Affordability is clearly stretched. Brisbane dwelling values are up around 85 per cent over the past five years, but buyers and investors are still prepared to compete hard for quality assets, especially in the sub-$1 million and $1–1.5 million brackets where government incentives and borrowing capacity intersect.

There are, of course, challenges ahead. Housing remains at record levels of unaffordability, interest rates look likely to stay on hold for longer than many had hoped, and APRA’s new macro-prudential settings will place some additional guardrails around high DTI lending. At the same time, Brisbane continues to suffer from chronically low listing volumes and insufficient new construction. Policy settings such as the expanded First Home Guarantee Scheme are stimulating demand in certain segments, but they do little to address the supply side. In fact, some borrowers who take on higher loan-to-value ratios may find themselves running up against the new DTI caps, limiting their borrowing capacity in future years.

When you put all of this together, the outlook for Brisbane through 2026 still points to further price growth rather than a pause or pull-back. Unless we see a significant lift in new dwelling supply or a material weakening in demand, for example through recession, major policy change or a sharp increase in unemployment, the balance of probabilities is that prices will continue to trend higher from here, even if the pace moderates as affordability ceilings are reached.

In short, Brisbane remains a market where scarcity is doing the heavy lifting. For buyers, that means being strategic, data-driven and prepared. For investors, it underscores the importance of asset selection and rental risk management. And for existing owners, it reinforces the value of holding well-located property in a city where the underlying fundamentals are still pointing in one direction – and that is up.