Brisbane houses reach a record $1.21 million as unit prices dip

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Kooky

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Brisbane's median house price reached a record $1,212,562 in the June quarter 2026, according to Domain's House Price Report, which Broker Daily and ABC News reported on 23 July 2026. The same report shows Brisbane unit prices falling for the first time in three years, and the combined capital cities recording their first quarterly falls in more than three years.

Brisbane is therefore one of the few capitals where houses are still rising on Domain's measure. The rise is small: 0.4 per cent over the quarter, which Domain describes as the weakest positive pace in six years.

Houses and units part ways

Domain's figures give Brisbane houses a thirteenth consecutive quarter of growth. In dollars, the median rose $5,133 over the quarter, from $1,207,429 in March, and $170,491 over the year, an annual increase of 16.4 per cent.

Units went the other way. The median unit price fell 1.2 per cent, or $9,499, to $790,087, ending an uninterrupted run of growth. It is still 15.4 per cent, or $105,274, higher than a year ago.

With those two medians, a Brisbane house now costs 53 per cent more than a Brisbane unit on Domain's figures, a difference of $422,475. Three months earlier the difference was $407,843, so the step from a unit to a house grew by $14,632 in a single quarter, with one median rising and the other falling.

The unit result is the surprise. Units had been the stronger performer in Brisbane for much of the past year, and Cotality's monthly index still had Brisbane unit values rising in June. The ABC's account of the Domain report says the breadth of the unit falls across the country was unexpected, and that it points to nervousness among investors.

Brisbane was in step with the rest of the country on units. Sydney's unit median fell 1.5 per cent to $849,068 and Perth's 1.3 per cent to $702,180, even though Perth units are still 23.9 per cent dearer than a year ago. Adelaide recorded the largest fall, 2.8 per cent, and Canberra fell 2.5 per cent. Melbourne's unit median barely moved, at $587,137. Brisbane's fall of 1.2 per cent is the same as the figure for the combined capitals.

Brisbane's unit median peaked in the March quarter at $799,586, Domain's tables show. A fall of 1.2 per cent from a peak, after three years of gains, leaves a Brisbane unit owner who bought a year ago well ahead. It is the change of direction that is new.

Second only to Sydney

On Domain's figures Brisbane is the second most expensive capital for both houses and units. For units, only Sydney's median of $849,068 is higher, by $58,981. For houses, the order of the capitals is the clearest way to see how far Brisbane has moved.

Sydney's median fell 3.3 per cent in the quarter, its first quarterly decline since December 2022, according to Real Estate Business. Melbourne's fell 3.1 per cent, the steepest in almost four years, which leaves it $171,357 below Brisbane's. Canberra fell 2.5 per cent.

The mid-sized capitals went the other way. Adelaide rose 4.8 per cent, or $51,186, the strongest result of any capital and enough to move it past Melbourne into fourth place. Perth rose 1.0 per cent, its weakest pace in 15 months, and sits $29,454 behind Brisbane. Perth's annual growth of 22.5 per cent is faster than Brisbane's 16.4 per cent, so that margin has been narrowing.

Across the combined capitals, the median house price was $1,276,413, down 1.4 per cent over the quarter, and the unit median was $728,670, down 1.2 per cent. Real Estate Business reports that the house result ended the longest unbroken run of quarterly growth since the 2012 to 2015 period. Annual growth across the capitals is still positive, at 6.9 per cent for houses and 5.8 per cent for units, though Broker Daily notes it has slowed to its lowest level in nine months.

The year-ago column in Domain's tables shows how quickly the order changed. In the June quarter of 2025 Brisbane's house median was $1,042,071, a few thousand dollars below Melbourne's $1,045,671. Perth and Adelaide were both under $1 million, at $965,833 and $970,165. Twelve months later all three have passed Melbourne, whose median is 0.4 per cent lower than a year ago.

Domain also records where each city stands against its own peak. Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Hobart all set new highs for houses in the June quarter. Sydney is 3.3 per cent below the peak it reached in March, Melbourne 4.2 per cent below its December 2025 peak, and Canberra 3.6 per cent below a high set in June 2022.

Domain's summary is that Australia's housing market has entered a downturn. Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra are leading it, while Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Darwin and Hobart all recorded gains for houses. For units, Darwin was the only capital to rise.

Why momentum has slowed

Domain points to interest rates first. Its report says three rate rises in the first half of 2026 have materially reduced borrowing capacity. The Reserve Bank lifted the cash rate in February, March and May, to 4.35 per cent, and held it there in June.

Affordability and confidence follow. Broker Daily's account of the report lists higher interest rates, affordability pressures and weaker confidence as the three forces changing how buyers behave, and says investors and first home buyers have become more sensitive to price.

Supply is the factor specific to Brisbane. Domain says total listings in the city are at their highest level since March 2021 and that homes are taking longer to sell. More choice and less urgency give buyers room to negotiate, which holds back the median even when well-presented homes still sell strongly.

Cotality's listing counts for June, summarised by API Magazine on 6 July, point the same way: advertised listings across Brisbane were 13.6 per cent higher than a year earlier.

Nationally, Broker Daily adds that auction clearance rates have fallen to their lowest level since April 2020 and that sellers are increasingly adjusting their price expectations.

How Domain's measure differs from the monthly indexes

Domain's quarterly report arrives three weeks after the monthly indexes for June, and the three main sources do not give the same answer for Brisbane.

On houses the sources broadly agree. Cotality had Brisbane house values up 1.1 per cent over the June quarter, to a median value of $1,225,350, within about 1 per cent of Domain's figure. Both describe growth that has slowed to a crawl compared with the start of the year.

On units they part. Cotality's June index had Brisbane unit values up 2.2 per cent over the quarter, to $885,132, against Domain's fall of 1.2 per cent to $790,087. The two medians are about $95,000 apart, which itself shows they are measuring different things: one the typical apartment that sold, the other the typical apartment that exists.

PropTrack, the third source, sits nearer Domain. Its June figures, reported by Broker News on 20 July, had Brisbane's median home price slipping 0.2 per cent to $1.073 million and 22.3 per cent of Greater Brisbane suburbs recording negative growth over the June quarter. One quarter does not settle which reading is right, and the sources may converge as later sales are counted.

What the record does and does not say

A month before this report, Domain's own forecasts, reported by the ABC on 25 June, had Brisbane house prices rising between 3 and 7 per cent over the 2026-27 financial year. Four quarters at 0.4 per cent would add up to less than the bottom of that range, so the forecast assumes some pick-up from here. A forecast is an estimate, and Domain made it before these June quarter figures were compiled.

The next fixed points are close. Cotality publishes its July index at the start of August, the Reserve Bank's Monetary Policy Board meets on 10 and 11 August, and Domain's next quarterly report, covering July to September, will show whether the unit fall was a single quarter or the start of a run.

For now, the record is real and so is the loss of pace. Brisbane house owners are sitting on a median $170,491 higher than a year ago, and the quarter just ended added about 3 per cent of that.

Kooky, from Shaka

Kooky edits Queensland Estate and builds Shaka, the payment router he made for Queensland property professionals. One payment comes in, and every agent, agency and party in the deal receives their signed share on closing date.

About Kooky and Shaka →