Earlier this week we looked at the 40-year growth of Australia's 5 key capital cities and how property values have evolved alongside changing interest rates.
Today, let's expand that analysis and examine house price growth across all 8 Australian capital cities, covering the 6 states and 2 territories.
This will be a two-part series:
* Part 1 (Today): Capital city house price growth
* Part 2 (Next Week): Overall state and territory growth across Australia
The cities analysed include:
* Sydney
* Melbourne
* Brisbane
* Adelaide
* Perth
* Canberra
* Hobart
* Darwin
The findings are fascinating.
40-Year House Price Growth (1987–2026*)
* Brisbane: 18.1x
* Perth: 17.3x
* Sydney: 15.4x
* Adelaide: 14.6x
* Melbourne: 12.8x
* Hobart: 12.3x
* Canberra: 11.1x
* Darwin: 7.3x
One of the most interesting observations is that Sydney was not the strongest-performing city over the period.
While Sydney remains Australia's most expensive housing market today, Brisbane and Perth delivered the strongest long-term percentage growth, driven by lower starting price points, population growth, infrastructure investment, and evolving economic opportunities.
Another important factor is the interest rate environment.
Back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Australian mortgage rates regularly sat between 13% and 17%.
The data reinforces a powerful lesson:
* Population growth matters
* Supply constraints matter
* Infrastructure matters
* Economic growth matters
* Time in the market matters
Property markets inevitably move through cycles, but history shows that long-term wealth creation has often rewarded those who maintained a long-term perspective.
Perhaps the biggest surprise?
If someone had suggested in 1987 that Sydney's median house price would approach $2 million, Brisbane would exceed $1.1 million, and Perth would become a million-dollar market, very few would have believed it.
Yet here we are.
Tomorrow (Part 2), we'll examine how some of Australia's key regional markets have performed over the same 40-year period and uncover where some of the strongest growth stories have occurred outside the capital cities.
Which Australian city do you believe will be the strongest performer over the next 20 years?
