Over the last few months I’ve been watching the Melbourne market against the Brisbane market and I’ve been looking at the price comparison between investment properties in each location. Melbourne has a larger population, 5 million vs sub 3 million people and it is a more prominent city on the international map. But in recent times it has felt that Brisbane is getting more expensive and certainly when you look at the price comparison in sub $1 million property, Brisbane it seems is more expensive than Melbourne. So this week I wanted to move away from the entry level / investment comparison and look at the prestige markets.
A quick search on realestate.com.au revealed that in the Brisbane – Greater Region we had about 30 properties available above $10 million. There were a lot of off the plan apartments and some vacant land on the list. When I removed the non-constructed apartments and the vacant land, there was only about 10 properties for sale in Brisbane above $10 million, 50/50 houses to units. In Melbourne, with the same search criteria (which is a little harder to do), it reveals around 90 properties with houses dominating at a roughly 70/30 split. 9 times more property for sale above $10 million. This paints a clearer property picture. For the full east coast comparison, a quick search shows Sydney has well over 200 properties (about 230) and 65% are houses above $10 million. Some 23 times more property for sale above $10 million in Sydney the Brisbane. This shows Melbourne and Sydney has a much higher price ceiling than Brisbane.
The interesting part in the comparison is how sharply the lower end has moved. That’s what the IMF was referring to in their criticism of the government’s first home stimulus. They believe the increase to $1 million would increase the lower end of the market too quickly. Which it has, but with so much interest was this the sharp recorrection we needed? In the luxury end of the market, by comparison, Brisbane is still significantly lower than the other two cities. With very little choice. So when you look at how sharply our sub $1 million prices have risen, it brings the question ‘could the prestige market be set for a big uplift in the coming years?’.
What Homeowners and Buyers Need to Know Brisbane’s property market has entered 2026 with strong momentum, continuing one of the most consistent growth cycles among Australia’s capital cities. For both homeowners considering selling and buyers looking to enter the market, understanding the current conditions is key to making informed decisions. … Read more