Australia’s housing market has reached a new high, with the total value of residential dwellings hitting $12.3 trillion in the December quarter.
For mortgage brokers, the latest ABS figures point to rising home equity for existing borrowers, but also higher entry costs and tighter borrowing capacity for first-home buyers and property investors.
The ABS reported that the total value of dwellings rose by $384.8 billion, or 3.2%, over the quarter as prices continued to climb.
ABS head of finance statistics Dr Mish Tan (pictured) said: “After 13 quarters of uninterrupted growth since September 2022, the total value of dwellings has surpassed $12 trillion for the first time.” That growth was driven by a 2.7% lift in the national mean dwelling price to $1.07 million, pushing more properties into higher loan-to-value brackets.
Despite the step‑up in prices, separate ABS housing finance data for the same quarter show demand is still flowing through to loan activity. ABS Lending Indicators for the December quarter report a 5.1% rise in the number of new loan commitments for dwellings and a 9.5% lift in their value, with first-home buyer loan numbers up 6.8% and the value of these loans jumping 15.5% over the quarter.
The ABS data show gains across all states and territories, but Western Australia, Queensland and South Australia recorded the strongest quarterly increases in mean dwelling price. In Western Australia, the mean price rose 7.5%, or $70,500, in just three months, while Queensland and South Australia posted rises of 4.8% and 4.5% respectively.
On an annual basis, Western Australia now stands out as the growth leader.
“Annually, dwelling prices in Western Australia have risen faster than any other state or territory, rising 16.8% to $1.01 million since December quarter 2024,” Tan said.
The state has also joined New South Wales and Queensland in the club of markets with mean dwelling prices above $1 million.
Nationally, the number of residential dwellings increased by 54,100 to 11.45 million and the mean price rose by $28,700 to $1,074,700. New South Wales remains the most expensive state with a mean dwelling price of $1,301,100, followed by Queensland at $1,066,000 and Western Australia at $1,014,200, while the Northern Territory is the most affordable at $580,000.
These widening gaps make it crucial for brokers to tailor advice by location, with higher‑priced states facing tougher deposit and serviceability hurdles and cheaper markets offering relatively stronger borrowing capacity and investment appeal.
RBA’s February move lifting the cash rate to 3.85% only sharpens the need to factor higher mortgage rates into serviceability checks as clients navigate record dwelling values.
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