An analysis of 20-year data from Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show that smaller capital cities outperformed powerhouse ones in terms of achieving the best median house price growth.

According to the ABS data, which covered median price of established house transfers from March 2002 to December 2022, Hobart was the star performer among all capital cities.

Over the period, Hobart’s median house price was 5.9 times higher in December 2022 than it was in March 2002.

Median house prices also increased significantly in Adelaide (4.1 times higher), Canberra (4.08 times higher), and Brisbane (4.05 times higher).

Melbourne and Sydney’s median prices more than tripled during the period, outpacing the growth of only two other capital cities: Darwin (3.16 times higher) and Perth (3.05 times higher).

Here’s a summary of how median house prices in the capital cities changed between March 2002 to December 2022.

Capital City	Median House Price ($)
	March 2002	December 2022
Hobart	123,300	727,000
Adelaide	166,000	680,000
Canberra	245,000	999,000
Brisbane	185,000	750,000
Melbourne	241,000	842,000
Sydney	365,000	1.27m
Darwin	190,000	600,000
Perth	190,000	580,000

Property Investment Professionals of Australia (PIPA) chairperson Peter Koulizos said the long-term performance of smaller capital cities reflect how they can be sound locations for property investment.

“As property investment professionals we always encourage property buyers to purchase property as a long-term investment and to do their best to ignore any temporary impacts on median prices or markets more generally,” he said.

Mr Koulizos said it is crucial to take into consideration that over the 20-year period, every capital city had moments where median house prices fell, rose, or flat-lined due to economic factors, including the two events that had global impact: Global Financial Crisis in 2008 and the COVID-19 pandemic that started in 2020.

“As these results show, real estate has a proven history of performance over the decades, with our nation offering a plethora of places – capital city and regional – where homeowners and property investors can strategically purchase property,” he said.

Originally Published: Gerv Tacadena | Your Investment Property | 12 April 2023

https://www.yourinvestmentpropertymag.com.au/news/biggest-gainers-over-past-20-years