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Home prices have reached a new peak and could climb further as fears persist that political parties are not doing enough to address housing affordability fears.
National home prices soared to record highs in April, raising concerns about housing affordability and the ability of first-time buyers to get onto the property ladder.
Data released by property data platforms PropTrack and Cotality (formerly CoreLogic) this week have confirmed that house prices continue to rise to new heights.
The PropTrack Home Price Index showed that Australian home prices hit a record high in April, lifting 0.2 per cent over the month and sitting 3.7 per cent higher year on year, to reach a median price of $805,000.
Similarly, the national Home Value Index from Cotality recorded a third straight month of growth in April, with its data showing that dwelling values were up 0.3 per cent to a new record-high median value of $825,349.
The rise in values has added around $2,720 to the median value of each dwelling, according to Cotality.
However, as property prices continue to break records, the growth rate is slowing compared to the first three months of 2025. PropTrack’s data showed that price growth was 0.1 percentage point lower than in March and 0.2 percentage points below February.
Cotality also found that the annual pace of gains has slowed, sitting at 3.2 per cent in April, the slowest annual rise since the 12 months ending August 2023.
Regions drive house price boom
Regional areas led house price gains, according to PropTrack, rising 0.3 per cent over the month to sit 4.6 per cent higher year on year and reach a record peak in April.
Price growth in regional areas has more than doubled since March 2020, rising 64.3 per cent, while capital cities grew 43.3 per cent over the same period.
Cotality also showed regional housing values continuing to outpace the capitals, with values up 0.6 per cent and 0.2 per cent, respectively, over April.
A lift in home values was recorded across every capital city, ranging from a 0.2 per cent rise in Sydney and Melbourne to a 1.1 per cent gain in Darwin, according to Cotality research.
Capital city home values increased 0.2 per cent month on month and 3.4 per cent year over year to also reach a record high in April, with prices up in every city, PropTrack data showed.
Monthly growth for April was 0.3 per cent in Adelaide and Melbourne, where growth was strongest, and 0.1 per cent in Sydney and Perth, which saw the most modest gains.
Adelaide was also the strongest-performing capital annually, with home prices up 10.8 per cent, overtaking Perth for the first time this year, where prices rose 9.3 per cent.
Housing affordability fears endure
Housing supply and affordability have featured heavily in the run-up to the election, with the Labor Party, the Coalition, and the Greens all pledging new initiatives to support home buyers and boost supply amid a housing affordability crunch.
However, both PropTrack and Cotality are expecting house prices to rise further this year.
Anne Flaherty, a senior economist at PropTrack’s parent company REA Group, said that supply issues could lead to higher house prices.
“With housing affordability a key issue at the upcoming federal election, both Labor and the Coalition have announced policy incentives for first home buyers. As a result, many of these buyers may be biding their time to get into the market after the election and the launch of these policies,” she said.
“Whichever party is elected, the combination of increased first home buyer incentives, lower interest rates, and supply side challenges are expected to contribute to even higher property prices in 2025.”
Cotality’s research director Tim Lawless broadly agreed, saying: “With further rate cuts likely as soon as May 20th, and a level of certainty returning to the market after the federal election on May 3rd, we expect a further modest rise in values for 2025.”
Lawless also said that a raft of pre-election policy pledges means that first home buyers will have further assistance to access home ownership.
The Labor Party has committed to expand the Home Guarantee Scheme to all first home buyers, while the Coalition has proposed increasing the Home Guarantee Scheme income and property caps and pledged to introduce a mortgage interest tax deduction.
Other measures to bolster housing supply include Labor’s move to fast-track qualifications for 6,000 tradies in an effort to grow the number of construction workers and boost house supply, a proposed ban on foreign purchases of established dwellings, and plans to reduce land banking by foreign investors.
Meanwhile, an elected Coalition government would prioritise clearing residential development backlogs and finalise existing residential development environmental approval applications.
However, broker groups and industry associations have called on the parties to implement broader reforms, saying that without holistic measures, the affordability crisis could persist.
[Related: ‘Immense pressure’ on many first-time home buyers, CoreLogic warns]
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