Perth’s outer belt and a string of regional Western Australian hubs have become the nation’s fastest‑growing housing markets, posting double‑digit annual gains.
The latest Cotality Home Value Index for April (based on March data) has revealed that all 10 of the strongest‑performing capital‑city SA3s over the past year were in Perth, while regional Western Australia dominated the list of top regional growth markets.
Capital‑city growth cools at the top, accelerates at the edges
Cotality reported that national dwelling values rose 0.7 per cent in March, taking prices 2.1 per cent higher over the first quarter of the year and marking a slower pace than the 2.8 per cent gain recorded in the December quarter.
At the city level, the mid‑sized capitals all posted robust monthly growth rates of 1.2 per cent or more, while Sydney and Melbourne slipped into gentle declines since late 2025 as higher rates and softer sentiment provided buyers more leverage.
Since the end of November 2025, Melbourne values had fallen 0.9 per cent, while Sydney was down 0.4 per cent.
On a quarterly basis, Brisbane dwelling values rose 5.1 per cent through March, Adelaide gained 3.6 per cent, Perth surged 7.3 per cent, and Hobart increased 2.5 per cent.
The split between value tiers is just as stark, with lower‑quartile markets in every capital except Hobart and Canberra now outpacing the upper quartile.
Explaining the shift, Cotality research director Tim Lawless noted that tighter borrowing capacity was pushing demand down the price spectrum.
“Strength across the lower quartile value tier is tied to increased competition for lower priced housing,” he said.
“Serviceability constraints are deflecting buyer demand towards the lower end of the market, competing with a pickup in first home buyers taking advantage of stimulus and elevated levels of investor activity.”
Perth’s south‑east corridor tops the capital‑city league table
The report found that all of the top 10 capital‑city SA3s for annual dwelling value growth sat within Greater Perth, mainly in the city’s more affordable outer suburban areas.
Leading the list was Serpentine–Jarrahdale in Perth’s south‑east, where the median dwelling value is $953,000, and prices climbed 31.5 per cent over the past year.
Armadale, also in the south‑east, follows with a median of $902,000 and 30.5 per cent annual growth, while Belmont–Victoria Park rounded out the podium with a median of $1.01 million and 29.2 per cent growth.
Gosnells (south-east) sits close behind, with values of $907,000 after a 27.5 per cent annual rise, and Kwinana (south-west), which now has a median of $803,000 and 26.7 per cent growth.
Swan (north-east) has climbed 26.3 per cent over the year to a median of $942,000, Rockingham (south-west) is up 25.9 per cent to $907,000, and Canning (south-east) has reached $1.10 million after a 25.7 per cent gain.
Rounding out the top 10 are Wanneroo and Stirling in the city’s north‑west, both now carrying medians in the high‑$900,000 to low‑$1.1 million range.
Perth dwelling values were up 2.5 per cent in March alone and 7.3 per cent over the quarter, with home values over the quarter adding approximately $69,000 to the median dwelling value.
Cotality said the results told a consistent story of families and investors bidding up Perth’s outer and middle‑ring suburbs, where detached houses remained relatively attainable.
Yet Lawless stressed that such rapid growth was being driven by a severe shortage of stock.
“Clearly this pace of growth is unsustainable, but continues to be supported by low supply, with advertised stock levels tracking about 40 per cent below the five‑year average for this time of the year,” he said.
Regional WA leads national gains as Bunbury and the Pilbara boom
Outside the capitals, regional markets as a whole outperformed the cities, with values rising 1.1 per cent over March and 3.3 per cent over the quarter.
Within that national picture, regional Western Australia stood out, with Cotality reporting that dwelling values jumped 2.2 per cent in March to be 6.2 per cent higher over the quarter.
Introducing his remarks on the state’s regional hotspots, he said that Bunbury had become emblematic of the current cycle.
“WA’s Bunbury is leading the pace of gains, with values jumping 8.4 per cent through the March quarter to be 22.2 per cent higher over the past 12 months,” he said.
The national top‑10 list of regional SA3s for annual growth is dominated by Western Australia, led by resource‑heavy and lifestyle‑driven markets.
West Pilbara (outback north) holds the number‑one spot, with a median dwelling value of $710,000 and a 24.4 per cent annual increase, reflecting renewed strength in mining‑linked communities.
Augusta–Margaret River–Busselton in the south‑west wine and tourism region, which now carries a median of $1.15 million, grew 22.3 per cent, while Goldfields (outback south) climbed 22.2 per cent to $420,000.
Gascoyne (outback south) has seen values rise 21 per cent over the year to $483,000, while Albany (Wheatbelt) now sits at $756,000 after 20.5 per cent growth.
Outside Western Australia, Toowoomba in Queensland featured, with a median of $842,000 and 21.6 per cent annual growth, while Armidale in NSW’s New England and North West region closed off the list, with a value of $589,000 after a 19.8 per cent annual price rise.
[Related: Perth hits $1m milestone in red-hot market surge: Domain]
