How far property prices soared in a decade and what happened next

Sydney Morning Herald

12-05-2025

Property values have edged below their peaks recently, but new figures lay bare how the pullback pales in comparison to their long-term growth.
Sydney home values are 1.1 per cent below their recent peak, figures from Cotality (formerly known as CoreLogic) show, but are 61.6 per cent higher than a decade ago, the research house's Home Value Index for April shows.
Melbourne values are 5.4 per cent below their peak after sluggish price performance over the past couple of years but have risen 43.8 per cent over the past 10 years.
In Brisbane and Adelaide, prices are at their peak and have nearly doubled in a decade – up 91.2 per cent and 93.6 per cent respectively. Perth is at peak – up 55.6 per cent in 10 years.
Cotality head of Australian research Eliza Owen attributed the past decade's price growth to the gap between supply and demand for housing, as well as lower interest rates and an improvement in the jobs market.
'It's come back to the mismatch of demand for housing, and the rates at which we've been able to build and supply and match that demand, so constraints on the supply side,' she said.
'There's also been different financial conditions which have enabled that strong increase in values. Through the COVID period in particular, the massive reduction in interest rates, that created a lasting boom in housing values.'
She added that cities such as Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth had strong long-term growth rates but much of that growth had happened more recently due to the pandemic boom.