Strathnairn has joined the million-dollar club. This home in Rachel Makinson Street recently sold for $1,535,000. Photo: Zango.
Canberra’s million-dollar property club has rebounded, with a number of new members joining its ranks for the first time, according to a new report from Cotality.
Almost 60 per cent of Canberra suburbs now boast a median value of $1 million or more.
Cotality found in its nationwide analysis of house and unit values that 55 of the national capital’s 92 house suburbs recorded a million-dollar median value in September.
This was up from 51 suburbs or 55.4 per cent this time last year.
This reflects the return of Canberra’s median house value to over the million-dollar mark in June after a 32-month break, before lifting to $1,021,834 in September.
Over the year, Kaleen ($1,030,854), Monash ($1,025,084) and Casey ($1,008,828) re-entered the million-dollar club, while suburbs that made the cut for the first time were Fraser ($1,060,152) and Strathnairn ($1,060,152).
Their values surged over the year by 5, 2.8, 6.2, 9.1 and 8.2 per cent respectively.
The only suburb to drop out of the club was Gungahlin, where a 2.4 per cent fall in house values took the median to $992,103.
Just one suburb recorded a seven-figure median unit value – Yarralumla.
The report shows that while the ACT dwelling values remain 4 per cent below their May 2022 peak, the Territory’s count of million-dollar markets (56) is just one shy of its previous peak (57) in April 2022.
Nearby Bungendore also re-joined the million-dollar house club, recording a median of $1,040,378 after a 5 per cent annual rise. The town is still 2.3 per cent from its peak median in June 2022 of $1,065,166.
The Canberra price resurgence is part of a nationwide recovery, with one in three (34.1%) markets recording a median house or unit value of $1 million or more in September.
A new record-high, this is up from 30.3 per cent this time last year, with the million-dollar club welcoming 154 new and 41 returning members, while 11 relinquished their membership card.
The report also found that properties with a seven-figure price tag accounted for 30.8 per cent of the national sales over the year to September, more than double the 15.2 per cent they comprised in the same period in 2020.
This might be good for owners keen to see the worth of their properties and personal wealth increasing, and sellers hoping to cash in or upgrade. However, for those wanting to break into the market, the rising values only put home ownership further out of reach.
More than half of the ACT’s suburbs have a median value over $1 million. Image: Cotality.
Cotality Economist Kaytlin Ezzy said that as more suburbs cross the million-dollar threshold, the prestige and relevance of the figure have faded.
Ms Ezzy said that concerns about affordability and equality would only intensify, especially for first-home buyers.
“A household on the average income of $106,000 with a 20 per cent deposit would need to dedicate more than 50 per cent of their pre-tax earnings to service a loan on a million-dollar property,” she said.
“This increases to more than 60 per cent if they’re using the First Home Guarantees scheme’s 5 per cent deposit, a repayment-to-income ratio few brokers will approve.”
Despite million-dollar sales becoming more mainstream, Ms Ezzy said home ownership was increasingly moving out of reach for the next generation.
“While the sheer prevalence of seven-figure property values suggests that many can still access financing, the average age of first-home buyers has continued to creep higher, while home ownership rates have steadily declined, particularly among younger and lower-income households whose earnings struggle to keep pace with rising housing prices,” she said.
Ms Ezzy said that with supply tight and the expanded First Home Guarantee scheme boosting demand, values were expected to continue to rise in 2025, which will likely see more suburbs cross the seven-figure threshold.
“At their current quarterly rate of growth, over 80 markets are on track to join the million-dollar club by year’s end,” she said.
Cotality’s latest Million Dollar Market report analysed 4,844 markets (3,514 houses and 1,330 units) across the country.
