Brisbane house prices are forecast to increase faster than Sydney and Melbourne this year as high demand and limited supply continue to drive the market.
KPMG’s latest Residential Property Outlook, released this week, predicts Brisbane house prices will rise 10.9 percent in 2026 while unit prices rise 7.8 percent.
This compares with forecast house price growth of 5.8 percent for Sydney (5.3 percent for units) and 6.8 percent for Melbourne (7.3 percent for units).
Only Perth is expected to surpass Brisbane with a 12.8 percent lift expected for housing prices and 11.6 percent for units.
Nationally house prices across Australia are expected to increase by 7.7 percent this year.
The increase is being primed by a continuing shortfall in housing supply targets. KPMG predicts that supply will be 30 percent below target levels over the next two years.
KPMG chief economist Brendan Rynne said housing prices in the second half of 2025 rose much more than expected.
“The strong momentum in the first half of 2025 should have moderated as affordability pressures continued to spook buyers,” he said.
“But instead, the second half of last year accelerated growth further, especially in already overheated cities Perth and Brisbane.
“Despite the fact there aren’t enough houses being built, buyers in these cities are prepared to pay more than the supply shortage would justify.”
In 2025 Brisbane led the nation in unit price increases.
Brisbane unit prices were up by a substantial 18.3 percent, followed by Perth at 16 percent and Darwin at 14.8 percent.
“Looking ahead to 2027, national house prices are expected to grow at a more moderate level, reflecting a more sustainable pace closer to long-run trends,” the KPMG report said.
“As prices rise further, more buyers will reach the limits of what they can reasonably afford, intensifying affordability constraints.
“At the same time, gradually improving housing supply and population growth normalising to more typical levels should help ease some demand pressures, resulting in a more balanced market dynamic.”
The full report is available here.
