Record investor activity helps drive Darwin house prices to new highs – realestate.com.au

House prices in Darwin held steady in January, but remained at their peak after rising by $79,500 in 2025.

The latest PropTrack Home Price Index released on Monday showed the average house price in Darwin remained at a peak of $580,000 last month, unchanged from December, and was up 14.7 per cent year-on-year.

House prices in Darwin rose 0.1 per cent in January and 15.5 per cent last year to an average of $665,000.

This amounted to an annual increase of $96,300 for local homebuyers.

Unit prices fell slightly month-on-month, down 0.2 percent, but rose 12.6 percent year-on-year.

As a result, unit prices increased by $50,500 since January 2025 to a median of $441,000.

Senior economist and author of the REA Group report Angus Moore said Darwin’s property market was traditionally lighter in January and was generally more volatile compared to other capital cities.

“It’s a smaller market, so smaller shifts can have a bigger impact,” he said.

“Last year Darwin was quite strong, with almost 15 percent growth.

“We are seeing a lot of investor activity in Darwin.

“The share of loans going to investors in the NT is currently at a record high, so that is certainly driving demand for housing.”

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Angus Moore, senior economist at REA Group. Image: supplied

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Regional NT house prices fell 0.2 per cent in January and saw moderate growth of 1.2 per cent year-on-year to $342,000.

This was a decline of 2.6 percent from the most recent peak in June 2022.

The average house price in regional NT fell 0.3 per cent in January and rose 0.7 per cent year-on-year to $366,000.

Unit prices rose 0.1 percent month-on-month and 3.3 percent year-on-year to $316,000.

The PropTrack report showed national house prices rose modestly in January, with price falls in Melbourne, Hobart and Canberra offset by increases elsewhere.

House prices increased nationally by 0.2 percent in the first month of 2026, making them 8.4 percent higher than a year ago.

This increase brought the average home value to a new record of just over $880,000.

“Sydney and Melbourne have seen house price growth slow in recent months,” Moore said.

“Melbourne has seen three months of modest declines, and although Sydney prices rose in January, they are below their recent peak.

“The ample choice for buyers in these cities throughout the spring likely contributed to the softer price growth.

“In contrast, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide continued to see strong growth and outperformed the larger capital cities amid very limited buyer choice.”

The house at 1 Kentia Grove, Durack, sold in January for $650,000. Image: realestate.com.au

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Mr Moore said January was a relatively quiet month for housing markets, with lighter sales volumes making it harder to assess momentum in house prices.

“While conditions have been softer in Sydney and Melbourne in recent months, house prices are still likely to reach new highs in 2026, but at a slower growth rate than in 2025,” he said.

Moore said price growth in 2025 was supported by three rate cuts, but a rate hike at the Reserve Bank’s February meeting now looked likely, with inflation coming in stronger than expected in the second half of 2025.

“While the possibility of further rate hikes may weigh on the market, unemployment remains very low, which will support demand,” he said.

“At the same time, the supply of new homes remains limited, which supports house prices.”