Shocking data: Brisbane now more expensive than Sydney at entry level – realestate.com.au

Brisbane is now harder for first home buyers to break into than Sydney, with fewer properties under $500,000 than the world’s second most expensive city.

In a stunning turnaround for a ‘big country town’ that was once the great escape for expensive Sydneysiders, new data shows only 3.2 per cent of homes sold for less than half a million dollars in Greater Brisbane last year, compared to 4 per cent in Greater Sydney.

Figures from property data company Foundit show that while Sydney may be more expensive overall, Brisbane is now the tougher city to break into at the lower end of the market – a reality that was almost unthinkable just a few years ago.

More than 37 per cent of homes in Brisbane now sell for more than $1 million, according to Foundit’s analysis of home sales by real estate agents in 2025.

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Of the few houses that cost less than $500,000, most are apartments or townhomes, with detached houses at that price all but disappearing.

Of the suburbs with the most shares under $500,000, Brisbane’s CBD accounts for more than one in eight sales.

A studio apartment in this Margaret St building in Brisbane’s CBD is on the market for bids in excess of $270,000.

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Woodridge and Beenleigh follow for their range of older, affordable homes, and then Macleay Island, indicating lifestyle-driven affordability.

Foundit head of research Kent Lardner said even he was surprised to discover how unaffordable Brisbane had become for first-time buyers.

“I remember being able to buy a property there for $115,000,” Mr. Lardner said. “When you look at the numbers, you get a slap in the face.

Foundit head of research Kent Lardner.

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“Historically you could buy something for 20 percent – ​​at worst – to 50 percent less than real estate in Sydney. That gap has clearly disappeared.”

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Mr Lardner said Brisbane has the fewest number of properties priced under $500,000 of any capital city in the country, due to lower levels of housing development and “unbridled investor demand”.

“The only path Brisbane really has out of this situation is to do what Melbourne did: reduce the lot size and build a lot more units,” he said.

“This will take time. Melbourne did this 20 to 30 years ago and there are now many more opportunities to get into the market cheaper. In the meantime, Brisbane will remain much more unaffordable.”

This four-bedroom house at 8 Amaroo St, Morayfield, is for sale with offers in excess of $800,000.

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It was particularly problematic for Brisbane’s first home buyers, who faced fewer low-cost choices than those trying to crack the Sydney market.

“The sub-$1 million market is very, very overheated,” he said. “All government incentives, and very much driven by wages, not wealth, so it’s a fragile market.

“The biggest problem I have is that there is a glut of suburbs that have reached the $750,000 price point when in reality they should probably be $600,000 or lower. We’ve found that this rush to enter the market on the affordable side creates a very different atmosphere.”

PRD chief economist Diaswati Mardiasmo said the days when buying property in Brisbane was cheaper than in Sydney were over – at least for units.

Dr. Diaswati ‘Asti’ Mardiasmo, chief economist at PRD.

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Dr. Mardiasmo said the average unit price in Brisbane over the past 12 months was six times that of Sydney: 18 per cent compared to 3 per cent.

“We have lost our edge when it comes to affordability and the reason for that is simply supply,” she said.

“We don’t have enough houses, so everyone is running for units. It has also become more acceptable for families to live in units.

“Sydney has more units at a lower price and the market got weaker in 2024, while our market kept going higher and higher.”

This four-bedroom house at 46 Tindle St, Redbank Plains, is for sale with offers over $859,000.

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Dr. Mardiasmo said about 90 per cent of the new housing stock built in Brisbane would be units or terraced houses – not detached houses, so the housing shortage would persist.

And she doubts whether this month’s rate hike will make a difference to affordability at the lower end of the market.

“If we’re talking about three or more (increases), we’ll start to see that (price) band retreating,” she said. “With two (rate hikes) people will still say, ‘it’s now or never, so we’ll take our chances’.”

The good news that emerged from the data was that Brisbane is the strongest performer nationally at the $750,000 level, with 34 per cent of homes sold in the last year below this threshold. This opens up access to a wider suburban market that still includes some detached houses.

This four-bedroom house at 35 Grace Cres, Narangba, is for sale at an offer of over $900,000.

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The suburbs with the most shares priced between $750,000 and $1 million are Redbank Plains, Morayfield, Narangba and Springfield Lakes.

“This is Brisbane’s core market,” Mr Lardner said. “Unlike Melbourne, where purchases under $750,000 often keep buyers close to the city in smaller homes, Brisbane trades distance for space.”

Even in the $1 million to $1.5 million price range, which Mr Larder describes as Brisbane’s “true middle market”, the most stocked suburbs are 15 to 25 kilometers outside the CBD, such as Narangba, North Lakes, Shailer Park, Moorooka and Albany Creek.

This four-bedroom home at 13 Medinah Circuit, North Lakes, is for sale at an offer of more than $949,000.

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Above $1.5 million, activity declines sharply around Brisbane’s prestigious inner and middle ring suburbs.

“Camp Hill stands out between $1.5 million and $2.0 million plus, indicating consistent depth rather than isolated high-end sales,” Mr Lardner said.

“Bulimba, New Farm and Tarragindi round out the top tier and underline Brisbane’s preference for character homes and landed value.”

Economist Angus Moore from REA Group said Brisbane had become “a lot less affordable” than it used to be.

“Queensland is now the third least affordable state in Australia, after being one of the most affordable states to experience the pandemic,” Moore said. “That really just reflects the fact that prices have doubled since the beginning of 2020.”

This five-bedroom home at 24 Lancewood Dr, Albany Creek, is for sale for offers over $1.75 million

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Mr Moore said net interstate migration into Queensland was continuing, contributing to housing demand.

“To some extent, people coming from Sydney, possibly with more wealth or more income, can make it harder for locals (to buy in Brisbane),” he said.

Colliers residential director Andrew Scriven said Brisbane’s townhome market was a sector that was growing significantly as the population grew and urban sprawl became less sustainable.

“There is definitely panic among buyers who have been pushed out of the housing market but still want to stay in well-connected suburbs with great schools and amenities,” Mr Scriven said. “They are afraid they will miss out because real estate prices are constantly rising.”