February Home Values: Growth in Every Capital City

Home Values in January saw growth across every capital city, even Melbourne and Sydney that reported losses last month are back on the upward swing, just. This comes amongst questions regarding affordability and serviceability in a tight property market nationwide.

What is the Home Value Index (HVI)?

The Home Value Index (HVI)^[1], also known as the Hedonic Home Value Index, leverages recent property sales from each state to track the median value growth of homes nationwide. It serves as a key metric for analysing the performance of the Australian residential property market and is useful when looking at the affordability and investment potential of states and capital cities.

Source: Cotality HVI Report February 2026

State Market Report

These median values are as at 2nd of February 2026.

Sydney

The median home value has increased 0.2% , and is now $1,290,537.

Melbourne

The median home value has increased 0.1% , and is now $830,371.

Brisbane

The median home value has increased 1.6% and is now $1,054,555.

Adelaide

The median home value has increased 1.2% , and is now $914,203.

Perth

The median home value has increased 2.0% , and is now $961,898.

Hobart

The median home value has increased 0.5% , and is now $722,339.

Darwin

The median home value has increased 1.5% and is now $602,870.

Canberra

The median home value has increased 0.3% and is now $884,844.

Mid Size Capitals Drive Growth

Perth Adelaide and Brisbane continued to see sustained growth, only outpaced by the smaller city of Darwin. However, there is a notable drop when compared to December. Brisbane’s growth dropped from 2.0% to 1.6%, while Perth and Adelaide also slowed down.

Coming months could see affordability pressures ease slightly. Cotality’s Tim Lawless says “Affordability and serviceability constraints are likely to naturally dampen demand, but also renewed cost of living pressures and a strong chance that interest rates will rise. There is also slowing population growth to consider.”[1]

Property Market is Staying Strong, But For How Long? 

Inventory remains low, with homes advertised for sale still 19% down year-on-year, while demand remains high, driving prices up.

However with a rate hike on Tuesday, alongside permeating affordability and serviceability constraints, we may see home values cool in the coming months.

Want more information on what this means for your finance goals? Reach out to your local MoneyQuest broker for a zero-cost, zero-obligation chat to plan your next steps, so you can borrow, invest and refinance with confidence.

[1]Cotality (2026) February Home Value Index: Cotality. Available at: https://discover.cotality.com/hubfs/ArticleReports/COTALITY%20HVI%20Feb%202026%20FINAL%201.pdf [Accessed 4th February 2026]. 

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