Property prices are tipped to hit a $A1 million median as the city attracts a skilled workforce from other states
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Australia has a new urban destination for those seeking a high quality of life — and it’s not Melbourne or Sydney.
A new report released by Deloitte Access Economics has revealed Brisbane as the best ‘city swap’ location to live and work. It follows on from the east coast capital being named as one of the 50 best places in the world by Time Magazine, the only Australian capital to make the list.
The State of the Cities Report by Deloitte Access Economics reported the city offers significant advantages to businesses and workers alike, with a $25 billion infrastructure pipeline in play to support the city’s rapid population growth as well as a track record of processing development applications 38 percent faster than other cities. Commercial rents are also appealing compared with the southern cities, averaging $450sqm less than similar centres in Australia and internationally.
For workers, commute times are minimised with less congestion on the roads and trains more likely to run on time compared with other Australian cities.
The report also found that Brisbane’s economy is set to grow by 68 percent to $275 billion in the 20 years to 2041.
Clearly, it is not news to those seeking to enter the Brisbane market, with CoreLogic data released this week showing the Queensland capital is now the second most expensive residential real estate market in the country, second only to Sydney. Prices rose by 1.4 percent during May, bringing the median property price to $843,231. Only Adelaide experienced a higher growth rate in home prices in May at 1.8 percent.
Those price increases look set to continue as Brisbane experiences the fastest growing working age population among Australia’s major centres, growing 7.7 percent compared to an average of 4 percent across major cities. The Domain House Price Report released earlier this year predicted the median house price Queensland capital would hit $1 million in the next 12 months.
While demand for housing in the city is strong, it would appear the workforce is there to support it.
Lead Partner at Deloitte Access Economics, Pradeep Philip, said Brisbane offered significant growth opportunities for businesses, innovators, and investors.
“Brisbane is the definition of a growth stock, with clear opportunities for innovators, investors and businesses across Australia and internationally in the years to come,” Mr Philip said.
“This is evident in Brisbane’s talent market, where it has the fastest growing working age population among Australia’s major centres, with 7.7 percent growth against an average of 4 percent across major cities.
“This, combined with Australia’s highest ranked university, a 32 percent increase in university graduates in the past five years, and the highest state-wide rates of technical and trades education attainment in the country, positions Brisbane with a highly competitive, skilled, and growing workforce.
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The US housing market remains under pressure as high mortgage rates continue to weigh on affordability and demand. Industry leaders say 2026 has been one of the toughest years for home sales, with slower price growth, weaker mortgage activity, and fewer buyers entering the market. However, experts say reduced competition and more price cuts could create opportunities for well-prepared buyers.
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The typically busy spring season for the housing market was a dud, and the summer isn’t looking much brighter.
Housing services companies like Zillow Group and Rocket RKT +3.78% were loud and clear last week on earnings calls: Rocket CEO Varun Krishna called the quarter through June “one of the toughest spring housing markets in years.”
Jeremy Hofmann, Zillow’s chief financial officer, said on a conference call that the company predicted earlier this year that the market for mortgages would be flat. “We actually now think it’s going to be down low-to-mid-single digits,” he said.
The rest of 2026 will remain challenging for mortgage origination volume, says KBW analyst Bose George. The question now is what happens in 2027. “If mortgage rates remain [around] 6.75%, I think that’s going to be challenging even for next year,” he says.
But what’s bad news for mortgage companies could be a positive for bargain hunters. Buyers can expect prices to grow more slowly—or mildly decline—with less competition as long as mortgage rates remain unpredictable.
Mortgage rates at the beginning of the year were solidly below year-ago levels, notes Zillow senior economist Kara Ng. But they surpassed last year’s levels recently, she adds, referencing Freddie Mac’s weekly survey of 30-year fixed mortgage rates. Last week’s reading, at 6.69%, was higher than year-ago levels for the first time in 2026.
“From the affordability point of view, it’s going to get more challenging in the second half of the year,” she says. “And when affordability gets more challenging, that impacts sales and home price appreciation.”
Mortgage application data tracked by the Mortgage Bankers Association has cooled since the beginning of the year. The trade group expects that the number of mortgage originations in the remaining two quarters will lag behind last year’s levels, after exceeding 2025 levels in the first half.
Rocket’s early-stage data—which the company told Barron’s it derives from its brokerage Redfin, demand for its mortgage products, and signs in its servicing portfolio that a homeowner is preparing to refinance or move—“leads us to expect the third quarter mortgage market to be smaller than the second,” Chief Financial Officer Brian Brown, said on the company’s call. He added that such an occurrence is “something the industry has not seen since 2022.”
Prices will be about flat nationally, Ng says. Zillow’s most recent forecast, which shows how values are expected to change in the year ending June 2027, show them dropping in roughly half of the 100 largest U.S. metros for which data is available.
Buyers aren’t rushing in at a time when mortgage costs are rising and unpredictable. But those with the right combination of patience and cash could stand to benefit. “If you are financially qualified to buy a starter home, you are facing less competition and you’re more likely to get a price cut,” Ng says.
