Canberra's unit prices among the strongest in the country

Canberra’s unit prices outperformed housing growth, rising by 10.2 per cent over the past year, one of the biggest surges in the country, the latest Domain House Price Report has found.

Over the year to December 2023, unit prices increased from $567,557 to reach $625,597.

Unit prices have moved through their fourth consecutive quarter of price growth – momentum not seen since 2020-21.

This persistent growth has resulted in a new peak for unit prices, recovering the entirety of the $45,000 value lost during the 2022 downturn to cement the market’s full recovery.

Unit prices now sit about $13,000 (or 2.2 per cent) above the previous price peak reached in the June 2022 quarter. With units outperforming house price growth, the price gap between housing types has narrowed to just over a three-year low, according to the report.

Jonny Warren from Jonny Warren Properties said apartments, in particular, are being snapped up almost as quickly as they are listed.

“We’re seeing a lot of demand for apartments with owner-occupiers the most active, making up 65 per cent of our sales,” he said.

“About 60 per cent of these are first-home buyers. Our open for inspections are also attracting high numbers.”

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Warren said they recently sold a three-bedroom apartment in Forbes Street, Turner, for $735,000, while a two-bedroom apartment in Queanbeyan is currently under offer within two days of being listed.

House prices were at a new price trough of $1.024 million at the end of 2023 and now sit 12.9 per cent below the June 2022 peak, down by about $151,000. Canberra is now the furthest from its price peak out of all the capitals, as most other cities sit at record highs or have moved into an established recovery.