One-bedroom bonanza as tiny apartment prices rocket in Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide
A one-bedroom apartment bonanza has been building in a selection of capital city markets.
The median price of one-bedroom pads in Perth have increased by up to 31 per cent over the 12 months to December, hotly followed by Brisbane and Adelaide.
One-bedroom apartments are not strongly associated with capital growth. These stats shows a level of demand that Domain’s chief of economics and research Dr Nicola Powell puts down to investor appetite and squeezed renters seeking a way into home ownership.
The burgeoning numbers, revealed in Domain’s House Price Report for the three months to December, show Perth’s one-bedroom unit median grew up 31 per cent over 12 months (and 5.1 per cent over the quarter).
It trumps the results, ahead of Adelaide (19.4 per cent year-on-year growth, tempered by a 1.1 per cent slide over the quarter) and Brisbane (up 18.1 per cent over 12 months and 2 per cent over the quarter).
Dr Powell says those cities have tight rental markets in common, with investors chasing capital gains and yields.
| Median price change by Bedroom, Units | ||||||
| December-2024 | Quarterly change | Quarterly change | Quarterly change | Annual change | Annual change | Annual change |
| Bedrooms | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Sydney | 2.3% | 4.5% | 9.4% | 3.4% | 5.8% | 12.5% |
| Melbourne | -1.9% | 0.0% | -2.4% | -4.4% | -1.7% | -5.2% |
| Brisbane | 2.0% | 2.7% | 3.4% | 18.1% | 20.9% | 18.0% |
| Adelaide | -1.1% | 2.6% | -2.7% | 19.4% | 18.5% | 3.6% |
| Perth | 5.1% | 5.4% | 2.3% | 31.0% | 27.8% | 25.5% |
| Canberra | 1.2% | 3.4% | -1.5% | 2.4% | -1.5% | 0.0% |
Tenants who have been navigating taut vacancy rates (Perth’s stands at 0.5 per cent, Adelaide’s clocks in at 0.4 per cent and Brisbane’s is 0.9 per cent, Domain’s most recent figures show) are likely to have been compelled to look at the path of least resistance – buying a one bedder.
“Smaller units are obviously more affordable, than you layer it with these type rental markets,” Dr Powell says.
“If you are a renter and you’re struggling to find a lease, particularly in a market like Perth, which has been extraordinarily tight, what you do is you try to fast track your purchase.
“What that means – as you may not have enough deposit to get your dream, which is the two or maybe three-bedroom apartment – is a the compromise. What you are now aiming for, is that you’ve got enough capacity and purchasing power to be able to buy a one-bedroom apartment.
“I do wonder whether that is happening, when you consider market investment activity and the narrowing borrowing power.”
Sydney is by far and away the most expensive market to buy a one-bedroom apartment, with a median of $677,500. Brisbane is the second-most costly, with a median of $490,000, followed by Canberra, Adelaide and Perth. Melbourne trails the field.
| Median price by Bedroom, Units | |||||||||
| Qtr | Dec-24 | Dec-24 | Dec-24 | Sep-24 | Sep-24 | Sep-24 | Dec-23 | Dec-23 | Dec-23 |
| Bedrooms | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Sydney | $677,500 | $825,000 | $1,350,000 | $662,500 | $789,500 | $1,234,567 | $655,000 | $780,000 | $1,200,000 |
| Melbourne | $368,100 | $590,000 | $825,000 | $375,250 | $590,000 | $845,000 | $385,000 | $600,000 | $870,000 |
| Brisbane | $490,000 | $680,000 | $713,750 | $480,500 | $662,000 | $690,000 | $415,000 | $562,500 | $605,000 |
| Adelaide | $430,000 | $545,000 | $720,000 | $435,000 | $531,000 | $740,000 | $360,000 | $460,000 | $695,000 |
| Perth | $380,000 | $495,000 | $665,000 | $361,500 | $469,500 | $650,000 | $290,000 | $387,250 | $530,000 |
| Canberra | $435,000 | $585,000 | $750,000 | $430,000 | $566,000 | $761,750 | $425,000 | $594,000 | $750,000 |
One-bedroom apartments for sale right now in Brisbane
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