The Australian market, read for investors
A monthly snapshot of the forces that move investment returns — interest rates and what they do to a mortgage, rent inflation, capital-growth momentum and the supply pipeline — built directly on Reserve Bank and Australian Bureau of Statistics data.
Latest data point: Jul 2026 · updated August 2026
Interest rates & repayments
The RBA cash rate is not a mortgage rate — lenders add a margin. To make rate moves tangible we model a standard 30-year loan at the cash rate plus a fixed, clearly-labelled spread.
Assumptions: $600K principal-and-interest loan over 30 years, at the cash rate plus a 2.5% lender margin (6.85% today). Your actual rate and balance will differ — use the loan repayment calculator for your own numbers.
Rent inflation
How fast advertised rents are rising nationally, from the ABS CPI rents sub-index — and, just as importantly, whether they are outpacing general inflation.
Capital-growth momentum by capital city
Year-on-year change in the ABS median price of established house transfers, ranked across the eight capital cities. These are medians of what actually sold — not a whole-of-market valuation.
| Capital city | Median house price, YoY | Latest median |
|---|---|---|
| DarwinNT | +25.0% | $750K |
| PerthWA | +22.0% | $1M |
| BrisbaneQLD | +21.4% | $1M |
| AdelaideSA | +15.0% | $980K |
| CanberraACT | +9.9% | $1M |
| HobartTAS | +3.5% | $740K |
| SydneyNSW | +2.4% | $1M |
| MelbourneVIC | +1.8% | $850K |
Dwelling approvals — future supply
Building approvals lead completions by a year or more, so a rising pipeline signals more competing stock ahead. We compare the trailing twelve months of approvals with the prior year.
| Capital city | Approvals, YoY | Trailing 12 months |
|---|---|---|
| DarwinNT | +66.1% | 603 approvals |
| CanberraACT | +42.0% | 4,031 approvals |
| HobartTAS | +37.4% | 1,216 approvals |
| BrisbaneQLD | +23.7% | 26,931 approvals |
| PerthWA | +12.5% | 21,890 approvals |
| AdelaideSA | +5.8% | 12,529 approvals |
| SydneyNSW | +5.5% | 35,404 approvals |
| MelbourneVIC | -8.4% | 42,692 approvals |
Rental yield and affordability
Gross yield mixes state bond-board median rents with ABS median prices; affordability compares rent with household income. The ABS does not publish rents, prices or yields — so these figures appear once commercially-licensed rent data has been onboarded.
Data being onboarded. Commercially-licensed bond-board rent data (Victoria and Queensland) is still being onboarded. Prices, rates, rent inflation and supply above are already live.
In the meantime, work out the exact gross and net yield for any specific property with the rental yield calculator, or explore what drives it in Rental Yield & Performance.
Australian rental-yield guides
Data sources
- Reserve Bank of Australia — Cash Rate Target (F1.1) · Interest-rate level and repayment sensitivity
- Australian Bureau of Statistics — Consumer Price Index, Australia (rents & all groups) · Rent inflation and real (inflation-adjusted) rent growth
- Australian Bureau of Statistics — Building Approvals, Australia · Future dwelling supply pressure by capital city
- Australian Bureau of Statistics — Total Value of Dwellings — median transfer prices · Capital-growth momentum (median established-house prices)
ABS vintage: Census 2021. Figures are population-weighted aggregates of SA2-level data.
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