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Luxury is anything but generic. At its most specific, it’s a single lot on a single street in a single suburb; a location so particular that no two are alike.
We've defined luxury at the national level. Now we go as local as the data allows. The ABS brings us to SA2 level, and what it reveals is a market running at several different speeds with each city telling a distinctly different story about where it is in the cycle.
Perth: no signs of slowing
City Beach has always been one of Perth's most coveted addresses with its ocean views and quiet streets. Now it has the momentum to compete on a national level: 18 per cent growth in 12 months, backed by a strong state economy, sustained population inflows, and a prestige market where stock has simply not kept pace with demand.
This is not an isolated spike either. Claremont is up 17 per cent to $2.78 million, while Mosman Park–Peppermint Grove grew 16.9 per cent to $3.03 million. Perth is in its third consecutive year of double-digit growth in the luxury space, a run long enough that it no longer needs explaining as a post-pandemic effect or a commodity boom by-product. It’s simply where Perth luxury is now.
The practical consequence is that the gap between Perth and Sydney luxury prices, which was once vast, is narrowing. Buyers who assumed Perth represented value relative to the eastern seaboard are still competing for it.
Queensland: following the same path, one year behind
Newstead–Bowen Hills is one of Brisbane's most transformed precincts, a former industrial corridor that has become a riverside address for buyers who want proximity to the CBD without surrendering neighbourhood character. It grew 11.2 per cent over the past year to a $2.88 million median. Ascot, where wide streets and heritage homes sit alongside Brisbane's racing establishment, reached $2.97 million on 10.9 per cent growth. Hamilton, perched on the river with long views and large blocks, posted 10.8 per cent to $2.76 million.
On the Gold Coast, the growth is spread across suburbs with distinct identities: Surfers Paradise South, Mermaid Beach–Broadbeach and Main Beach — coastal, resort-adjacent, and quietly residential in turn — all recorded growth between 8.6 and 9.7 per cent. Main Beach now sits at $3.86 million.
The pattern mirrors what Perth was doing twelve months ago: a broad-based acceleration across multiple suburbs rather than isolated pockets of activity. If that parallel holds, Queensland luxury is entering its most intensive growth phase.
Sydney: steady at the top
Sydney's luxury market is growing, but at a measured pace relative to its northern and western counterparts. Dover Heights, Double Bay–Darling Point and Bondi–Tamarama–Bronte all recorded growth of between 5.2 and 5.5 per cent, with medians ranging from $5.11 million to $5.99 million. These are still meaningful gains on an absolute dollar basis as a 5.5 per cent move on a $5.72 million median adds more than $300,000 in value, but the percentage growth figures tell a story of stability rather than momentum.
Sydney's luxury market is not weakening. It’s consolidating at a price level that still commands a significant premium over every other major city, and last year's prediction that prestige buyers might rediscover Sydney's relative value appears to be playing out, if gradually.
Melbourne: a recovery, but a modest one
Melbourne's luxury market has moved out of the mild contraction recorded last year. Surrey Hills (West)–Canterbury grew 3.6 per cent to a $2.92 million median, Balwyn increased by 3.2 per cent to $3 million, and Kew South went up 2.8 per cent to $3.12 million. Positive growth across the board is a genuine improvement, and the city's long period of underperformance relative to its fundamentals as Australia's second-largest city may be reaching its floor.
The pace, however, remains the slowest of any major market. Melbourne's top luxury suburb grew at less than one-fifth the rate of Perth's. For vendors who have watched other markets run hard, patience is still the requirement.
Canberra: a single data point, a clear signal
Only one Canberra suburb met the $2.75 million threshold used in this analysis: Forrest, with a median of $4.24 million and year-on-year growth of 4.5 per cent. That scarcity reflects Canberra's luxury market more accurately than any percentage figure — there’s simply very little supply at this price point, and what exists is moving steadily upward.
