More than half of Canberra's house markets had a median price of more than $1 million across August, despite a subdued buying season.
Data from CoreLogic revealed 52.3 per cent of suburbs had a median house value eclipsing six figures last month, up from 45.3 per cent the year prior.
Only one unit market - Yarralumla - was in the million-dollar club during August.
There, the median price for a unit or townhouse was $1,293,765.
Canberra's most expensive house market is Campbell, where the median house price in August was $1,976,200. That figure is 6.5 per cent more than the year prior.
Garran followed at $1,784,100 and Turner came in as the third most expensive market at $1,540,400.
Five outer suburbs rejoined the million-dollar club after falling off the list in 2022 and 2023.
They included Gungahlin, Belconnen's Cook and McKellar, and the Tuggeranong suburbs of Macarthur and Gowrie.
CoreLogic economist Kaytlin Ezzy said growth in geographically small areas like Canberra tended to skew toward the relatively "affordable" end of the market, which had pushed up prices in these suburbs.
"It is a vicious cycle. We seek out affordability, and by doing so, make [desired] suburbs less affordable," she said.
Is Canberra really costing more?
From these figures, it appears Canberra is becoming more expensive, but a broader look tells a different story.
At the height of sale prices in 2022, the median price for a house in was 6.1 per cent higher than it is now.
Chifley experienced a 15 per cent downturn in that time and in Nicholls, the downturn was 14.6 per cent.
"The ACT is a market we haven't seen fully recover to the levels it was at back in 2022," Ms Ezzy said.
In April of that year, 59.3 per cent of Canberra suburbs analysed had a median price of more than $1 million.
The quarterly pace of growth has eased nationally from a 2 per cent increase over the three months to April 2024, to 1.3 per cent over the three months to August.
Ms Ezzy said this was a reflection of what could be expected in Canberra's market ahead of the new year.
Canberra prices since COVID have been driven by tight supply, but Ms Ezzy said listings were beginning to adjust to waning buyer demand.
Rate cuts may generate an increase in that demand, though there was evidence to suggest the first few cuts may have less of an impact than many prospective sellers anticipate.
"Interest rates are just one of many factors that play into the supply and demand struggle. I think we all talk about it as though they are the be all and end all," Ms Ezzy said.
