Though it seems hard to believe, Sydney’s median house price sits at approximately $1.5 million.

Depending on what suburb of Sydney you’re in, that’ll either fetch you a dilapidated Darlinghurst terrace with the roof caving in or a comfy three bedder with a yard in the Sutherland Shire. Wait, who are you kidding? $1.5M wouldn’t even buy you a new roof in Darlinghurst. While we’re used to the soaring prices, other capital cities around Australia might expect a little more bang for their buck. For comparison, here’s what around $1.5M will get you in Melbourne, Hobart, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide.

Melbourne

Our southern sister loves to compete with us for just about everything, but it seems she draws the line when it comes to steep property prices. In Melbourne, the median house price sits just shy of $1M, with price growth rising 16% over the year. In the uber trendy inner-city suburb of Richmond, $1.5M could bag you a unique Edwardian with five spacious bedrooms over two levels. For just under, with a price guide of $1,350,000-$1,450,000, this South Yarra 2-bedroom terrace would make the cut.

Hobart

Over the year, Hobart had the biggest capital city price increase at 27.7%. According to a recent CoreLogic report, Tasmania’s capital city is also experiencing the biggest gap between wage increases and house price growth in Australia in the past 20 years. For close to $1.5M, buyers are spoiled by incredible water views from every living zone in this 3-bed, 3 bath bespoke built home in the prestigious suburb of Sandy Bay. Safe to say the only water views you’re getting in Sydney for that price is the rain out your window.

Brisbane

The sunshine state’s capital city has a median house price of approx. $770K, so you’d be doubling your budget to level up with Sydney. It turns out that Brisbane has its own Paddington suburb, and within it, 4-bed, 2-bath character homes for the price of a single story in our 2021 postcode. Better yet, this listing in Brisbane’s Paddington has something Sydney’s Eastern suburbs elite has only read about in fairy tales—three parking spots.
Adelaide

The South Australian city of Adelaide saw a 21% increase in house prices over the past 12 months, with median house prices now sitting at around the $630K mark. Increase that budget to Sydney standards and you’re looking at a 4 bedroom 2 bathroom villa in the exclusive neighbourhood of Norwood, home of the revered boutique clothing and café strip known simply as ‘The Parade.’ Add a spacious front yard, paved back patio perfect for entertaining, and 2 private Zen courtyards, and you’ve got a deal.

Perth

Sydney’s median house price is almost triple that of Western Australia’s capital city at $560K. As you might expect, at 3x the average price tag, the world is your Akoya oyster. In Mount Lawley, just five minutes’ drive north of central Perth, a Heritage-listed four-bedroom, two-bathroom home built in 1915 boasting sky-high rose adorned ceilings, chandelier lighting and ornamental fireplaces are all within budget. Just need them to open the border in time for the open house.

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