Five years on from Covid, where does the property market stand?
Five years ago, the world changed - the global pandemic had dawned and economic tumult followed. Half a decade on, we look at how the Australian property market has emerged from that uncertain time.
Five years is not necessarily a long time in property investing but the past half-decade provides a compelling counterargument to that position.
When you throw in a two-year global pandemic, border closures, business closures, interest rates on a roller coaster and an inflationary blowout amid a sustained period of flatlining of wages, that five years seems to have packed in a lifetime of living.
Exactly five years on from the World Health Organisation declaring Covid-19 as a global pandemic, the ramifications for the national property market continue to resonate.
Somehow, in spite of the near-universal expectations that property markets would decline or even crash, the opposite occurred.
Nationally, property prices rose by a cumulative 38.4 per cent, adding approximately $227,000 to the median dwelling value. By comparison, the previous five-year period saw national home values rise by a much smaller 20.6 per cent, and the five years before that the market was up just 14.7 per cent.
Australian wages have risen by less than half the increase of housing since the onset of Covid, leading to widespread affordability challenges in most areas.
Those who bought a house five years ago, or chose property in Perth, or perhaps regional Queensland or Western Australia, would have fared particularly well.
House values have recorded more than double the growth of unit values. According to the latest CoreLogic Property Pulse report, released Friday (14 March), Perth topped the growth tables with a stunning 75.9 per cent surge in housing values since March 2020, adding roughly $348,519 to the median dwelling value.
Regional housing values have risen a lot more relative to the capital cities, with the combined regional areas of Australia recording a 56.3 per cent gain in values since March 2020 compared with a 33.6 per cent rise across the combined capitals.
The top regional growth markets over the most recent growth phase have been more diverse, featuring more rural Queensland markets such as Townsville (up 67 per cent), Rockhampton (71 per cent) and Gladstone (84 per cent), as well as coastal markets of WA including Bunbury (81 per cent), Busselton (93 per cent) and Geraldton (94 per cent). The top performer in that five-year period from March 2020 was Murray Bridge (101 per cent), 78 kilometres east-southeast of Adelaide.
Buy low, sell high is the investment mantra.
The Covid and post-Covid years have backed that up.
The largest overall gains since March 2020 have quite often been recorded in markets that have come from a low-price base.
Five of the top ten highest growth regions are still recording a median dwelling value below the $500,000 mark. Only two regions had a February 2025 median dwelling value over the one-million-dollar mark: Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast/Tweed Heads. Both regions already had a relatively high median coming into the pandemic, however, demand for commutable lifestyle properties has seen value across these regions surge and remain high.
You had to be unlucky not to experience at least some level of profit from property investment in that time.
Only two significant urban areas have recorded a decline in values since the onset of COVID: Alice Springs (-5.6 per cent) and Mount Isa (-3.6 per cent).
Among the capital cities, Melbourne was the great underperformer.
Depending on your viewpoint, Melbourne was either the best city at keeping a lid on affordability or the worst in terms of delivering enough capital growth to even contend with inflation.
Tim Lawless, Research Director, CoreLogic, pointed out that Victoria has delivered a higher per-capita number of dwelling completions since 2017 than the other capitals.
“Interstate migration also dived during the pandemic.
“Along with more residents leaving the state for other regions, internal migration favoured regional Victoria, which further detracted from Melbourne’s demand profile.
“Investor demand too has generally been weaker than average across Victoria, reflecting the stronger growth prospects in other markets that were more attractive to investors, but also a higher property tax regime that has likely disincentivised investment demand,” he said.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, Perth came into this growth cycle from a relatively weak and very affordable housing position, with the five years prior to March 2020 recording an 11.8 per cent drop in dwelling values.
“Coming into the pandemic, Perth’s median dwelling value was the second lowest of any capital city (after Darwin),” Mr Lawless said.
“Despite such a significant rise in values, Perth’s median dwelling value remains relatively affordable, with values higher in Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra and Adelaide at the end of February 2025.”
Renters nailed by pandemic and market alike
Renters were the biggest property losers over the past five years.
CoreLogic’s national rental index rose by 37.6 per cent since March 2020, 5.8 times faster than the change in rents over the previous five-year period (6.5 per cent). The national median rental rate is now $177/week higher than levels in March 2020.
Whether you rented a unit or house, there was little respite. House rents rose 38.7 per cent and unit rents are up 35.1 per cent. For some context, in the five years prior to Covid, regional rents rose by just 9.8 per cent and capital city rents were up only 5.4 per cent.
There are signs the worst is over.
Rental trends have been losing pace as affordability challenges become more substantial for renters, the average household size gradually rises and overseas migration normalises.
Again, it was Perth where the market went craziest.
It recorded the largest rise in rents of any region, up 63.9 per cent since March 2020 and adding approximately $274/week to the median.
The surge in Perth rents is a dramatic turn-around from the 10.1 per cent decline in rents recorded in the five years prior to the pandemic. Rental demand has surged due to a combination of high overseas and interstate migration.
The other mid-sized capitals, Adelaide (+46.2 per cent) and Brisbane (+40.6 per cent) rounded out the top three capital cities for rental appreciation.
