What Perth’s Million-Dollar Median Means for Buyers

Perth’s median house price has risen at more than twice the pace of average adult weekly earnings in Western Australia over the past decade, with experts warning affordability pressures are unlikely to ease anytime soon.

New data highlights the strain facing buyers in Perth’s housing market, which ended 2025 with a median house price exceeding $1 million. While prices continue to climb, wages have failed to keep pace, widening the affordability gap.

Property investment advisor Daniel McQuillan, managing director of Nu Wealth, cautioned against “quick fixes” such as government incentives, arguing they do little to address the structural causes of the housing crisis — and may even make affordability worse.

According to Domain’s December Quarter House Price Report, the national housing market recorded price growth for the 12th consecutive quarter. Perth joined the “million-dollar club” after a 9.9 per cent rise in median house prices over the December quarter, with annual growth reaching 18.4 per cent — second only to Darwin among the capitals.

Over the past decade, Perth’s median house price has increased by more than 70 per cent, rising from around $585,000 in 2015 to $1 million in 2025. Over the same period, average weekly full-time earnings in WA rose by just 27.3 per cent.

“Overall, Perth house prices have grown around 2.5 times faster than average adult salaries in Western Australia,” Mr McQuillan said.

He noted this trend was playing out nationally, driven by rising property taxes, shortages in building trades, population growth focused on major cities and increasing regulatory costs that continue to constrain supply.

“Quick fixes such as first-home buyer incentives don’t address the underlying causes of the housing crisis,” he said. “In some cases, they can make the problem worse.”

Domain chief of research and economics Dr Nicola Powell said the national market remained in an upswing, although growth was uneven.

“Smaller capitals like Perth and Adelaide are leading house price growth, while buyers in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane are increasingly turning to units in search of value,” she said.

While ABS data shows new home starts in WA rose by one-third over the September quarter compared with a year earlier, the state remains more than 3,300 homes short of its annual National Housing Accord target. Master Builders WA chief executive Matt Moran said meeting future demand would require sustained focus on supply-side solutions.

“There is clearly demand for new homes, but builders can only deliver when we have the workforce, land availability and the right policy settings,” he said.