Brisbane’s lost its affordability crown. But is our lifestyle worth it?

Three-quarters of Brisbane’s residents say they’d rather live here than any other place in Australia – but can they still afford it?

Brisbane has already lost its crown as the most affordable mainland east-coast capital to Melbourne, and is predicted to overtake Sydney as the country’s most expensive capital city unit market.

“I have lived in Brisbane my whole life and seeing it go from affordable to near-impossible to buy a house is just heartbreaking,” said Daniel Handley, a 34-year-old hydraulic fitter.

Growth in Brisbane has been exponential, and as independent economist Saul Eslake points out, rather sudden.

In May 2021, the median house price in Brisbane was $683,849. Five years later, it’s $1,225,350.

Handley and his wife Jessica rent a townhouse in Richlands, about 20 kilometres south-west of the CBD, with their 14-month-old daughter Bronte.

“My wife and I, we’re on a pretty good wicket, but even we’re feeling the strain because everything’s just getting so expensive,” he said.

“When we first moved in together, we moved into a cheap little unit in Moorooka. It was $320 a week and it was fairly nice. Now we’re paying $720 a week for something that is smaller.

“Sometimes you just wonder, ‘How did we get here?’”

Brisbane’s median house price cracked $1 million at the end of 2024, following a wave of post-COVID migration from the southern states.

Today, a dual-income couple would need to earn about $102,000 each to afford a median-priced house.

This assumes the couple has no credit card debt, no other debts, no children and they are buying with a 20 per cent deposit – a big hurdle in its own right.

In just 12 months, Brisbane’s median house price has increased by more than $176,000, while the income required for a couple to buy a median-priced home has risen by about $14,000 per person, according to Canstar data analysts.

The average new owner-occupier loan size in Queensland has grown 68 per cent, from $441,000 in March 2021 to $741,000 in March 2026.

Canstar data insights director Sally Tindall said Brisbane was previously seen as a city where buyers could find value for money – a larger, detached house on a decent block of land, not too far from the CBD.

“But at this point in time, I don’t think Brisbane has the reputation of being an affordable city. It might still be a great place to live, but I don’t think we can call it affordable.”

Eslake, who examined Australian Bureau of Statistics figures on household spending, suspected rising insurance premiums due to Queensland’s floods and cyclones were heaping pressure on family budgets.

“Brisbane has become more expensive – a lot more expensive,” Eslake said.

Handley said he and his wife had not relinquished their dream of home ownership.

“When I was growing up, the dream was always to have a family, have a home, settle down. We’re still clinging to the idea of owning our own home,” he said.

In 2019, Queensland was arguably the cheapest place to live in Australia. The average Queenslander was spending $25,107 a year to cover living expenses – everything except rent and mortgage repayments – about $1000 less than the national average at the time.

Now, each Queenslander is spending an average of $34,268 a year on food, transport, healthcare, recreation and miscellaneous goods and services – about $349 more than the national average.

Eslake said Victoria’s increased taxes on property investors had helped Melbourne become a beacon of housing affordability.

The demand for labour and materials as Brisbane geared up for the 2032 Olympics would only make matters worse, Eslake said.

Tindall agreed. “Across the country, there is a fundamental shortage of places to live, but in Brisbane in particular,” she said.

Eslake said the more people were pushed to the outskirts, the more their lifestyle changed.

“Those who do buy often have to live in places further away, and therefore have to spend more time commuting, and commuting time is wasted time,” he said.

“If people are either struggling to save up for a home ... or once they’ve bought a home, are spending a bigger proportion of their income servicing [their mortgage], then that might affect their decisions as to whether to have children, and how many.”

Why does it matter? The University of Melbourne’s Dr Anna Edwards recently explained it to a room of business and local government leaders in Brisbane: “Cities compete. They compete for talent, investment, visitors and skilled workers. And increasingly, they compete on quality of life.”

Committee for Brisbane chief executive Jen Williams said despite the rising cost of living, 78 per cent of residents were “very satisfied or satisfied” with the quality of life in Brisbane.

“Many of the cities ranked as the world’s most liveable are also some of the most expensive to live in,” Williams said.

“Housing affordability plays into lifestyle, but it’s not the full picture. Brisbane has incredible weather and a natural environment that are fundamental to our lifestyle.”

The biggest strengths identified by Brisbane residents in an Ipsos poll conducted for the committee were the inner-city’s access to the natural environment and the city’s “general vibe”.

“For a long time, Brisbane was seen as a lifestyle-led city – one with affordable housing, but limited access to well-paid jobs. As such, many southerners could not justify the move north,” Williams said.

“With Brisbane’s economy going from strength to strength, and the employment market providing new opportunities, the city is now seen as an enviable location to both live and work.”

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