Price per square meter of land in selected cities Australia 2023

In 2023, Sydney had the highest price per square meter of land across major cities in Australia. Lot buyers expected to pay a premium of 1,505 Australian dollars per square meter in the capital of New South Wales. Conversely, lot buyers in Adelaide expected to spend around 608 Australian dollars per square meter of land.

Prices through the roof

Over the past decade, the surge in land and housing costs has been attributed to rapid population growth, driving up median prices for property and land, particularly in cities. In Sydney, the per square meter price of land has more than tripled since 2010, while the number of new property listings has declined over the years. A shortage of residential land available to build on has exacerbated the housing affordability crisis in Australia.

Will lending rates continue to climb?

The homeownership dream is out of reach for the average Australian without a housing loan. Nevertheless, Australia's climbing mortgage interest rates for both owner-occupiers and investors have impacted current and aspiring mortgage holders, with the value of household lending trending downwards over the past two years. While rates remained high in the first half of 2024, forecasts from Australia's big four banks show rates have likely reached their peak and will start to fall in the second half of the year, which should, in turn, accelerate buying, selling, and lending activities.