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I ranked every capital city in Australia, so you know where could be the best to invest in 2026 and where you may want to stay away from. I'm Junge Ma and I'll be ranking each capital city by these criteria. Median price, one-year growth, inventory trends, measure ranking, as well as several more will open up in the episode. Finally, I'll give you a peek into the InvestorKit's analysis results, revealing if this city is a buy or sell. Let's get into it.
But before we start, the decision to buy or sell is arguably one of the biggest decisions you make in your life. While this list is comprehensive and backed by tons of research and data, it is impossible to take your personal situation into account. So use this list as a tool to help you become a better investor and reach out to your expert team to find out buying or selling is the best fit for you in these areas. So we'll start from Greater Sydney. Median house price now is $1,450,000.
In the past year, it has grown by 6. 6%. Inventory has been stabilized around three months of stock, so quite balanced. In the past 12 months, it actually increased slightly by 6. 7%, but overall, if we zoom out, it's actually just minimal change.
Rental yield in Sydney is the lowest among all capital cities. It is now just 3%. Depending on the area we're looking at, in the inner city areas, yields could be much lower than this, and in outer suburbs, yield could be much healthier. And in the past year, rental growth was just 2. 7%.
Rental supply is still tight, but growth has slowed down because of the affordability cap. So overall, Sydney's market pressure is balanced, not moving too much, and among all eight cities, it is sitting at the seventh place. In terms of the decision of a buy or sell, because of the low rental yield and not really moving market pressure, I would say for Sydney, it is a sell. Now, Melbourne. Melbourne's median price is now $850,000.
It has been here for almost three years. In the past one year, at the greater capital city level, 0% growth. Inventory has been decreasing, 13% lower than the same time last year, and is now sitting at just 2. 5 months of stock. Yield is much healthier than Sydney's, 3.
8%. And in the past 12 months, rental prices have increased by 3. 6%. So as we can see, it is also slowing down. Overall, Melbourne's market pressure is still just moderate, but is improving.
And among the eight capital cities, it is sitting at the fifth place. Now, when it comes to the decision of a buy or sell, Melbourne's market cycle position is playing a big role here. In the past 10 years, Melbourne's house prices only increased by 52% in total. That is annualized by 4. 3% per year, well below the long-term average of 5% to 7%.
That means if Melbourne's market pressure continues to increase, there's plenty of room for it to recover in the coming years. Considering that, we would give Melbourne a buy in the buy or sell decision. Now, Greater Brisbane. Brisbane's median house price now is $930,000. In the past year, it has increased by 10.
4%, slower than the past year. Inventory is now 2. 7 months of stock. In the past year, it has been quite stable, only increased by a minimal 1. 7%.
Rental yield has decreased a lot over the past few years. Now, it is only 3. 8%, the same as Greater Melbourne's. That is something we could never imagine before. And in the past year, rental prices increased by 6.
6%, slightly higher than the average level. So overall, Brisbane's market pressure is remaining relatively high, considering the relatively low and stable inventory level and above average price growth. But when it comes to buy or sell decision, I would say it's a sell because it has passed the peak growth phase of its current cycle, plus the current price levels are not the most accessible for many investors. Now, Greater Adelaide. Median house price now is $840,000.
Last year, it has grown by 12%. Inventory is still very low at 1. 6 months. And over the past year, it has increased slightly by 7. 3%.
So pressure is still holding there. Rental yield, slightly better than Brisbane's, 3. 96%. One-year rental growth, 3. 4%.
Again, has slowed down a lot. So based on the consistently high market pressure and healthy price growth, we would rank Adelaide's market pressure a second place out of the eight capital cities. Now, the buy or sell decision. Similar to Brisbane, Adelaide has passed its peak growth phase and the price levels have grown too much to a not really affordable level. So I wouldn't encourage new investors to enter Adelaide at this time.
So it would be a sell for Adelaide. On that note, remember what I said at the start of the episode? Everyone's situation is different. To take Adelaide and Brisbane as an example, for the majority of the situations, these markets are sell right now. So talk to your expert team to find out the details relevant for you.
Now, let's keep moving. Greater Perth. Median house price now is $785,000. Having grown by 14. 6% in the past 12 months.
Inventory has been increasing 28. 6% higher than the same time last year, but it's still sitting at just 1. 9 months of stock. Yield among all capital cities is a relatively high one, 4. 77%.
And its last one-year rental growth was 5. 4%. So overall, Perth's market pressure is still there despite the slight relief. It would be ranked the fourth place among all capital cities, just after Adelaide and Brisbane. Now, when it comes to buy or sell decision, Perth has passed its peak.
It's growing to the unaffordable side. Rental yield is declining. So for most investors, I would say it is a sell. But remember, talk to your expert team. Next, Greater Hobart.
Median house price now is $685,000. In the past year, it has grown by 4. 4%. It has come back to growth. Inventory has dropped by almost 40% to 2.
8 months of stock. Yield-wise, it is now at 4. 5%. And in the past one year, rental prices have grown by 3. 7%.
Overall, Hobart's market pressure is steadily increasing. But because of the high last 10-year growth, which was annualized at 7. 4%, higher than the long-term average range, I would say the recovery could be relatively slow. Considering that, we're ranking Hobart just after Melbourne at the sixth place among the eight capital cities. Now, when it comes to buy or sell decision, as Hobart is already on its way to recovery, data tells us that buy is a better decision than to sell.
Now, Greater Darwin. Median house price now is $590,000. In the past one year, growth was 2. 6%. And because of the increasing market pressure, it is speeding up.
Inventory now has dropped to just one month of stock. That is a 90% drop from last year. Rental yield now is 6. 2%. And in the past year, rents have also grown by 6.
2%. Because of the fast recovery of the market pressure, we're ranking Greater Darwin at the first place among all eight capital cities. Now, when it comes to buy or sell decision, current data suggests it's a buy. But again, talk to your expert team to find out if this is the best decision for you. Now, our last capital city, Canberra.
Median house price now is $965,000. Last one year growth was just 1. 6%. Market pressure has been relatively steady. Inventory now is 3.
1 months of stock, 10% higher than the same time last year. Rental yield is just moderate at 3. 7%. It has been stable because it has been stable over the past year as our last one year rental growth was very much in line with the price growth at 1. 5%.
So based on the slow price growth, slow rental growth, and the slightly increasing inventory level, we're ranking Canberra the eighth out of the eight capital cities. Now, when it comes to buy or sell decision, due to the low affordability and not so impressive rental yield and the high holding costs, sell would be a more reasonable decision than buy for most investors. So which city are you looking at buying in? Or are you holding a property maybe you've been considering selling? Whether you end up choosing to buy or sell, the important thing is you're doing research like this.
You're not blindly choosing a location that just sounds good to buy or making a sales decision just because someone else told you to do so. You're becoming a smarter property investor, educating yourself with information like this. And we hope you use this information with your expert team to make the right decisions and keep growing your portfolio. I'm Joma, the Senior Research Analyst at InvestorKit. I'll see you next time.
