The Great Australian Dream is alive and well, with new research showing that around two-thirds of Australian households own their home, while around 30 per cent rent.
What’s more, detached dwellings are the dominant form of housing in Australia (around 70 per cent), with a lower share in Sydney and Melbourne, according to a report released this week by the National Australia Bank (NAB) Economics and Markets Research team.
NAB’s Housing Monitor June 2026 confirms that dwelling price growth was already easing ahead of the Federal budget and has continued slowing, with national dwelling prices flat in May.
The report also confirms data from Cotality showing that that the slowdown has been most pronounced in Sydney and Melbourne, where prices fell 0.9 per cent and 0.8 per cent over the month, respectively. Growth in the mid-sized capitals has also eased but remains strong on a three-month annualised basis. While growth has moderated, dwelling prices continue to rise across the mid-sized capitals and population growth remains higher than pre-pandemic trends.
The NAB team have revised their housing price forecasts, expecting prices in the eight capitals to fall by 2 per cent this year, driven by 6-7 per cent falls in Sydney and Melbourne and a general slowing in the mid-sized capitals.
The report shows that the rental market remains tight, with vacancy rates near record lows at 1.7 per cent. Growth in advertised rents has remained elevated at 5.9 per cent over the year.
Work started on new home building has lifted since late 2023, led by apartments, but the starts continue to outpace completions amid challenging supply conditions. This has kept the construction pipeline elevated, with ~235k dwellings still under construction, around 35 per cent above the pre-pandemic (2010-2019) average.
Apartment and townhouses, in particular, continue to outpace completions, adding to the stock of dwellings under construction, particularly in NSW and Queensland. Completion times shortened slightly in 2024-25 for detached houses but lengthened for apartments.
The research noted that despite a softer result in April, dwelling approvals have trended higher over the past two years, supporting a large pipeline of work.