Brisbane's median house price reached $1,207,718 this month, up 18.5 percent over the year, the fastest annual growth rate of this entire four year stretch I've been documenting here. Striking that it's arriving in the same month as a second consecutive rate hike, the opposite combination of what textbook logic would predict.
Same pattern I noted back in 2023, actually, just running in reverse now. Rates aren't the dominant force in this market. Population growth against a supply pipeline still years from catching up is doing more work than the cash rate ever has, in either direction.
Doesn't mean rates don't matter at the margin, financing costs are real and they shape who can compete at these prices. Just means anyone waiting for hikes alone to cool this market has been waiting through the wrong variable for four years running now.