Apartments have been growing faster than houses in most Australian capitals in 2026. The real price gap, scheme differences, strata costs and repayment maths for first home buyers weighing units against houses.
For decades the Australian dream was a house on a block, ideally with a lemon tree and a Hills Hoist out the back. In 2026 the picture looks different. Across most capital cities, apartment values have been growing faster than house values, and for first home buyers on a realistic budget the numbers now tell a more interesting story than the dream ever did. Before you write off units, it is worth walking through what the price gap, the schemes, and the ongoing costs actually look like at today's rates.
The gap between house and unit medians has widened in every major capital, which is exactly why the entry point for a first home buyer looks so different depending on the property type you consider. Using the latest CoreLogic and Domain median figures, the picture looks roughly like this:
At an owner-occupier interest rate of approximately 6.95% over a 30 year term, and a 5% deposit, the difference in monthly repayments between a Sydney median house and a Sydney median unit works out at roughly $4,700 a month. That is not a marginal call, it is the difference between qualifying for a loan or being politely shown the door. Plug your own numbers into the Borrowing Power Calculator before you fall in love with a listing you cannot actually service.
The received wisdom is that houses always outperform units because land appreciates and buildings depreciate. Over 20 or 30 years that still holds in many markets. But over the past 18 months, unit values in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth have grown faster than detached houses. The driver is not mysterious. Affordability constraints have pushed a large share of buyers, including first home buyers, into the only price bracket where scheme eligibility and lender serviceability actually line up.
Supply matters here too. New apartment construction has fallen well below trend since 2022, so the stock of well located units in inner and middle ring suburbs is genuinely constrained. That is a very different story to the outer suburban house and land submarkets where new supply keeps coming.
This is where a lot of first home buyers get caught out. The government scheme rules do not treat houses and units identically, and they do not always treat new and established stock the same way either.
Because the interactions get messy fast, it is worth running a specific address through the Grant Stacker and the Stamp Duty Calculator before you assume any particular scheme will apply to your situation. Your lender and your conveyancer will confirm the final position, but going in with realistic numbers keeps everyone honest.
Every honest apartment analysis has to price in body corporate fees. Depending on the building, expect ongoing strata levies of approximately $3,000 to $8,000 a year, plus occasional special levies for major works. On a $600,000 apartment with $6,000 a year in strata, the cash-flow position is closer to a $630,000 house with no body corporate. Not disastrous, but not invisible either.
Before you sign anything, order a strata inspection report, typically around $300 to $500. You want to see the sinking fund balance, the last two years of meeting minutes, any active building defect claims, and any special levies already flagged for the next 12 months. This is the single cheapest piece of due diligence you can do on an apartment purchase, and the one most commonly skipped.
If you are a first home buyer weighing an apartment against a house in 2026, a practical decision list looks like this:
The house versus unit call is a numbers exercise before it is a lifestyle one. These tools will give you a defensible baseline before you start comparing listings.