Australia’s property market has now delivered eight straight months of price growth, pushing dwelling values to fresh record highs. The latest PropTrack data shows national house prices rose by 0.5% in August, bringing the median to $924,000. Units also climbed by 0.5%, with the median sitting at $683,000.

Over the past year, house prices across the combined capital cities have grown by 5.1%, while unit values have increased 4.5%. Looking at the bigger picture, prices are now 50.4% higher than five years ago.

Darwin has been the standout performer, notching up 10.2% growth in the past 12 months, while Perth (8.9%), Adelaide (8.8%) and Brisbane (8.2%) are also pushing ahead. Even the more subdued markets of Sydney (3.8%), Hobart (3.2%), Melbourne (2.7%) and the ACT (2.7%) are in positive territory.

According to PropTrack’s Eleanor Creagh, the recovery is no longer isolated to a handful of markets. “What began as a narrow upswing has broadened across the capitals, ushering in a more uniform phase of recovery,” she says. Both regional and metropolitan areas are now at record highs, supported by affordability in lifestyle locations and renewed demand in the larger cities.