Urbis Apartment Essentials National Snapshot 2026 Q1

The Urbis Apartment Essentials is the most comprehensive national apartment survey in Australia and the only survey where sales data for apartment projects with 25 or more units is collected at the time of contract rather than at settlement.

Our brightest minds analyse the data quarterly to provide you with the latest market activity and future supply pipeline. Discover more apartment trends in our National Apartment Essentials Snapshot.

Read the full report here.

Snapshot 2026 Q1:

• National average price per square metre reached $17,165 in Q1 2026, broadly stable on recent quarters, but this is a pre-conflict baseline before the flow through construction supply chains, so it should be read as a floor rather than a current-market position, with energy, freight and petrochemical cost pressure expected to build from Q2 2026.
• A modest recovery to ~23,000 apartments per year is anticipated for 2026–28, still well below the 36,200 delivered annually during the 2016–20 peak. With vacancy at historic lows and population growth continuing, the supply-demand imbalance is set to widen.
• Pre-budget, new apartment rents settled at elevated levels, the national median reached $750/week in Q1 2026, up 3.6% year-on-year, marking a period of stabilisation. Looking forward, with constrained new supply and sustained rental demand expected to drive renewed growth from Q2.

Get in touch with one of our local, on-the-ground team members today to discuss what’s happening in your market.

Victoria – Mark Dawson and Dylan Gray

New South Wales – Alex Stuart

Queensland – Paul Riga, Monique Ryan and Lynda Campbell

Western Australia – David Cresp