The premium Australians put on living in a freestanding house rather than an apartment has never been higher.

The gap between the housing types has blown out massively over the past four years, from 16.7 per cent in March 2020 to 45.2 per cent today.

In dollar term, that’s a $293,950 difference between the median house and median unit across Australia’s capital cities.

CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless said underlying land value, the scarcity factor and the desire for more space during the pandemic had widened the gap between unit and house values.

The price difference actually narrowed during the property market downturn of 2022, with house values falling more than units.

“The gap between house and unit values has since rebounded to a new record high as house values once again rise at a faster pace than units,” Mr Lawless said.

Over the past 12 months, house values have grown 11 per cent while units have increased 6.9 per cent in the same time.

“House prices have moved out of reach for a growing portion of the population, especially those seeking a first home or lower income households,” Mr Lawless said.

He said buyers would increasingly turn to higher density living as they were priced out of houses.

And with the pandemic now firmly in the rear mirror, he said space would likely fall down the list of priorities and give way to proximity to schools, shops and other amenities.

“Alongside lower prices, medium to high density housing options are often strategically located close to transport networks, major working nodes and high amenity precincts,” he said.

Based on the real estate data firm’s research, areas at the top of the price range tended to have the biggest differences between houses and apartments

In Sydney’s Bellevue Hill, for example, there was a 525 per cent premium for houses compared to units.

Poppy Johnston
(Australian Associated Press)