How much does it cost to own a home each year in Australia?

Owning a home in Australia costs more than the mortgage. On top of the modelled repayment on the average new owner-occupier loan, at $4,369 per month in the March quarter of 2026, homeowners pay council rates, insurance premiums, water and wastewater bills, and ongoing maintenance costs. For houses, these non-mortgage costs add an estimated $14,000 to about $20,800 per year across the eight states and territories modelled in this article. For units, the range is lower because the model substitutes contents insurance and a strata levy for full building insurance and a house maintenance allowance. These figures show that recurring ownership costs can be materially higher than the mortgage alone.

The highest recurring cost is usually the mortgage, but other ownership costs can add materially to the annual bill. Insurance, council rates, water and wastewater charges, house maintenance and strata levies vary by location, property type and building condition, so this article separates each cost rather than presenting a single national ownership-cost figure.

What a house or unit costs in Australia

Before ongoing costs are added, the purchase-price benchmark needs to be clear. The ABS publishes median transfer prices by capital city and rest-of-state, rather than a single statewide figure. For this reason, the state and territory figures used throughout this article are capital-city medians, such as Sydney for NSW, Melbourne for Victoria and Brisbane for Queensland. On that basis, median house prices range from $740,000 in Hobart to $1,485,000 in Sydney, a difference of $745,000.

Units and apartments are cheaper than houses in every capital-city benchmark, although the size of the gap varies by market. New South Wales has both the largest dollar gap between houses and units, at $637,000, and the widest relative gap of any state benchmark. Sydney's median house price is around 1.75 times its median unit price.

The Northern Territory and the ACT are close behind, at roughly 1.74 and 1.71 times respectively. Tasmania has the narrowest relative gap, with Hobart's median unit price of $610,000 equal to around 82% of its median house price of $740,000. In Queensland, Brisbane's median unit price of $834,500 is around 73% of the median house price of $1,150,000.

A smaller purchase-price gap does not necessarily mean the same gap applies to ongoing ownership costs. Insurance, council rates, maintenance and strata levies can narrow or widen the difference between houses and units.

What are the monthly costs of owning a home in Australia?

Most new buyers pay a mortgage, while all owners face recurring costs such as insurance, council rates and water bills. House owners also have separate maintenance costs, while unit owners usually pay strata levies instead. The six cost categories below apply from settlement and recur each year.

Average mortgage repayments have more than doubled since 2019

The mortgage is the largest single cost for most homeowners, and repayments on new owner-occupier loans have risen much faster than inflation since 2019. In 2019, the modelled repayment on the average new owner-occupier loan was about $2,005 per month. By 2025, that estimate had reached about $4,019, a nominal increase of just over 100%.

After inflation, the increase is smaller but still substantial. In March quarter 2026 dollars, the 2025 repayment of $4,019 is equivalent to $4,127. That means the real increase from 2019 was 61.8%. The sharpest single-year jump came between 2022 and 2023, when new-loan rates rose from 3.46% to 5.70% as the RBA lifted the cash rate.

Two factors drove the increase: interest rates rose from historic lows, and average loan sizes climbed. The national average new owner-occupier loan grew from $456,000 in 2019 to $693,000 in 2025, an increase of 52%, as property prices rose across most capital-city markets.

Western Australia recorded the strongest annual loan growth in the March quarter of 2026, with the average new loan rising 18.4%. Queensland followed at 15.6%, while Tasmania recorded the slowest growth, at 7.0%.

Home insurance premiums are highest in northern Australia

Home and contents insurance is one of the fastest-rising costs in the ownership model. The ACCC's final Insurance Monitoring Report, published in June 2026, found that the average combined premium in the Northern Territory reached $3,546 per year in 2024–25, up 6% from $3,337 the previous year. In North Queensland, the average was $3,117, up 4%. In North Western Australia, it reached $4,966, up 8%.

The rest of Australia recorded the largest percentage increase of the four ACCC regions, rising 10% to $2,310. The ACCC linked premium growth across all regions to factors including cyclone and flood risk, higher sums insured, rising rebuilding costs and insurer repricing.

The location gap is large. Northern Australia carries the highest premiums in the country, reflecting greater exposure to cyclone and flood risk. The ACCC's SA3-level 2025 data shows that 22% of NT regions fall into the highest premium band, at $5,000 or more per year. These regions are Darwin City and East Arnhem. By comparison, only 1–2% of regions in NSW, Victoria and Queensland fall into this band, with none in the ACT, Tasmania or South Australia.

Tasmania has the largest share of regions in the lowest premium band, at 87%, followed by South Australia at 79%.

For unit owners, the insurance calculation is different. Building insurance is usually covered through the strata corporation, while individual owners are generally responsible for contents insurance. Strata insurance costs flow through to unit owners through levies.

The ACCC's final Insurance Monitoring Report found that strata insurance premiums were highest in North Western Australia, reaching $20,385 per year in 2024–25, up 13% from $18,009. The Northern Territory averaged $11,108, also up 13%, while North Queensland eased slightly to $9,154, down 1%. Outside northern Australia, the rest-of-Australia average was lower at $8,716 per year, up 8% from $8,040.

Which states pay the highest council rates in Australia?

Council rates are levied each year to fund local services, including waste collection, roads, parks and community infrastructure. For many homeowners, rates are billed quarterly, but the annual total varies considerably by location.

The ACT is not directly comparable with state local councils because territory-wide general rates fund services that are split between state and local governments elsewhere. On this article's derived basis, the ACT has the highest indicative annual rates burden as a share of property value, at 0.43%. Tasmania and WA follow at 0.35% and 0.32% respectively.

NSW has the lowest derived rate relative to property value, at 0.13%. Despite having the highest property-price benchmark, NSW has the lowest derived annual council rates figure in the model, at around $1,970 per year.

These are indicative estimates, not observed average bills. The dwelling count used as the denominator comes from the 2021 Census and has not been updated for housing growth since then, so current averages may differ from the figures shown.

Estimated house maintenance costs by capital city

Maintenance costs do not arrive on a fixed schedule, but they build up over time. This article uses a 1% annual allowance as an indicative long-term benchmark for repairs, upkeep and gradual replacement of fixtures and fittings.

Some years require little spending. Others may include a hot water system replacement, roof repair, fence rebuild or appliance replacement. The 1% figure is a long-term estimate rather than a precise annual cost, and actual spending varies by property age, condition and location.

Owners of strata-titled properties, such as apartments and townhouses, do not usually budget for building-level maintenance in the same way as house owners. Their strata levies include contributions to a capital works fund managed by the owners corporation, which covers building repairs and common-area upkeep. As Australia's dwelling mix shifts away from detached houses, strata costs are becoming part of ownership for a growing share of buyers.

Estimated strata fees by capital city for median-priced units

For unit and apartment owners, the strata levy replaces some costs that house owners usually pay separately, including building-level maintenance and, in most cases, building insurance. The amount depends on the building's age, amenities, insurance costs, capital works fund and owners corporation decisions.

Using the mid-range benchmark of 0.8%, the table below shows estimated monthly levies based on median attached dwelling prices in each capital city, used as a benchmark for each state. An NSW unit owner at the Sydney median price of $848,000 can expect to pay around $565 per month ($6,784 per year) in levies. Queensland now has the second-highest unit median at $834,500, making its estimated levy of $556 per month among the highest in the country.

Water and wastewater bills add about $137 per month

Water and wastewater costs are typically one of the smaller recurring ownership expenses, but they still belong in the full ownership cost model. Most homeowners pay a fixed access charge for network maintenance and connection, plus variable usage charges based on consumption.

In the Bureau of Meteorology's 2024–25 dataset, the median typical residential customer bill for drinking water supply and wastewater was about $1,641 per year, or $137 per month. Exact bills vary by utility, household size, usage, location and whether water and wastewater charges are billed separately or through council rates.