Rent vs buy · October 2026
Rent vs buy:every capital city
Renting costs less each week in 15 of the 16 markets below.
For each capital we take the median house and unit value from Cotality’s October 2026 Home Value Index, the rent that Cotality’s own yield implies, and the weekly repayment on 80% of the price at the middle rate across the 32 lenders we price, 6.57% (priced 30 September 2026). The interest column is the part of the repayment that is a cost, like rent; the rest pays off the loan.
- Rate used
- 6.57%
- Deposit
- 20%
- Prices
- Cotality, October 2026
- Cheaper to buy
- Darwin units
What this means for you
If you're comparing your rent with a repayment
Set it against the interest column rather than the whole repayment. Interest is the cost; the rest of each repayment pays down a loan you own, which rent never does.
If you're saving a deposit
A 20% deposit plus stamp duty on the median unit runs from $118,549 in Darwin to $206,748 in Sydney. Each city page has the house figure too.
If you have a 5% deposit
The government’s 5% Deposit Scheme lets a first-home buyer skip LMI up to a price cap. The median unit is under the cap in every capital, the median house in 3 of them. Each city page prices it.
If prices keep moving
Over the year to September, house values fell in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra and rose in Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart and Darwin. Where they go next is not known in advance.
City by city
Weekly figures. Interest is the first-year average.
| City | Rent | Repayment | Interest | Median value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney house | $846 | $1,722 | $1,474 | $1,466,060 |
| Sydney unit | $734 | $1,019 | $872 | $867,597 |
| Melbourne house | $616 | $1,075 | $920 | $915,119 |
| Melbourne unit | $625 | $734 | $628 | $624,740 |
| Brisbane house | $749 | $1,346 | $1,152 | $1,146,078 |
| Brisbane unit | $674 | $980 | $839 | $834,627 |
| Adelaide house | $667 | $1,163 | $996 | $990,531 |
| Adelaide unit | $583 | $792 | $678 | $674,188 |
| Perth house | $763 | $1,195 | $1,023 | $1,017,734 |
| Perth unit | $714 | $839 | $718 | $714,265 |
| Hobart house | $654 | $928 | $795 | $790,406 |
| Hobart unit | $546 | $695 | $595 | $591,795 |
| Darwin house | $862 | $878 | $751 | $747,252 |
| Darwin unit | $693 | $565 | $483 | $480,748 |
| Canberra house | $774 | $1,182 | $1,012 | $1,006,269 |
| Canberra unit | $616 | $684 | $585 | $582,245 |
Rows with a green dot are where the full repayment is below the rent. Each city links to its own page with the deposit, stamp duty and the salary needed to borrow the rest.
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What the weekly numbers leave out
An owner pays council rates, insurance and repairs, plus strata on most units. A tenant pays none of those. They vary too much by property to put a single figure on, so the table leaves them out, which flatters buying.
Buying also needs cash up front: a 20% deposit and stamp duty, which on the median Sydney house is $293,212 and $61,920. Money in a deposit could otherwise earn interest in savings. The table leaves that out as well, which also flatters buying.
What the table leaves out in buying’s favour is the price. Over the year to September, Cotality has Sydney houses down 8.2% and Perth houses up 10%. Whether buying beats renting over ten years depends mostly on that number, which is not known in advance.
What a repayment comes to at other loan sizes is on the repayments pages, and what each salary can borrow is on the borrowing pages.
Questions
Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Australia?
Week to week, renting is cheaper in most capitals. At the panel's middle rate of 6.57%, the repayment on a median-priced home with a 20% deposit is higher than the rent on the same home everywhere except Darwin units. The comparison changes when you split the repayment: in the first year, the interest part alone is at or below the rent for Darwin houses, Darwin units and Canberra units, and the rest of the repayment pays down your own loan.
How much of a mortgage repayment is interest?
Most of it, early on. At 6.57% over 30 years, about 86% of each repayment in the first year is interest. The share falls every year as the balance comes down. The part that is not interest reduces what you owe, so it stays yours, which rent does not.
Where does the rent figure come from?
From Cotality's own gross rental yield for each city. Cotality publishes the median value and the gross yield (annual rent as a percentage of value) but not a weekly rent, so we multiply the two and divide by 52. Sydney houses: $1,466,060 at 3% is $846 a week. Cotality rounds yields to one decimal place, so the rents here can be out by up to about $15 a week either way.
Each capital city, one by one
Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Sydney?
Renting the median Sydney house costs about $846 a week; buying it with a 20% deposit costs $1,722 a week in repayments, $1,474 of it interest in the first year. For a unit it is $734 to rent against $1,019 in repayments, $872 of it interest. Prices from Cotality's October 2026 index; repayments at 6.57% over 30 years.
Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Melbourne?
Renting the median Melbourne house costs about $616 a week; buying it with a 20% deposit costs $1,075 a week in repayments, $920 of it interest in the first year. For a unit it is $625 to rent against $734 in repayments, $628 of it interest. Prices from Cotality's October 2026 index; repayments at 6.57% over 30 years.
Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Brisbane?
Renting the median Brisbane house costs about $749 a week; buying it with a 20% deposit costs $1,346 a week in repayments, $1,152 of it interest in the first year. For a unit it is $674 to rent against $980 in repayments, $839 of it interest. Prices from Cotality's October 2026 index; repayments at 6.57% over 30 years.
Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Adelaide?
Renting the median Adelaide house costs about $667 a week; buying it with a 20% deposit costs $1,163 a week in repayments, $996 of it interest in the first year. For a unit it is $583 to rent against $792 in repayments, $678 of it interest. Prices from Cotality's October 2026 index; repayments at 6.57% over 30 years.
Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Perth?
Renting the median Perth house costs about $763 a week; buying it with a 20% deposit costs $1,195 a week in repayments, $1,023 of it interest in the first year. For a unit it is $714 to rent against $839 in repayments, $718 of it interest. Prices from Cotality's October 2026 index; repayments at 6.57% over 30 years.
Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Hobart?
Renting the median Hobart house costs about $654 a week; buying it with a 20% deposit costs $928 a week in repayments, $795 of it interest in the first year. For a unit it is $546 to rent against $695 in repayments, $595 of it interest. Prices from Cotality's October 2026 index; repayments at 6.57% over 30 years.
Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Darwin?
Renting the median Darwin house costs about $862 a week; buying it with a 20% deposit costs $878 a week in repayments, $751 of it interest in the first year. For a unit it is $693 to rent against $565 in repayments, $483 of it interest. Prices from Cotality's October 2026 index; repayments at 6.57% over 30 years.
Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Canberra?
Renting the median Canberra house costs about $774 a week; buying it with a 20% deposit costs $1,182 a week in repayments, $1,012 of it interest in the first year. For a unit it is $616 to rent against $684 in repayments, $585 of it interest. Prices from Cotality's October 2026 index; repayments at 6.57% over 30 years.
Prices and yields from the Cotality Home Value Index, October 2026 (published 1 October 2026), updated each month when Cotality publishes. Rates are the panel’s middle comparison rate for an owner-occupier at 80% LVR, priced 30 September 2026. Stamp duty is our estimate for an owner-occupier who is not a first-home buyer. General information only, not advice about your circumstances. If a figure here looks wrong, tell us at hello@arthr.com.au.
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