Rising land costs cripple housing affordability

Tuesday 17 February 2026

The 2024-25 annual national accounts from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) revealed that the total value of residential land increased by 7.0% over the financial year to a record $8.3 trillion.

Total residential land values in Australia have risen from 1.1 times GDP in 1989 to 3.0 times GDP in 2024–25.

Land now accounts for 75% of Australia’s housing stock, up from 54% in 1990-91.

The full text of this article is available to MacroBusiness subscribers

$1 for your first month, then:

$24.99 / month

$249 / year

Cancel at any time through our billing provider, Stripe

About the author

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.