City, ACT 2601
City property market
City is one of the country's biggest unit rental markets — houses make up a tiny share, with 484 leases (up 4.8%) at $633 a week (down 3.4%) as of July 2026, renting out in about 25 days (down from 27 days last year), among the country's biggest unit rent drops, with 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom roughly tied at around 50% each.
Unit sales are a much smaller second, with 122 sales (down 15.3%) at around $557k (up 4.9%), taking about 77 days to sell (up from 74 days last year), one of the country's least in-demand unit markets, with 2-bedroom and 1-bedroom roughly tied at around 45% each.
Who lives hereA high-income, mostly-renter, young-professional suburb — apartment-dominated and newcomer-heavy, with great public transport.
House covers houses, duplexes, semi-detached and terraces; Unit covers apartments, units, townhouses and villas.
City demographics & population
Census data sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics — © Commonwealth of Australia, 2021 Census of Population and Housing and Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) 2021 · Shares, ratios and percentiles shown are Micromarkets transformations of that data · licensed CC BY 4.0.
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Detailed, institutional-grade analysis — well beyond the usual suburb snapshot.
InsideWho lives here · What homes cost to buy & rent · How fast homes are selling · How much is for sale or rent · How it compares to nearby suburbs · Schools nearby
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Who lives in City?
The age structure, household make-up, and cultural fabric of the people who call this suburb home.
Share of all residents by 5-year band · hover a band for the count + split
A strongly multicultural community with deep migrant heritage.
2020–21 understated — COVID border closures.
Census data sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics — © Commonwealth of Australia, 2021 Census of Population and Housing · Shares, ratios and percentiles shown are Micromarkets transformations of that data · licensed CC BY 4.0.
Housing & affordability in City
What it costs to live here, who owns versus rents, and the shape of the housing stock.
Census data sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics — © Commonwealth of Australia, 2021 Census of Population and Housing · Shares, ratios and percentiles shown are Micromarkets transformations of that data · licensed CC BY 4.0.
Income & employment in City
Incomes, employment, and the occupation mix of the people who live here.
A typical household pulls in about 2.0× the typical individual — a multi-earner area.
Census data sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics — © Commonwealth of Australia, 2021 Census of Population and Housing · Shares, ratios and percentiles shown are Micromarkets transformations of that data · licensed CC BY 4.0.
Getting around City
How people get to work, and how car-dependent the suburb is — the clearest tell of inner-urban versus outer-suburban living.
Census data sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics — © Commonwealth of Australia, 2021 Census of Population and Housing · Shares, ratios and percentiles shown are Micromarkets transformations of that data · licensed CC BY 4.0.
Education · ACARA My School 2025
Schools in and around City
No school inside City itself — the closest options around it are shown. Distances are straight-line from the suburb centre and are not enrolment catchments — always confirm zones with the school.
ICSEA is ACARA’s official measure of a school’s socio-educational advantage — based mainly on parents’ education and occupation, plus the school’s location and student mix.
- No schools within 5 km — widen the radius.
Why are some State Rank and star ratings blank? Schools can choose not to publish their results. In practice, schools that score well above their state average almost always publish theirs — so a blank rating more often reflects a school opting out than a top result being hidden. Academic results also tend to rise with ICSEA Rank, so higher-ICSEA schools more often carry a strong State Rank as well.
School profile and ICSEA data sourced from ACARA — © Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (data year 2025) · State Rank & star columns are Micromarkets-compiled academic ratings from publicly available school results · Distances are straight-line from the suburb centre, not catchments.
Turnover
How settled or transient the community is — and where newcomers came from.
City median house price & rent
Headline price, rent, yield and time on market for City — choose a property type and size below.
House & unit prices by bedroom
Every segment this suburb tracks — sales and rentals side by side, ranked by total activity over the last twelve months.
City property growth
Where each segment sits against its peers in the chosen geography — past the midline means it's outperforming the rest.
Market demandHow fast this market is moving — a velocity index built from trailing-year transaction volume and median days on market. Strong volume lifts the score; days on market drags it down, with the drag growing sharply once listings start lingering. Ranked against peers in the chosen geography.
Houses
Units
Buying vs renting in City
What it costs each week to own a property versus renting the same one — positive means buying carries the premium, negative means rent covers the mortgage.
How strong is demand, and which way is it heading?
Two questions on one chart — how strong demand is right now, and which way it's heading year-on-year.
Sales market velocity
City against the neighbourhood
Eight diagnostic views cutting the data a different way each time — City in blue, peers in colour.
How fast — and is it getting faster?
Housing supply & months of stock
How long current listings would take to clear at the recent rate of sales or leases. Critical shortage and Oversupply only fire at the genuine tails of the national distribution — sales tip in under 0.7 months, rentals far faster, under 0.3.
Sales market
| Segment | Band | Months of supply left | YoYYoY change12-month change in months of supply. Down means stock is tightening (fewer months than a year ago); up means stock is loosening. | ListedListedActive listings in this segment right now, derived from months of supply multiplied by the recent transaction rate. | SoldSold (last year)Total sold transactions completed in this segment over the last 12 months. | Per monthPer monthAverage monthly absorption — how many properties are sold each month in this segment, over the last 12 months. |
|---|
Rental market
| Segment | Band | Months of supply left | YoYYoY change12-month change in months of supply. Down means stock is tightening (fewer months than a year ago); up means stock is loosening. | ListedListedActive listings in this segment right now, derived from months of supply multiplied by the recent transaction rate. | LeasedLeased (last year)Total leased transactions completed in this segment over the last 12 months. | Per monthPer monthAverage monthly absorption — how many properties are leased each month in this segment, over the last 12 months. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Severe shortage | 0.3 | ▼ -1.7 | 3 | 123 | 10.3 | |
| Tight | 0.4 | ▼ -3.6 | 4 | 123 | 10.3 | |
| National typical | 0.7 | ▼ -2.3 | 7 | 123 | 10.3 | |
| Slightly loose | 1.0 | — | 10 | 123 | 10.3 | |
| Oversupply | 2.2 | ▲ +0.5 | 23 | 123 | 10.3 | |
| Oversupply | 2.6 | ▲ +1.6 | 27 | 123 | 10.3 |
Who's transacting — buyers or tenants?
Out of every property transaction in this suburb, what share are sales versus leases — each point a rolling twelve-month window.
City — Units & Houses, all bedrooms
City median house price & rent history
Each tape traces one metric across sixty months for the selected segment — every point a trailing twelve-month figure, matching the headline KPIs above.
Five-year summaryAs of Jun 2026, the median house sale price in City fell from $1.71M (Jul 2021) to $257k (Jun 2026) — a 85.0% decline over five years — peaking at $21.01M between Jan 2023 and Dec 2023. Median house rent went from $332/wk to $323/wk (−2.7%) over the same period. For units, the median sale price rose from $297k to $439k (+47.8%), with rent up from $358/wk to $427/wk (+19.3%) over the same period.
Suburbs near City: prices compared
The nearest suburbs to City, ranked by distance — each lined up against City on the same measures, so the differences jump out at a glance.
Suburbs like City
Suburbs anywhere in ACT that behave like City — matched on price, growth, selling speed and demand, not on distance. A shortlist of markets that move the same way — including ones far away you'd never think to compare. (Want the suburbs right next door instead? See Nearby markets above.)
City vs Braddon: the closest sales-market match trades at a median of $394k against City's $618k — about 36% lower, with homes selling in 41 days versus 127 days here.
Comparable sales markets to City: Braddon (ACT 2612), Bruce house prices, Franklin property market, Dickson property growth and Chifley property market.
City's closest rental-market twins: Franklin property growth, Bruce average house price, Braddon, ACT property market, Dickson house prices and Chifley property market. Each link opens that suburb's full market report.
Frequently asked · City
22 data-driven answers about City's property market — every one computed from the metrics above.
What things cost
Prices, rent, yield, ownership costWhat is the median house price in City?
#The median house price in City, ACT 2601 is $618k as of June 2026, based on 18 sales over the past 12 months. Prices vary by bedroom count, from compact two-bedroom homes to larger four-bedroom houses. See the bedroom-level breakdown below for 2-, 3- and 4-bedroom medians.
What is the median unit price in City?
#The median unit price in City, ACT 2601 is $618k as of June 2026, based on 18 sales over the past 12 months. Units have moved +50.0% year-on-year and currently trade at roughly 100% of the median house price.
How much does it cost to rent in City?
#The median weekly house rent in City is $558 as of June 2026, drawn from 71 leases over the past 12 months. Units rent for around $558 per week. House rents have moved +50.0% year-on-year. Current vacancy pressure is shown in the supply section above.
How much is rent for a 2 bedroom house in City?
#A 2 bedroom house in City rents for a median $558 per week as of June 2026, drawn from 71 leases over the past 12 months. Unit rents: 1-bedroom $558/week, 2-bedroom $558/week, 3-bedroom $558/week. Figures cover only segments with enough recent leases to be statistically meaningful; sparse segments are excluded. The segment breakdown covers rent, yield and days on market for every property type and bedroom count.
What is the gross rental yield in City?
#Gross rental yield in City is 4.46% for houses and 4.46% for units as of June 2026, compared with the ACT unit median of 4.15%. Gross yield is annual rent divided by purchase price — it doesn't account for ownership costs like council rates, strata, maintenance or vacancy.
How much is a 2 bedroom unit in City?
#As of June 2026, City medians by bedroom count:
| Property | 1 bed | 2 bed | 3 bed | 4 bed | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Units | $618k | $618k | $618k | — | $618k |
Figures cover only segments with enough recent transactions to be statistically meaningful; sparse segments are excluded.
What does it cost to own versus rent at the City median?
#At the median City unit ($618k purchase, $558/week rent), weekly mortgage repayments sit at roughly $433 — about $125 less per week than renting. That gap is the ownership premium. Figures assume 80% LVR, a 6.0% interest rate and a 30-year principal-and-interest loan.
How the market is moving
Speed, supply, growth, cycle phaseWhat does the data say about City as an investment?
#As of June 2026 in City, gross rental yield is 4.46% against a ACT median of 1.93%, houses take a median 127 days to sell, sales supply is 7.1 months (saturated). Capital growth, rental yield, selling speed and supply are the signals investors weigh — but these figures describe the market, not a recommendation. This is data, not financial advice; always do your own research and consider a licensed adviser.
How quickly do houses sell in City?
#Houses in City sell in a median 127 days on market as of June 2026, with units clearing slightly similarly at 127 days. Days on market have lengthened by 33 days versus a year ago. Faster clearance typically coincides with stronger buyer demand and lower supply.
Is City a tight or loose property market right now?
#City's sales market sits at 7.1 months of supply for houses as of June 2026 — classified as Saturated (extreme oversupply) against the Australian distribution. Under 1.7 months is Severe (extreme shortage); over 4.5 months is Loose. The rental side is tighter still at 0.4 months of supply.
How active is the rental market in City?
#City's house rental market sits at 0.4 months of supply as of June 2026 — classified as Severe (extreme shortage), with 123 houses leased over the past 12 months. Units sit at 2.2 months. Tighter supply typically corresponds to faster letting and upward pressure on rents.
How it compares
Vs state, vs nearby, vs popularHow does City compare to other ACT suburbs?
#City's median house price ($618k) is 30% below the ACT median ($880k) as of June 2026. On selling speed, houses clear in 127 days vs 15 days state median. On gross yield, City sits at 4.46% vs 1.93% state median.
What's the most popular property type in City?
#The most-transacted segment in City over the 12 months to June 2026 is 2 bed houses with 33 sales. 1 bed units come second at 33 sales. The buying-versus-renting section above breaks down the top segments with weekly mortgage, rent and ownership-cost detail.
How many properties were sold and leased in City last year?
#City recorded 33 house sales and 33 unit sales over the 12 months to June 2026 — a combined 66 transactions. On the rental side, 123 houses and 123 units were leased. Segments with statistically thin samples are excluded from displayed figures.
About the area
Population, income, who lives here, schoolsWhat postcode is City in?
#City is in postcode 2601, in the Canberra region of ACT. Addresses there are written as City, ACT 2601.
What is the population of City?
#City, ACT 2601 is home to 4,351 residents (ABS Census 2021). The median resident age is 19, and the average household holds 1.3 people. The "Who lives here" section above breaks the community down by age, life stage and tenure.
What is the median household income in City?
#The median household in City earns $2k per week — roughly $91k a year (ABS Census 2021). Median personal income runs $860/week. Income, rent-to-income and mortgage-to-income context sits in the "Who lives here" section above.
What is the unemployment rate in City?
#The unemployment rate in City is 50.0% (ABS Census 2021). That sits right around the median for Australian suburbs. The rate counts people who are working or actively looking for work — not a share of all residents. Workforce participation sits at 50%. The local economy section above covers incomes, employment status and the occupation mix.
Do people own or rent in City?
#City is mostly owner-occupied: about 100% of households are owner-occupiers and 50% rent (ABS Census 2021). Of owners, 50% own outright and 50% are paying off a mortgage.
What schools are near City?
#City has 136 schools within reach — including Ainslie School, Campbell High School, Merici College. The Schools section above maps each one with sector, year range, enrolment, Micromarkets-compiled academic ratings and ICSEA (ACARA).
Is City a good place to live?
#City, ACT 2601 has a population of 4,351, a median age of 19, a median household income around $2k/week, 50% of households renting (ABS Census 2021). There are 136 schools within reach. Whether it's the right fit depends on your priorities — these figures describe the community, housing mix and amenity rather than offer a verdict.
About this data
Methodology and update cadenceWhen was this City market data last updated?
#This City market data was last updated July 2026, covering the 12 months to June 2026. Figures are computed monthly from 12-month rolling windows of recorded sales and leases, with five years of monthly history behind the trend charts. Methodology, glossary and data sources are linked in the footer.