Launceston home values are growing at a faster rate than their Hobart counterparts, new research reveals.
CoreLogic data shows that Hobart homes are still more expensive at $658,180 mediancompared with Launceston, which was $541,201 in January 2025.
That is almost an almost $117,000 difference.
But the difference could be set to narrow. Launceston home values were up by 3.7 per cent in the past 12 months. Hobart recorded an annual decline of 0.4 per cent across the same period.
CoreLogic executive research director Tim Lawless said this was in line with a national trend and all came back to affordability during a cost-of-living crisis.
"We're seeing this trend around the country: markets that have lower price points have generally outperformed compared to higher price-point markets," Mr Lawless said.
"It probably comes back to accommodation of affordability constraints and simply lower borrowing capacity at a time when interest rates and cost of living pressures have been quite high."
Northern Tasmanian towns such as Devonport ($508,000), Burnie ($474,000) as well as the North East ($493,928) all had comparatively lower median home values.
If interest rates drop as expected, Mr Lawless said this could be positive for buyers and sellers.
"For sellers, it means that they should see buyers becoming more active, so maybe a little bit more competition to purchase amongst buyers," he said.
In the same vein, Mr Lawless added that buyers could become more active in the market if they have more money to spend and better access to credit.
"We'll probably see a lift in buyer activity which just simply comes back to accommodation of higher borrowing capacity and some improved consumer sentiment, which is in line with lower interest rates and less inflation."
Listings down, rent up
Though home value prices in the past 12 months in Launceston are up, listing numbers are around 14 per cent lower than a year ago and 29 per cent below the decade average.
"It looks like supply levels are quite a bit tighter, and maybe that helps to explain the upwards pressure on prices, as well as that advertised supply levels seem to be more scarce," Mr Lawless said.
"Buyers might find it a bit more challenging in a market like Launceston where there isn't a huge amount of advertised supply on offer.
"They probably don't have the same level of wiggle room as you might find in Hobart, where they can negotiate hard."
In bad news for renters and good news for landlords, rent prices have been on the rebound in Tasmania's two largest cities.
"The last 12 months, we've seen a 4.6 per cent rise in dwelling rents across Launceston," Mr Lawless said.
Gone fishing
While Launceston home values were up from the past 12 months, it has decreased by 0.5 per cent in the past three months.
Harcourts Launceston real estate agent, David Hernyk, said the end of December was quite slow for inquiry and buyer activity, though it was to be expected.
"People head to their shacks, they turn off real estate mode," he said.
"The weather was so good - I'm not a fisherman, but I heard the fishing was great and so December through to the first week of January was slow for buyer activity because of the time of year."
Mr Hernyk said this could be reflected in sale prices and median sale price. Other external factors could also influence the market in Launceston and surrounding areas.
"If we look month to month, things like Festivale, the V8 supercars, going back to school when the new school terms start, and especially election time, can have an impact on our local market," he said.
"Buyers might pull back and their focus is on something else, and they pause inquiry and pause buying mode there for a little bit."
