Housing CPI

Plain-English definition. Housing CPI is the housing group within Australia's Consumer Price Index. It measures how prices change for a defined basket of housing-related goods and services used by households. It is not a house-price index.

What it includes. The ABS housing group covers new dwellings purchased by owner occupiers, rents, major renovations, maintenance and repairs, property rates and charges, electricity, gas and other household fuels, and water and sewerage. The contribution of each component depends on its weight and price movement.

What it excludes. Established home prices, residential land and mortgage interest charges are excluded. Established homes are generally traded between households, while land is treated as investment rather than household consumption. Mortgage interest appears in the Selected Living Cost Indexes, which are designed for a different purpose.

July 2026 example. The housing group rose 5.0% over the year to July 2026. New dwellings rose 5.7%, rents rose 3.6% and electricity rose 6.1%. Those movements do not mean every household's housing costs rose 5.0%. A renter, an outright owner and a mortgaged household face different bills.

Read the July 2026 CPI housing update for the current component table. Use the Inflation Calculator to test a labelled constant-rate scenario, not to reproduce one household's CPI.

Sources. ABS CPI, July 2026 and ABS housing measurement FAQ, checked 28 August 2026.

This entry is general information only. It is not a property valuation, rent forecast, construction quote, mortgage estimate or financial advice.

Last updated: 28 August 2026.