When we compare the capital growth of ASX 200 shares vs. property in FY24, bricks and mortar comes out on top… but only just.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) rose from a closing value of 7,203.3 points on the last trading day of FY23 to a closing value of 7,767.5 points on the last trading day of FY24, delivering a 7.83% gain (excluding dividends — 12.1% after dividends).
Meantime, the national median home value, which reflects all types of property in a single data point, rose by 8% (12.2% after rent) over the 12 months, according to CoreLogic data.
In dollar terms, that's equivalent to a $59,000 increase per home across Australia over the financial year.
The national median house price rose by 8.4%, and the median apartment price lifted by 6.5% over FY24.
If we drill down to look at the capital gains across all eight of the capital cities and their regional counterparts, we see significant disparities.
The most glaring is the outstanding strength of Perth, Brisbane, and Adelaide and the regional markets of those states, compared to the weak performance of Melbourne, Hobart, and their regional counterparts.
A key factor in their performance variance is that the strongest markets have tight supply and demand, while the weakest markets have the opposite situation.
We'll also take a look at the top 10 performing ASX 200 shares for the financial year. As usual, not even the strongest property markets grew by as much as those top-performing stocks!
Image source: Getty Images
Why are home values rising when interest rates are high?
It's unusual to see home values rising when interest rates are doing the same.
It's even more surprising given the 13 rate rises imposed by the Reserve Bank between May 2022 and November 2023 represented the fastest and largest rate hiking cycle in Australia's history.
However, the housing shortage has become so acute in this country that its impact is actually trumping interest rates in the marketplace.
Demand is so strong, and the number of homes for sale is so low in those strongest markets that prices are continuing to rise despite high interest rates making affordability worse.
How shares vs. property performed in FY24
Here we compare the capital growth rate for houses in each city and regional property market in FY24.
| Property market | Capital growth of houses in FY24 |
| Perth | 23.7% |
| Regional Western Australia | 16.9% |
| Brisbane | 15.2% |
| Adelaide | 15.1% |
| Regional Queensland | 12.3% |
| Regional South Australia | 11.4% |
| National | 8.4% |
| Sydney | 6.8% |
| Regional New South Wales | 4% |
| Canberra | 3.2% |
| Darwin | 3.1% |
| Melbourne | 1.2% |
| Regional Tasmania | 0.2% |
| Hobart | (0.3%) |
| Regional Victoria | (0.4%) |
| Regional Northern Territory | (2.9%) |
Best performing ASX 200 shares of FY24
Here we compare the capital growth of the top 10 ASX 200 shares in FY24.
| ASX 200 shares | Capital growth in FY24 |
| Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME) | 118.3% |
| Life360 Inc (ASX: 360) | 115.4% |
| Red 5 Limited (ASX: RED) | 89.5% |
| West African Resources Ltd (ASX: WAF) | 86.1% |
| Altium Ltd (ASX: ALU) | 84.3% |
| Hub24 Ltd (ASX: HUB) | 82.9% |
| Deep Yellow Limited (ASX: DYL) | 77.5% |
| SiteMinder Ltd (ASX: SDR) | 74.3% |
| Neuren Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: NEU) | 73.6% |
| Goodman Group (ASX: GMG) | 73.1% |
