According to the National Australia Bank, the housing boom is far from over and the sector should finish 2021 with dwelling price increases of 18.5 per cent.

Next year, however, those increases would be pared back to a far more modest 3.6 per cent.

A NAB survey also found that sentiment in the housing market had slumped. It found that 23 per cent of Queenslanders thought it was a good time to buy compared with 46 per cent in the third quarter of last year.

NAB said outer-metro suburbs and inner-city apartments provide some of the best opportunities for Australians to buy or invest in a home while the regions close to capitals will still be popular. 

Home ownership executive Andy Kerr said first home buyers had done well over the past year because of government subsidies and low interest rates.

He said property prices had not risen as much in the outer-metro suburbs.

“House prices are rising but there’s still plenty of opportunities for Australians to buy their dream home rather than rent it,’’ Kerr said. 

“The simple reason for this is the record low rates on offer, with many mortgage rates still coming with a 2 in front of them.”

Brisbane and the south east had several areas and suburbs where it was cheaper to buy than rent.

The NAB said Logan, Bald Hills, Redbank Plains, Redcliffe and Caboolture provided opportunities for buying a house over renting. 

In contrast, several unit markets that provide opportunities where it is cheaper to buy than rent, are found within a three-kilometre radius of the Brisbane CBD. 

Areas such as Brisbane City, Fortitude Valley, Spring Hill, and South Brisbane are all unit markets where it is cheaper to service a mortgage than rent. Outer unit markets such as Chermside, north of Brisbane also present a range of more affordable opportunities.

Outside Brisbane there was the Gold Coast (various suburbs), the Sunshine Coast (various suburbs), Cairns, Bundaberg, Mackay, Roma and Toowoomba.