Prices continue to surge in bigger cities

Those gains far exceed inflation, which increased by 14.9 per cent between 2009 and 2014.

Three other capital cities beat the inflation rate, with Darwin up 24 per cent, Canberra up 18 per cent and Perth up 17 per cent over the time period.

However, there was gloomier news in the other three capitals. Adelaide rose 10 per cent and Brisbane rose 9 per cent, while Hobart remained unchanged.

Meanwhile, Australia’s two smallest capitals are the best place for rental yields, according to CoreLogic RP Data.

Darwin house yields currently sit at 6.0 per cent, while units are returning 5.9 per cent.

Hobart is the second-best performing capital city for rental yields when it comes to both houses and units, with houses returning 5.2 per cent and units 5.8 per cent. 

Brisbane yields are currently 4.4 per cent for houses and 5.5 per cent for units, while Canberra offers investors 4.2 per cent for houses and 4.9 per cent for units.

Adelaide houses have gross returns of 4.3 per cent. Units in the city are slightly higher at 4.7 per cent. Perth houses are returning 4.0 per cent and units are at 4.7 per cent.

Sydney is the second-worst performer for yields for both houses and units, offering returns of 3.5 per cent and 4.4 per cent respectively. 

Melbourne, the lowest-yielding city has gross rental yields of 3.2 per cent for houses and 4.2 per cent for units. 

CoreLogic RP Data head of research Tim Lawless said as capital gains continue to run strong at the combined capital city level, rental markets remain weak. Weekly rents have hardly moved over the past year - up just 1.7 per cent over the past 12 months, he said. 

"With dwelling values rising at nearly five times the pace of rents, we are seeing a consistent deterioration in rental yields," he said.