And the trend - exacerbated by the rising Australian dollar - may force skilled migrants to think twice before moving Down Under, an analyst said.

One former expat, Daniel returned to Sydney from a five-year stint in London. Now he and his wife "don't intend to go anywhere near the Australian property market" despite having saved more than $200,000 for a deposit on a home.

"The price of property (and living) is more expensive here than most places we have travelled," he said, declining to give his full name.

Only those who bought into the boom ten to 15 years ago can really benefit from the price rises, Daniel said. In the current market, however, people are locked in to paying back a massive debt for their entire lives.

Median home prices in capital cities have increased almost continually since at least 1986, jumping 28.1 per cent from 2003-04 to the June quarter 2009 alone, data from Australian Bureau of Statistics shows.

Those prices show no signs of abating with the latest figures from Residex showing a national increase of 1.7 per cent last month alone.

Spiralling home prices are spurred in part by a shortage of available stock and a growing population in most capital cities.

Dutch-Canadian Frans Kuiper and his Australian wife sold their home in the Netherlands in 2004 on the expectation of buying after moving to Adelaide. But five years later the

couple continues to rent.

"If prices do not come down in the future, we are prepared to move overseas again," said Mr Kuiper.

Coming from overseas, Mr Kuiper said he had no experience with house auctions, while his wife, who had lived outside of Australia for 10 years, had little inkling of how far property

prices had risen during her absence.

"Although we can afford to buy a home in Australia we have chosen to rent as we believe house prices here are grossly overpriced," he said.