House prices in the capital ended the year 27.2 per cent higher, with the median house value now $1,015,900, according to CoreLogic figures.

The only Australian capital city with a higher median house value is Sydney, where the median is $1,374,970.

Canberra's million-dollar milestone comes after a 0.6 per cent rise in house values in December.

The latest CoreLogic home value index showed Canberra unit values rose 2.1 per cent in December to $584,100, which marked the highest monthly growth for units across the capital cities.

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Overall dwelling values, which combines houses and units, rose 0.9 per cent in December to a median of $894,338.

Canberra saw an 8.5 per cent increase in annual rents for houses, and a 7 per cent annual increase in unit rents. Gross rental yield across all Canberra dwellings was up 3.8 per cent for the month.

Looking at the country more broadly, the latest CoreLogic index shows Australian dwelling values were 1 per cent higher in December.

The figures show monthly growth rates continue to soften across most capitals cities, except in Brisbane and Adelaide which recorded monthly dwelling increases of 2.9 per cent and 2.6 per cent respectively.

CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless said those regions were showing less of an affordability challenge compared to the larger capitals, while strong interstate migration to Queensland was also a factor.

"Additionally, we haven't seen the same level of supply response seen in other regions, with the trend in advertised supply remaining well below average in these markets," he said.

Meanwhile, momentum has slowed sharply in Melbourne and Sydney.

Both cities reported the softest monthly figures since October 2020, with Sydney recording just 0.3 per cent growth in dwelling values and Melbourne values falling by 0.1 per cent.

"A surge in freshly advertised listings through December has been a key factor in taking some heat out of the Melbourne and Sydney housing markets, along with some demand headwinds caused by significant affordability constraints and negative interstate migration," Mr Lawless said.

At the end of 2021, the number of advertised properties was 24.7 per cent below the five-year average.

While stock levels were low, the total number of property sales in 2021 was approximately 40 per cent above the decade average.

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CoreLogic estimated 653,000 property settlements occurred across the year, representing the highest number of annual sales on record.

Mr Lawless said a "significant mismatch" between housing supply and the level of demand was fundamental to the sharp rises in property prices in 2021.

"As stock levels normalise and affordability constraints along with tighter credit conditions drag down demand, it's reasonable to expect growth conditions will be more subdued in 2022," he said.

Real estate activity has recommenced for the new year, with a number of Canberra homes selling in the first weeks of 2022.

One of those was a four-bedroom house in Conder, 81 Charterisville Avenue, sold on Monday for $1.21 million.

Selling agent Rick Dickson of Blackshaw Tuggeranong said the home was scheduled for auction later this month, but a pre-auction cut the campaign short.

He said sales like this were likely to encourage home owners to list their properties in the coming weeks.

"Within the next week or two weeks, we should see an influx of properties coming to the market," he said.

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