ASX 200 shares vs. property: Which delivered the best growth in 2023?

You won't believe what happened.

Bronwyn Allen

Author bio Bronwyn has 28 years of experience in journalism, copywriting, and media relations. She began her career as a reporter with News Corporation in Sydney in 1997. She later worked for two real estate corporations in communications and PR roles, then started her own freelance copywriting and publicity business. A keen shares investor, Bronwyn joined the Motley Fool Australia team as a copy editor and writer in June 2021. Areas of expertise ASX shares and ETFs News writing Macroeconomic trends Real estate Education Diploma in Journalism, Macleay College Social media LinkedIn Favorite investment quote "Don't look for the needle in the haystack. Just buy the haystack." — John C. Bogle, Vanguard founder and pioneer of index investing for ordinary investors

Published January 2, 2024 11:15 am AEDT

When we compare the capital growth rate of ASX 200 shares vs. property in 2023, it's a dead heat at 8.1%.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) rose from a closing value of 7,020.1 points on the last trading day of 2022 to a closing value of 7,590.8 points on the last trading day of 2023, delivering an 8.1% gain.

Meantime, CoreLogic's national Home Value Index, which incorporates all types of dwellings across the country, also rose by 8.1%.

But if we dig deeper and look at the capital growth rates of the top five ASX 200 shares vs. the capital city and regional property markets, we see a major divergence in the numbers.

Let's take a look.

Two people comparing and analysing material. — Image source: Getty Images

Best performing property markets of 2023

Here we compare the capital growth of dwellings in the city and regional property markets in 2023.

Property market	Capital growth in 2023
Perth	15.2%
Brisbane	13.1%
Sydney	11.1%
Regional South Australia	9.4%
Adelaide	8.8%
Regional Queensland	8.7%
Regional Western Australia	8.4%
National	8.1%
Melbourne	3.5%
Regional New South Wales	2.4%
Canberra	0.5%
Darwin	(0.1%)
Regional Tasmania	(0.1%)
Hobart	(0.8%)
Regional Victoria	(1.6%)

Source: CoreLogic

Best performing ASX 200 shares of 2023

Here we compare the capital growth of the top five ASX 200 shares in 2023.

ASX 200 shares	Capital growth in 2023
Neuren Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: NEU)	214%
Emerald Resources NL (ASX: EMR)	155%
James Hardie Industries plc (ASX: JHX)	117%
Boss Energy Ltd (ASX: BOE)	89%
Boral Limited (ASX: BLD)	86%

My Fool colleague James reports on the key drivers for these particular ASX 200 shares in 2023.

If you're considering a new investment in shares vs. property, check out our article on the opportunities of 2024.

mid-cap healthcare stocks. However, those that achieved material commercial milestones have generated positive shareholder returns in the last six months (NEU, DXB, 4DX and PME). With many companies currently trading at depressed valuations, there are stock picking opportunities for those with solid balance sheets to ride out the cyclical downturn and clear catalysts to drive momentum.The new class of GLP-1/GIP drugs continue to dominate news flow for their impact on weight loss and other health outcomes (e.g. lowering cardiovascular events). There is little doubt these drugs will form one of the biggest selling classes to date, with both Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly unable to keep up with demand. ASX large-cap healthcare companies, including RMD and CSL were sold off as investors drew read throughs for what these drugs could mean for long term demand growth. Fortunately there were no adverse impacts on companies in our coverage and data suggests the sell off in large cap stocks has been overdone in any case

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