The main reasons for the rise in housing prices are
1. Increasing population, which is serious for other reasons too, such as water, and building on fertile farmland. It is also a reason for life-style becoming less pleasant, with traffic congestion, housing far off public transport routes, gardens being regarded as less necessary than crowded housing, etc. The beneficiaries are the property industry, the building industry and the government, which does not see industry and farming as sources of government income.
2. Investment in housing. Australians invest in property rather than in Australian industries. Foreigners investment in housing does Australia no good at all.

I have not looked into this in depth.

But I think there is a component that based on my own everyday observation is significant enough that it should not be disregarded.

A larger than previous number of homeowners (relative to previous decades) appear to have become "aspirational". As simplistic as it may sound, I have watched and spoken to a great many people who bought a house for the purpose of leveraging up and moving on to grander digs - and so on. With the craze of home rennovation for this express purpose, it is little wonder that large sums have been invested in sprucing up existing housing rather than investing in additional housing.

I have recently spoken to people who are excited that housing prices appear to be on the rise again - they can't wait to flog it for a profit and move up.

Seems like a self-reinforcing price inflation cycle to me.