First-home buyers remained resilient through 2024, despite a challenging economic climate marked by high interest rates, a cost of-living crisis, low consumer sentiment and declining savings rates.

As last year drew to a close, the number of buyers selling their homes to upgrade to larger and more expensive properties were outpacing first home buyers (FHBs), previously the most active buyer cohort.

While investors and downsizers also showed high levels of market activity over the last three months of 2024, the FHB activity was still ahead of those groups.

Developers and people who had recently moved to Australia from overseas were the least active towards the end of last year.

Market expectations for 2025: Here’s what forecasters have been saying.

• The Australian property market is about to enter a transformative era, and 2025 will be a pivotal year.
• We’ll see steady growth over 2025 and long term, despite short term fluctuation in the market.
• Most growth over the next 12 months is likely to be in the markets of Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane Metro; while Canberra and the Sydney Metro are expected to lead a boost in housing supply.
• Buyer demand may soften, but upgraders and first home buyers will continue to dominate demand. The downsizer and investor market could become more active once there is more confidence in demand and pricing, and we have meaningful interest rate cuts.
• Markets stretching from the Gold Coast to Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast will emerge stronger in 2025; and have been dubbed by some as the ‘golden arc’.
• There is a realignment occurring in Australia’s premium property markets, where ‘luxury’ refers to houses in the top five per cent of the market.
  • Sydney still has a major lead. The Gold Coast has overtaken
  • Melbourne as the second most expensive luxury market, and the Sunshine Coast looks to be following suit by the end of 2025.
  • Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide are rising fast. All major cities except Darwin are expected to reach or exceed the $2mil mark for luxury properties this year.
  • Two regions represented the ‘million-dollar club’ through regional Australia five years ago. It was 20 locations in 2024. It looks like four more – Sunshine Coast Hinterland, Ormeau- Oxenford on the Gold Coast, and in New South Wales, Newcastle and Lake Macquarie East will get there in 2025 (plus on their way are places like Nambour on the Sunshine Coast, Augusta-Margaret River-Busselton in Western Australia, and in NSW, Dapto-Port Kembla, Shoalhaven, Coffs harbour, Port Stephens and Lake Macquarie West. [Source: Neoval & Property Outlook Report 2025].

Key features of perspective growth markets: waterfront and oceanside locations, lifestyle appeal, satellite cities or locations within commuting distance of major metro.