5 property buzzwords you need to know in 2025

With the holidays almost here, it’s a good time for home buyers to regroup. After all, it’s been a challenging time for both those stuck with high mortgage rates and those trying to break in amid lofty prices.

Aside from Christmas crackers, where might we turn for answers?

Fear not! The biggest property-related buzzwords of the moment offer some hope. Whether you get your news from a parochial podcaster or a daily doom scroll, it's time to heed some buzzy hashtags. 

Welcome to Mozo’s inaugural Top 5 Property Buzzwords Of The Year - a list, that if learned by heart, should lead to success in 2025.

Let’s manifest a better home loan, eh!

1. Million-dollar

Amazingly, this is where many of the capital city median prices are now. When I first started covering property 10 years ago, the million-dollar moniker was reserved for Sydney sophisticates phoning in auction bids over almond lattes. Not anymore!

Domain says Brisbane and Adelaide are expected to join Sydney, Melbourne, and Canberra with median house prices above $1 million by the end of 2025, with Perth not far behind.

What does this mean? Finding a fair price is certainly harder, but just means home buyers need to be a step ahead. Forget the high street, the overcrowded auctions and inflexible sellers. It’s time to look farther afield.

2. Affordability

Australian property is typically called ‘unaffordable’, which is a rather unhelpful way to describe something with more price points than bread in 2024. In our biggest cities property prices are indeed overbaked, typically at 10 times the average salary. So by that basic measure, scoring a home isn’t exactly easy as pie.

Thankfully, prices won’t soon spike because the market is still experiencing massive affordability issues, says Domain’s chief economist, Nicola Powell. 

"The rates aren’t going back to the previous lows [of 0.10 per cent]. So consequently, the upswing is going to be a lot more constrained. We’ll probably see three cuts, which will probably take the cash rate from 4.35 per cent currently to 3.6 per cent, but that means mortgage rates will probably be averaging 6-6.5 per cent or 5-5.5 per cent," she says.

What does this mean? I think a so-called lack of affordability can actually have a silver lining: in some cases it can mean there isn’t much room for prices to move because the current levels are too high for most already. This can cause a sort of levelling off. So, I’d say if taking on a home loan seems feasible for you now, it might be worth investigating.  

3. Rates! As in, interest rates

Forget Yellowstone, interest rate talk is hotter, folks. No summer barbecue is now complete without a bit of backyard cricket and some Reserve Bank bashing. Will the official cash rate be cut? When? By how much? The speculation goes on. I can’t recall this much focus on a looming cut in my time covering property. It’s being talked about as if it’s the elixir to all our problems and yet, a cut to rates only really helps those with a variable interest home loan. It typically doesn’t help savers, and the cost of borrowing dropping usually doesn’t help inflation. But here we are, raging at the RBA because of all those rate hikes. 

What does this mean? Chief economist of Ray White, Nerida Conisbee says when interest rates in Australia start to fall, it could mark a turning point for price growth in large markets. For example, cities that have already slowed, such as Sydney and Melbourne, might stay flat until rate cuts begin. Meanwhile, cities with stronger economic conditions like Perth could continue to see some growth, though likely at a slower pace than in 2024. 

4. Inflation

High living costs have dominated headlines for about two years now and who among us hasn’t enjoyed it? It’s really a nightmarish narrative and one that Westpac Consumer Housing Sentiment Index suggests is still at large with Freddy Krueger-like resistance.

In late November, KPMG also noted that while there are some arguments for easing the cash rate from February 2025 – the most obvious being the weak state of the economy – there are lingering reasons to hold. High government spending, elevated population growth, limited increases in available homes and tightness in the labour market, could all combine to see the first rate cut of 2025 pushed back to around mid-year. 

What does this mean? If you were counting on a rate cut to ease inflation and the night sweats, it might be time to look for alternative plans. In other words, saving up and shopping around to widen your options as best you can.

5. Demand … housing demand

Demand can be everything. It’s why Marvel keeps making superhero movies – because someone actually keeps fronting up to theatres to watch them! Similarly, the housing market is fuelled by demand. Its strength or lack thereof usually determines how prices move. So when demand softens, there’s at least a pause in price growth which can be beneficial to those wanting to break in.

For those considering a home loan, weighing up rates and repayments, calculations must be balanced with the market – that is, the demand within it. If demand’s too high, the budget might not matter. If it’s low, there might be reason to be optimistic. 

Metropole director Michael Yardney says though “price growth has slowed somewhat, underlying demand for property remains strong with the population expected to remain elevated in the near-term.” He sees a relatively soft landing for the economy and expects property growth to return in 2025.

What does this mean? If you’re looking to get a better deal, it’s worth noting that demand can fluctuate between suburbs and areas. Just because you read that demand is generally high in Sydney, for example, that statement does not mean it’s high in every corner. Check your preferred suburb and also check one or two suburbs over.