With the Australians hanging out for an interest rate cut (and we got a little one eventually), our real estate market has started 2025 stable and optimistic.
Overall, the average property price hasn’t moved. Home values have held firm in January with a 0.0% change, according to the industry researcher, CoreLogic
Data for the coming three months will be more instructive about the strength of property for the rest of 2025.
The Reserve Bank of Australia has given us reason to be optimistic.
It has reduced the cash rate by 0.25%, taking it to 4.1%.
We’re in pretty decent shape compared with similar property markets. For example, the benchmark rate in America is 4.25-4.5% (the Federal Reserve provides a range) and the UK mortgage rate is 4.5% with talk that it might go up.
Two similar markets with cheaper rates are Canada (3%) and New Zealand (3.75%). However, both countries have serious economic challenges, so their reserve banks have cut deeper to spark up their respective economies.
Back in Australia, our property prices in January rose marginally: Perth (0.4%), Adelaide (0.7%) and Brisbane (0.3%). Slight dips were recorded in Sydney (-0.4%), Canberra (-0.5%) and Melbourne (-0.6%), which is still struggling to emerge from its 2024 malaise.
There is better news for regional Australia. Dwelling values across the combined regional areas jumped another 0.4% in January. CoreLogic says this momentum is driven by renewed internal migration and healthier affordability in some regions.
For buyers and sellers, 2025 is going to be a fascinating year.
While national trends are valuable, you need to engage with your trusted agent to uncover trends in the suburb where you intend to sell and the area in which you wish to buy.
There are a couple of outside influences at the moment. The Federal poll in May is going to inject a little caution in the early part of this year. And all the noise about tariffs is a distraction we don’t need.
However, now the RBA has started to cut rates, we will likely see a release of pent-up demand among buyers and owners who wish to move forward with their property ambitions.
The pace of value growth year-on-year has more than halved (4.3%) since peaking at 9.7% last February.
However, we expect annual value growth rates to accelerate. Making your move in early 2025 could be your best bet for a great property experience.