Monthly Property News 3rd Edition 2025.

“Housing downturn rebounds in February”

Hi everyone, I’m Jason Mudford from OBrien Corporate with the third edition of the property news for 2025.

Every major capital city across the country had an increase in property prices over the month of February except Darwin, with Melbourne and Hobart being the standouts, securing a 0.4% and 0.3% increase respectively, which equates to $4000 and $3000 on a million-dollar property.

February’s interest rate cut marks the first rate cut since November 2020, when the cash rate was slashed to a historic low of 0.10 per cent to stimulate the pandemic-impacted economy. Ironically, the February rate cut could be the thing that makes life harder for first home buyers. ‘Rent-vesting’ is on the rise as more Australians look to buy in 2025. More than half (54%) the nation’s first home buyers are considering ‘rent-vesting’ to get into the property market – up 4% from last year.

The Foreign Investment Review Board has put a 2 year halt on all foreign property purchases for established real estate starting from April 2025. The decision also includes temporary visa holders living in Australia. It’s estimated that of the 520,000 homes sold in Australia annually, fewer than 5000 (less than 1%) go to foreign buyers.

The early signs in the market have seen better quality listings coming to market. In a suppressed market like Melbourne over the last 3 years the mortgage-free owners which accounts for 30% of the homeowners have tended to sit tight and not move. However, now that interest rates have changed to an easing cycle, we’ll see people making a move with more confidence.

Rents within Melbourne have been slowing for the last 12 months and are now at their slowest growth rate since March 2021. The slowdown for Melbourne comes off the back of one of the most significant grow periods when annual growth peaked at 15.2% in May 2023.

Remember the information provided is of a general nature, you should always seek independent legal, financial, taxation or other advice in relation to your unique circumstances.

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