Aussie Real Estate Podcast
Competing Buyers, Perth’s Million-Dollar Suburbs, and Buying on the Gold Coast Without Family Help
15 Jan 2026
Chapter 1: What are Perth's million-dollar suburbs and their trends?
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Hey, it's the Real Estate Breakfast this morning, talking all about your property from Cairns to Hobart, Darwin to Sydney, Perth to Melbourne, right across Australia and streaming on your favourite platforms like Spotify or Apple Podcasts. It is a Friday. Woohoo, we got there. Jan the 16th today. And good morning, Denny in Perth. Got your email. Happy New Year back to you.
You said that your property portfolio expanded by two properties last year and that you've got four in total. Hey, that's not bad. You've doubled last year your property portfolio, but you do have this caveat. You say that you don't do anything fast and you don't want to overcommit in this marketplace. Very wise words, Denny, when it comes to portfolio buying.
Of course, real estate agents, especially buyers agents, won't like me saying that, Denny. But we are not a real estate company. I'm not a real estate agent. So we're very neutral when it comes to that. And Denny, I think you're right on the money. So keep listening. Great to have you as part of our loyal listeners. And Maurice, good morning to you in Sydney. Also a listener since 2022.
You and your partner. Hey, this is pretty exciting. You're going to be having your first baby. So congratulations on that. That is such a bold move when saving for your first property, which is what you're doing, especially when it comes to the Sydney property market.
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Chapter 2: How are buyers competing in the current property market?
However, you say that you are going to move more regionally. And you like the look of orange. So maybe that is the location that you are settling on. Keep listening. Great to have you on board. And good morning to anybody in orange this morning listening to the podcast. We love getting your emails. Don't forget about the voice message. You can leave your voice message. It might be a question.
It might be just to say, hey, this is on my mind. We're listening and we are XYZ around the country or perhaps overseas. Our email address too is myrealestatepodcast at gmail.com. The summer series of Real Estate Without Time Tunnel, that is coming. Even I have forgotten about some of these conversations from last year. It's a good catch up and that is next.
You're listening to the Summer Series on The Real Estate Podcast. Yes, I was. Yes, some friends bought in, finally bought, found their dream home in East Fremantle and probably helped push the median house price up a little bit in that area because I know they were looking for quite a while and probably like a lot of people got a little bit tired of attending home opens week to week.
Yeah, finally found their home. So yes, very excited to celebrate with them.
You know, what I find with house warmings these days didn't really used to be such a factor a while back, but now the new homeowners that are throwing the house warming, they get quite sloshed, you know, quite drunk because it's like so much relief to have actually got there. It's, oh yeah, let's enjoy this and have a big night.
I think so. I think it becomes a bit of a part-time job. You know, you're constantly on the portals and looking, you know, trying to be the first one to view the home and then obviously compete with lots of buyers on making an offer. That's even before you, you know, secure the property. And then you've obviously got the journey to finance and settlement.
So it is a big experience in people's lives. So well worth celebrating at the end of it, I think.
Now, you've got 34% of Perth suburbs, as I mentioned, in the Million Dollar Club, which just goes to show how rapidly things are shifting. That combination of strong population growth and, as I mentioned, the shortage of new home builds, it really does seem to be the key driver behind all of it.
Yeah, immigration is playing such a strong part and just that those completions aren't keeping pace with the number of homes that we need to provide for people.
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Chapter 3: What factors are driving the rise in property prices in Perth?
So the demand obviously is there and there's You know, we're still coming up with sort of, you know, demand style policies for housing without addressing the supply side as much. You know, obviously in January, the government are releasing a lot more options for people to purchase, first home buyers to purchase homes without a cap. So that will... obviously fuel the demand side.
And I know Keystart have increased their cap for their lending. Obviously, that's going to fuel the demand side further. So unless we continue to focus on the supply side, unfortunately, we're going to see continued pressure in the price of houses. I think it's fantastic. You know, our region doesn't have a lot of newly built homes and so this brings something new.
And when you're talking about the medium house pricing that Domain has discussed this morning, yes, we do have different pricing across our region, but we also have a lot of different properties. So new builds is something that we've only just seen across our region in the last two years.
And like Natalie was saying, in the Middleton Field project, you know, there's over 68 land lots there, which are all going to be brand new builds. And so we feel like it's going to really make a difference.
They do say that contestants on the block, they face added pressure in Daylesford's falling market, building identical homes from scratch. They say their challenge is to appeal broadly to investors, families and retirees by... creating standout features that give their home the edge over the competition.
As you know, I don't watch TV reality shows, so I can't really weigh in on what has happened before on the block. I'll talk to some people. We don't give this a lot of airing on the Real Estate Podcast, but it's all true, isn't it? They've really got to work hard, I think, in this sort of market.
Look, if we went back a couple of years when the block did a regional location, which was a mixture of new and relocated homes, we saw the same articles coming out that the properties weren't going to sell, who were going to be the buyers. And, you know, they were listed well above the highest property sale in Gisborne at the time and they sold. So we see that's going to happen the same here.
Yes, they're going to have their challenges of, you know, having to be off site at the end of the day. There's no late nights for them of painting and, you know, they're going to be under a lot more pressure, but they're starting from the ground up with a new build.
And anyone that has built a home or renovated a home, they would say that starting from the ground up is far easier than renovating something that's half built. So look, there's going to be challenges, but again, it goes back to, like I said before, there are very few newly built homes in our region and these designs, the layouts, they will appeal to multiple buyers, even families.
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Chapter 4: What strategies can buyers use to find affordable options?
That's correct, Craig. So look, Daylesford, if you don't know anything about it, you know, we are known for our mineral waters, the trees. It feels a little bit like Europe. My family's been here for over 25 years. Our population in sort of like, you know, central to Daylesford hovers around that 2,600, 2,700. So we're not a large town.
We are a very diverse community, which we love and embrace and everybody embraces wholeheartedly. We have fantastic schools here. We've got a great high school, half an hour from Ballarat, half an hour from Kyneton, from Woodend, from Castle, Maine, and you're only an hour and 20 minutes from Melbourne as well. So it's a really lovely central location. We don't have any huge fast food
food places as well. You will not find any of the big brands here, which we love. What you will get is artisan bakers and restaurants and wines and deli and the food and wine collections that you can get in this region are truly outstanding. And that's what brings people back and back and back.
And because everything, you know, is walking distance, if you're living in the center of Dalesford, if you want something a little bit quieter, you can head to Hepburn or just outside into Musk. And it's absolutely beautiful.
Yes, without a doubt. Now, tell us a little bit about your property journey because you got into property relatively young. You bought your first property at 21. So tell us a little bit about that.
Oh, yes, absolutely. So I've always been very ambitious. And, you know, when I was in university, I made the decision that, yes, as soon as I escape the education system, I'll be buying my first property. So I worked very hard, had three jobs and bought a three-bedroom townhouse on the Gold Coast with a loan. I purchased it on my own and without the help of mum and dad, the bank.
So, yes, I got in there and I lived in that property at the time. And then a few years later, I sold that property and I purchased another property, I think it was a four-bedroom house in the Gold Coast. And again, I purchased that on my own without the help of anyone else except for a mortgage.
And then I actually renovated that property into an eight-bedroom property and I used it for obviously my business purposes. Now I am turning 39 in a few months time and my goal is to get into the Melbourne market because I think Melbourne is a good opportunity and I think it's good value for money. That's my goal right now to get in as quick as I can while I can.
Gee, lots of commitment. Now, I want you to make everybody cry into their cornies this morning having breakfast because I want to go back to that first property when you were 21. I know this firsthand because the Gold Coast market was such a different market. The amount of units that were available and extraordinary. extremely cheap.
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Chapter 5: How is the Gold Coast property market performing?
So yeah, it was great. It was great value. But you know, back then people thought that was expensive, but you know, a few years later it doubled in price. It So it was good to get in the market. And right now it is very hard, especially for first home buyers to get in the market in the Gold Coast because the prices have become astronomical.
And a lot of people have flocked to the Gold Coast after COVID because they thought that's the best strategy for their families.
Yes, indeed. Well, the Gold Coast, as we know, as you've just said, has accelerated in pricing, particularly over the last four years. But Melbourne, compared to Queensland, still more expensive. The median house price on the Gold Coast is hovering around that $1 million mark. And you're looking at paying more. So where in Melbourne are you hoping to buy?
Ideally, I'm looking to be as close as I can to the city because I am a city slicker. So it would be North Melbourne, South Melbourne, Fitzroy, Carlton, Richmond and maybe even Docklands. Just somewhere where there's good public transport, it's close to the shops.
And also because the other reason why I'd like to purchase in Melbourne is I'm looking at a multi-purpose sort of property where I can run my company and also work from and stay there when I'm in town. So obviously, because I come from an entrepreneurial background, I'm looking at how can I maximize on the use of that property for both residential and commercial purposes.
I note that you're talking about wanting to be as close to the CBD in Melbourne as possible because you don't have a car in Melbourne. Is that right?
That's correct. That's correct. But I actually don't mind that because I've noticed from my trips of coming in and out of Melbourne, you know, every two weeks or so, that the transport system is excellent down there. So you have the trains, the trams. There's Ubers. It's very convenient. So I don't really see the purpose of actually purchasing a car unless I really need one.
What is one of the hardest things at the moment for you looking to get into the Melbourne property market? I mean, for somebody that has the experience of owning property, you've built up by the sound of it, quite a bit of equity in your transactions over the last few properties. But still, you know, transacting is transacting.
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Chapter 6: What challenges do first-time buyers face in the Gold Coast?
It doesn't just automatically happen easily for people when they're looking at buying.
Oh, exactly right. I think the biggest challenge I've had in my career being with my own business is actually getting past the banks more than anything because they see obviously people that are self-employed as high risk businesses. So my goal will be to self-fund the next property as much as I can and to take out a low bank loan as possible so that I can get in the market.
So that means I've got to be smarter in business first before I make a property purchase. My eyes are definitely on purchasing in Melbourne because I love Melbourne. I always have. And I was actually living in Melbourne 30 years ago before I moved to the Gold Coast.
and Sydney has hit new price records for both houses and units. Now, this is driven by increased borrowing capacity from rate cuts and ongoing supply shortages. According to the latest Domain House Price Report, The city's median house prices climbed to $1.722 and change. That is rising 4.2% or $68,000 over the year to June.
And looking at the unit prices, once again, they have surged up 3.2% to a median of $834,000 and change, an annual rise of $25,000. Experts are saying that escalating house prices are pushing more buyers towards units. And the gap between the two is now at a record 106%, with houses costing more than double the price of units. So let's go and catch up with Joel Bowman from Domain.
And good morning to you, Joel. Welcome into the Real Estate Breakfast podcast. First off, as I mentioned, recent rate reductions have boosted borrowing power and really has supercharged in Sydney the price growth.
Hi, Craig. Thank you for having me. Yes, it has. The RBA is cut. interest rates by 50 basis points this year and it looks like there's more to come as well. The Sydney housing market, it has historically been the most sensitive to interest rate changes and I think this time is kind of no exception and with the price momentum really picking up during the first half of this year.
Drilling into the segments, I think it's really interesting to see that the houses at the top end of the market have been quite sensitive to those interest rate changes as well. So we've seen price momentum pick up at the top end of town, but we've also seen those affordability pressures kind of play out and it's increasing a lot of competition for properties at the more affordable end.
And so we've seen prices in some of those cheaper pockets also increase quite materially this year as well.
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Chapter 7: What should buyers consider when looking to invest in Melbourne?
It is up to 1.21 mil, while Parramatta follows at 8.8%. And surprising, the outer South West also saw the highest unit price growth at 6.7%. So there seems to be pretty good appetite in those spots.
Yeah, absolutely. So I think people are potentially trading off some of those premium kind of locations and looking further afield to see what they can get for their given budget. And that's a kind of increasing competition in some of those cheaper pockets, which is pushing up prices there. there.
I think we're also seeing kind of more buyers take advantage of some of the first home buyer schemes as well, which is increasing their kind of capacity to pay to some extent. The schemes such as the help to buy, and they're also benefiting a lot from those lower interest rates as well.
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