How are Australians buying and selling property in 2025?
Australians’ attitudes towards property have shifted in recent years, with younger generations more likely to sell privately and embrace co-ownership and apartment living, new research has shown.
New research by LJ Hooker has revealed that Australians’ attitudes towards property have shifted, highlighting a clear gap between generations.
The survey conducted in December 2024 incorporated responses from 1,000 participants nationwide and revealed that less than a quarter of Australians would sell their home without a real estate agent.
Even with online property portals and platforms, such as Facebook Marketplace, making private property sales more accessible to sellers, LJ Hooker said that the “majority of Australians still prefer working with an agent”.
The data showed that only 21 per cent of respondents have considered selling their property online, with younger generations more open to this approach but the preference declining with age, at just 9 per cent of Baby Boomers having considered selling through online platforms without a salesperson.
Conversely, 45 per cent of Generation Z respondents have considered selling through online platforms without a salesperson.
LJ Hooker Group head of research, Mathew Tiller, noted that many sellers soon realise the “complexity” of handling a property sale without the expert guidance of a real estate professional.
“At the end of the day, people want to achieve the highest price possible for their home and this requires more than just uploading photos or videos online and hoping for the best,” Tiller said.
“With fluctuating market conditions, competing offers and strict regulations, working with a professional real estate agent removes stress and ensures a better outcome,” he added.
When asked about the most important factors in choosing an agent, the highest percentage of respondents identified local expertise (62 per cent), while commission rates (51 per cent) and customer service (47 per cent) also emerged as key considerations.
The survey result showed that 31 per cent of Generation Z respondents valued the technology and marketing tools agents used, compared to 8 per cent of Baby Boomer respondents.
In contrast, 74 per cent of Baby Boomer respondents identified local expertise as more important, while 55 per cent of Generation Z and Generation Y respondents chose local knowledge as an influencing factor.
Online websites remain go-to sources for property searches
Among prospective buyers, online websites remained the most popular tools to search for properties, with 60 per cent of the population utilising agency websites when looking for properties to rent or buy.
Across generations, social media advertisements were preferred by more of Generation Y (25 per cent) and Generation Z (33 per cent), while newspaper advertising remained valued by a portion of Baby Boomers (17 per cent).
Noting that “serious buyers today are savvy”, Tiller explained that digital platforms are often seen as the “most efficient way to reach potential purchases”.
“It is not just about looking at properties; many of these platforms allow buyers to conduct their own research, gaining valuable market insights by comparing similar properties and recent results,” Tiller said.
The ‘bank of mum and dad’ still a common avenue to home ownership
While saving for a home deposit remains a major hurdle for young buyers, LJ Hooker noted that government assistance schemes have helped but emphasised that more young people are relying on family support.
Survey data showed that 30 per cent of respondents stated their parents were open to financially assisting them in buying a home.
Parental support is even more common among younger generations, with 82 per cent of respondents who are parents stating that they are open to helping their children enter the property market.
Tiller noted that parents wanted their children to have the “same financial security they have enjoyed through owning property”.
“There are many ways they can go about this, from giving them a cash gift, acting as a co-guarantor, or even letting them stay at the family home rent-free until they have saved a deposit,” Tiller said.
Younger generations increasingly rethinking their paths to home ownership
The survey results also showed that affordability issues have prompted more Australians to rethink their approach to getting on the property ladder, with 27 per cent of respondents considering buying a property with a friend or sibling.
Younger generations are particularly receptive to alternative paths to home ownership, with 44 per cent of Gen Z and 30 per cent of Gen Y respondents considering co-owning a home with a friend or sibling, as opposed to just 18 per cent of Baby Boomers.
Among the 45 per cent of respondents who are open to apartment living, younger buyers once again lead the trend, with 61 per cent of Gen Z respondents versus the 37 per cent of Baby Boomers.
“Australians still equate property ownership with financial security, but rising affordability challenges means looking for alternative pathways such as co-ownership or apartment living,” Tiller explained.