By the time a young buyer walks into your open home, chances are they’ve already had the conversation with themselves — or with their friends — about why they can’t buy right now.
“I’ll just wait until prices drop.”
“There’s no point, it’s impossible.”
It’s a mindset buyer’s agent Tash Kessel hears constantly, and she gets it.
For first-home hopefuls in their 20s and 30s, the Australian property market can feel like a game where the rules keep changing … and never in their favour.
But, as Tash points out, markets rarely get easier. They just shift, presenting a fresh set of challenges.
And that shift is where switched-on agents can step in.
Why younger buyers are stuck on pause
Tash says there’s no single reason for the hesitation, but three recurring themes dominate her conversations.
Affordability whiplash – Buyers are diligently saving, but price growth is outpacing their deposit progress.
“It’s like running on a treadmill at full tilt and still seeing the finish line move further away,” Tash says.
Life happening in the background – Weddings, overseas trips, rent hikes, career changes — the normal milestones of life keep slicing into savings.
“In a cost-of-living crisis, even just keeping your head above water can feel like a win,” she notes.
Fear of the wrong move – No one wants to buy and then watch their property lose value in a year.
“That fear can freeze people in place, even if they could make a smart move right now,” Tash explains.
For many, the safer option feels like waiting for the “perfect time” — but Tash argues that time doesn’t exist.
“If prices drop, interest rates could rise. If rates fall, demand could spike and push prices up. Waiting for both to be in your favour means you could be waiting forever.”
Where agents can make the difference
Across Australia, this pause in the younger buyer market isn’t just a challenge — it’s an opening. Buyers in limbo are looking for someone who can cut through the noise and show them a practical path forward.
Tash has seen a few approaches really resonate in 2025:
- Stepping-stone buying – Help clients see their first purchase as just that — a first step. The goal is to build equity and leverage, not tick every dream-home box from the outset.
- Creative buying partnerships – Friends, siblings or partners teaming up to buy sooner, backed by solid legal agreements.
- Spotting hidden value – Homes that need minor updates, have quirky layouts, or are being sold off-market often face less competition.
- Rentvesting – “Buy where you can, live where you want” allows buyers to invest in areas they can afford while renting in the location they love.
Changing the conversation
For Tash, the role of the agent in this climate is to shift the buyer’s mindset from “Why it’s not possible” to “What’s possible now?”.
That reframing turns the market from an obstacle into a series of choices, and choices create momentum.
“Your first property isn’t your forever property,” she says.
“It’s a vehicle that gets you to the next one. When buyers stop looking for perfection and start looking for opportunity, they make progress.”
Agents can spark that shift by showing buyers concrete examples: boutique developments in growth suburbs with lower strata fees, fringe suburbs just beyond hot zones where a 10-minute difference can mean a six-figure saving, or case studies of other first-home buyers who’ve built equity quickly through smart stepping-stone purchases.
Turning hesitation into long-term relationships
For agents, helping a hesitant buyer take that first step is rarely a one-off transaction.
“The biggest mistake I see? Waiting so long for the perfect moment that you miss good ones,” Tash says.
By guiding clients to seize the right opportunity now, you’re also building trust that can carry through to their second, third and fourth transactions.
The “pause” might be real in Australia’s younger buyer segment, but it’s not permanent, and the agents who can show buyers a way forward in an imperfect market are the ones who’ll be front of mind when those clients are ready to move again.
