Groundswell Property's Market Insights
Boomers, Builders, and the Bank of Mum & Dad: Key Insights as at 17 May 2025
Welcome to this week’s edition of Groundswell Property’s Market Insights, where we cut through the media noise and deliver real, data-driven updates on Australia’s ever-changing property market.
Image source: Laura Bass, Unsplash
The Australian property market is buzzing with momentum — but not without its contradictions.
We’re seeing demand rise, population shift to the regions, land values hit new highs, and banks dropping rates… yet the number of homes actually being completed is at a decade low.
From the surging power of the Bank of Mum and Dad to regional migration trends and the ongoing supply squeeze, here’s what you need to know this week:
Here’s what you need to know:
Land Prices Soar in SE QLD — now higher than Melbourne, with Logan and Ipswich leading the charge.
Housing Dominates Wealth — $11.3 trillion value, making up over 55% of household wealth.
Regional Demand Surges — buyers chase lifestyle and affordability, from Cairns to Cessnock.
Building Approvals Up, Completions Down — approvals rise 20%, but trades shortages stall delivery.
Bank of Mum and Dad — 22% of Gen Z homebuyers use family gifts to fund deposits.
Rental and Regional Growth — Regional WA and SA record double-digit value growth.
As always, our goal is to provide evidence-based insights to help you make informed property decisions—whether you're buying, selling, or simply keeping a pulse on the market. Let’s dive into the data and insights shaping the year ahead.
Land Prices Surging
Demand for vacant land is driving prices even higher, with Southeast Queensland values surpassing Melbourne for the first time.
The latest Oliver Hume quarterly report shows that Southeast Queensland median land prices surged in the first three months of the year, to above $1000 per sq m for the first time.
The report analyses thousands of land sales across key markets in Melbourne, Southeast Queensland and Adelaide.
It shows that Southeast Queensland’s lot price rose by 11% to $437,900 in the March 2025 quarter – which equates to $1043/sqm.
Logan was the top region in Queensland for vacant land sales. Ipswich lot prices are up by 11%, Moreton Bay, 10% and Redlands 5%.
The gross median lot price in Melbourne rose to $408,000 in the quarter, which equates to $1118 per sq m and is just $3000 higher than the December quarter.
In Adelaide sales volumes fell “heavily” for the second consecutive quarter, but values still rose to a new high of $319,995, which equates to $667 per sq m.
Property Dominates National Wealth
The value of Australia’s residential housing hit $11.3 trillion at the end of April to be now worth almost three times as much as Australian Superannuation and four times as much of Australia’s listed stocks.
According to CoreLogic more than half (55.3%) of Australia’s household wealth is tied up in housing.
There were 525,313 home sales in the 12 months to May 2025, which is 2.7% higher year on year. About $508.6 billion worth of property changed hands in the past 12 months.
CoreLogic data shows it takes on average four days longer to sell than it took a year ago, but property values still increased by 3.2% over the same period. Regional markets are still outperforming capital city markets, up by 5.3% and 2.6% respectively.
And rents are also rising, up 3.6% nationally since last year.
The highest growth in dwelling values in the past 12 months according to CoreLogic is Regional Western Australia which is up by 13.2% followed closely by Regional South Australia which is up by 12.9%.
Regional Property Demand Surges
Buyers are still keen on Australia’s regional property markets with new analysis showing the regions where populations are surging.
Analysis by Propertyology of Australian Bureau of Statistics figures, shows the regions which may be primed for further property price growth as their populations rise.
Managing director Simon Pressley says hundreds of thousands of Austalians are moving to locations that allow them to actively pursue a different lifestyle.
He says the biggest winners in the population game are Wonthaggi in Victoria, Hervey Bay in Queensland, Cessnock in NSW and Strathalbyn in South Australia.
Quarterly internal migration data from the ABS released in March, shows a net of 7901 people moved from capital cities to the regions in the three months to September last year.
PRD’s Smart Moves: Regional Edition 2025 highlights the top ten affordable regional markets for buyers.
Cairns, the Whitsundays and the Southern Downs regions in Queensland took out the report’s top three spots, with homes almost 30% cheaper than in Brisbane.
While Dubbo, Port Macquarie-Hastings and Shoalhaven in New South Wales, Bendigo, Greater Shepparton and Wodonga in Victoria, and Burnie in Tasmania complete the top 10.
Approvals Up, Completions Down
Building approvals may be up but the number of homes actually making it through to completion is at decade low, according to the Housing Industry Association.
The HIA says the past two years have been Australia’s weakest in the past decade in terms of homes being actually built.
HIA Chief Economist, Tim Reardon, says skills shortages are persisting on the back of labour demands from other construction sectors and the wider economy.
“The shortage of skilled trades across Australia persists in every capital city and region,” he says. “Commencements will remain well below those necessary to achieve 1.2 million homes over five years.”
Building approvals rose by 20.8% in the first quarter of 2025 compared with 12 months earlier, with 48,620 new homes approved for construction.
Multi-unit approvals surged by 52.6% in the past year, from what Reardon describes as very low levels.
South Australia had the highest growth in building approvals of 49.4%, Western Australia, New South Wales and Victoria all increased by more than 20% while Queensland was up only 0.8% and Tasmania dropped by 12.9%.
Bank of Mum and Dad Open
The bank of mum and dad remains one of the key sources for young people buying property.
The latest Mortgage Choice Home Loan Report shows 22% of Gen Z buyers funded their deposit with a cash gift from their parents.
Mortgage Choice CEO Anthony Waldron says as property prices reach new highs, getting into the market has become harder.
“We found that more than a fifth of Gen Z respondents were funding their home loan deposit with a cash gift from family - making the bank of mum and dad one of the largest lenders in the country,” he says.
“Our brokers tell us that many first home buyers can’t afford to buy in Sydney without a cash gift, and those gifts range in value.”
About a quarter of respondents to the survey are using the government’s First Home Guarantee Scheme and nearly a third are using the First Home Super Saver scheme.
About two-thirds of respondents are buying in conjunction with someone else, whether that is family, partner or a friend.
Key Takeaways:
Australia’s property market continues to defy old assumptions. Regional markets are drawing more buyers than ever, while urban land continues to soar in price.
At the same time, a generational wealth transfer is reshaping how people enter the market, and supply constraints threaten to bottleneck long-term affordability. If you're looking to invest — or pivot — it’s more important than ever to understand the interplay between policy, pricing, and population movement.
That’s a wrap for this week’s edition of GPMI, we’ll continue tracking the data and delivering the insights that matter most.
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Keep an eye out next Saturday for more insights.
Tom Haigh
Director & Licensed Buyers Agent
Groundswell Property - Established 2015
tom@groundswellproperty.net
0439754475