The top hacks for finding a home at your price range in 2025’s market

A couple of young new homeowners have revealed the compromises they needed to make in today’s expensive housing market.

With the real estate market getting harder for young people to get into, one Queensland couple had to reassess where they could afford a home in today’s more expensive landscape.

Chris Conway and his wife Ellie began seriously looking for a place in March of 2025 – and after their first contract fell through, the two found themselves priced out of spots close to the city.

“It was kind of a slug,” Mr Conway said. “We were kind of capped [regarding] where we wanted to go.”

“To be honest, we missed out on some places near the city by mere weeks or months … took us a long time to find something.”

Chris Conway and his wife Ellie are a couple in their 20s, who needed to reassess their options when they were priced out of homes near the city. Picture: John Gass

Despite being happy with their income, the two found themselves unable to snag a spot in their target suburbs like Coorparoo, Woolloongabba and Carina Heights. It was only when they expanded their search further south did they find a place that fit their needs, buying a townhouse down in Eight Mile Plains.

Mr Conway found his new home during a major affordability decline across Queensland. Research from PropTrack showed it is now five times more difficult for people in the state to buy their first property, with a 420 per cent increase in house prices from 1980 to today.

When adjusted for inflation, the price of a house – $32,750 – would represent $174,600 in today’s purchasing power, while Brisbane’s median house price sits at $910,000.

Units saw a smaller but still significant rise, jumping from $38,750 in 1980 to $636,000 in 2025.

Buying a home in Queensland is around 420 per cent more expensive than it was in 1980.

Mr Conway said he eventually came around to the idea of living in a home further down south.

“We initially ruled it out as being too far away from the inner city, where we work,” he said.

“The difference is that we were able to get a much better home by going further out … if we were closer into the city we would have been in a smaller apartment in a very urbanised area, so we’re pretty happy with being further away now and getting a bit more greenery.”

Mr Conway said he and his wife could only afford the place thanks to first home government guarantees, and was optimistic about future affordability plans under the Labor government.

“I think it’s getting more achievable with government schemes, but without it we wouldn’t have been able to buy right now,” he said. “We’d have been saving up for a few more years.”

The couple managed to find a townhouse that fit their needs, and said pestering real estate agents to get the latest info could help get you into the spot you want. Picture: John Gass

The top piece of advice Mr Conway has for young home hunters?

“Just to be on the phone more,” he said. “Communicating with real estate agents, and really trying to get as much information out of them as you can, and touching base with them to see what you can do to be in the best position to secure a property.”

Originally published as The top hacks for finding a home at your price range in 2025’s market