25yo agent reveals ‘uncomfortable’ buying reality for many Australians

A young real estate agent has revealed the trends she’s noticed in the industry and why some of them leave her feeling “uncomfortable”.

Ellie Hill has been a real estate agent for less than a year and she’s already noticed a brutal trend emerging in the housing market.

Ms Hill resides in Western Australia. After running a dress hire company, she realised she had a knack for selling.

The 25-year-old was inspired after watching Selling Sunsets and after her father-in-law suggested she’d be perfect for job.

“I’m a rookie,” she told news.com.au.

Having fresh eyes has its benefits, though. She’s only worked in a scorching market. According to PropTrack, prices in Perth rose 20 per cent in a year and nationally prices are up nearly seven per cent since May 2023.

In this market, it isn’t unusual for 30 or more people to show up to view a newly listed house.

It is competitive, but Ms Hill has also noticed that people are “scared” to enter the market at the wrong time and are worried they’ll look back and have overpaid.

The 25-year-old is new to being an agent. Picture: Instagram/ellie_hilll

Ellie Hill has already noticed a few trends. Picture: TikTok/ellie_hilll

Ms Hill said it is really “hard” for anyone to get into the market right now, especially for young people.

She said there were a lot of people getting priced out of the market at the moment, which is “uncomfortable to see”.

Ms Hill said it is a “difficult time” for young buyers and she’s noticed that, increasingly, Sydney residents are snapping up local properties because they are more affordable compared to those on offer locally. The median home price in Sydney is over $1.5 million and in Perth it is $665,000.

“We have people from Sydney buying investments here,” she said.

In Perth, at least, young people aren’t completely locked out of the market and Ms Hill said she frequently works with buyers in their twenties.

“The Perth market is just so different, so you’re in a position [where] you’re not getting bought out of the market completely,” she said.

She explained how she ended up buying her own home. Picture: TikTok/ellie_hilll

She said more people from Sydney are choosing to buy in Western Australia. Picture: TikTok/ellie_hilll

However, the 25-year-old has noticed that there aren’t as “many” affordable options for young people and, yes, those highly paid FIFO workers are snapping up many of the properties.

“The FIFO workers have a capacity to purchase properties a little bit easier,” Ms Hill said.

“But I’d still say that hardworking people, most of my friends, are in positions to buy. The fear is overpaying and then it isn’t worth anything, and that is what people are really scared of.”

She has also noticed that the young people getting into the market are coming with a “good deposit”. She isn’t certain how much help younger buyers are receiving from their parents, but she did admit that Boomer “backing” helps.

Ms Hill can relate to the reality of buying because she and her partner just bought a block of land together this year.

She said the pair were considering buying in 2021 but thought the market was too “expensive”, a decision they now regret.

“We thought it was too expensive when places were like $500,000, and now those houses are $800,000, and so we just knew we needed to get into the market,” she said.

She's been sharing her selling success online. Picture: TikTok/ellie_hilll

She said, in Perth, young people can still get into the market. Picture: TikTok/ellie_hilll

The couple had a few close calls but, ultimately, had their offers rejected in the suburb they wanted to live in.

“I really struggled. I fall in love with something and then get heartbroken,” Ms Hill said.

The couple persisted and, while they never changed suburbs, they did change strategies. They ended up buying a block of land because they found that far less competitive than bidding on a property.

“By the end of it, we couldn’t compete with the buyers. We ended up buying land so we could build exactly what we like,” Ms Hill said.

Thinking outside of the box is the way to get onto the property ladder at the moment. Ms Hill said that she has noticed people are “expanding their horizons”.

“They would say no to something six months ago that they are now saying yes too. If you are a seller, it is a good time to be selling because people will say ‘I love it’, but it wasn’t what they originally wanted,” she said.