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Data from Domain reveals how buyer search behaviour changed over the course of 2024.
According to the listings portal, while “study” was the second most searched home feature that property seekers included in their queries in 2023, that once-prized amenity has since dropped to seventh in the rankings.
In its place, “waterfront” has risen to the second most sought-after property feature in 2024, showing how buyers with the ability to secure prime real estate have made up a larger cohort in the recent calendar year. Similarly, “view” was the third most popular search term, “water view” also made the list at eighth, and “beach” has made a comeback, rising from 11th last year to sixth in 2024.
No feature was able to topple the perennial favourite, though, with “pool” still the term that dominates buyer desires.
Also in the top 10 ranking were coveted add-ons “garage” and “granny flat”, while “dual” and “duplex” rounded out the list.
The platform also revealed some of the most popular suburbs that were searched around the country, with Stanmore in Sydney’s inner west the most popular NSW suburb, Albert Park attracting attention in Melbourne, beachside Glenelg South the favourite location in Adelaide, and inner-city Brisbane sought-after by Queensland buyers.
Meanwhile, for parents trying to ensure their next property move suits their family’s educational needs, the school catchment zone that proved to be the most popular throughout the year was within the zoning for McKinnon Secondary College in Melbourne’s south-east.
When it comes to the type of home that buyers have been eyeing in 2014, those with bigger space needs understandably gravitated towards houses, with the most common search for a standalone dwelling requiring that the property included four bedrooms, two bathrooms and two-car spaces. Buyers of townhouses were mostly looking for three bedrooms, two bathrooms and two-car spaces, while apartment seekers wanted two bedrooms, one bathroom and one-car space.
When it came to seller behaviour, Domain’s chief of research and economics, Dr Nicola Powell, noted that despite affordability pressures, prices in 2024 kept rising, which served ad encouragement for sellers to enter the market and pushed the number of homes for sale to a four-year national high.
This delivered an upside for buyers who benefitted from more choice and greater bargaining power.
“Negotiations on price have become more frequent, signalling a shift in the balance of power between buyers and sellers,” Powell noted.
According to the economist, the most noticeable shift in the national mood began to take place in the second half of 2024, with “prospect of a rate cut seeming tantalisingly close, sparking a noticeable boost to consumer sentiment”.
Even so, she noted that price growth has continued to slow towards the back end of the year, with affordability pressures and borrowing limits exerting a ceiling on price gains.
Looking ahead, she believes that the next market shift won’t come until the Reserve Bank of Australia makes a move.
“Anecdotal evidence points to cautious buyers still delaying property purchases until interest rate cuts,” Powell said.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juliet Helmke
Based in Sydney, Juliet Helmke has a broad range of reporting and editorial experience across the areas of business, technology, entertainment and the arts. She was formerly Senior Editor at The New York Observer.
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