2025 was a defining year for first home buyers — shifting markets, tougher borrowing conditions, new risks emerging, and unexpected opportunities opening up in cities like Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne. In this Christmas-Eve episode, we’re wrapping up the year with the insights that mattered most: the lessons that helped first home buyers buy smarter, avoid costly mistakes, and head into 2026 feeling informed, confident, and in control.

If you’ve been scrolling through listings in your dream suburb, only to realise the prices are still miles ahead of your borrowing power, you’re not alone. But being priced out doesn’t mean the door to homeownership is closed. It simply means you need a smarter, more strategic path to get there.

If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed by headlines insisting young Australians are “locked out of the property market,” you’re not alone. But the truth — uncovered by new research — tells a very different story.

Most first home buyers don’t realise it yet — but your first home is also your first investment. Whether you’re planning to live in it for years, rent it out later, or eventually upgrade, the decisions you make today have a major impact on your financial future.

Finding the cheapest loan feels like a win — until it costs you more later. In this episode, Veronica and Meighan sit down with mortgage strategist Stuart Wemyss to unpack one of the most misunderstood parts of buying your first home: building a mortgage strategy that actually supports your long-term goals.

Scrolling feels productive – and even comforting at times – but it’s not a strategy. And it’s one of the biggest reasons first home buyers stay stuck instead of moving forward.

Falling in love with a perfect home is easy. Knowing when to walk away from one when it’s not the right one? That’s where smart buyers stand out.

Property data can tell you a lot — but not everything. Every suburb report, price chart, and algorithm offers a piece of the story. The challenge is knowing when that story stops being useful — and when to look closer.

We get it — you want your first home to feel just right. But if you’ve been scrolling listings for months, inspecting dozens of properties, and still can’t find “the one,” it might be time to ask: are you being smart… or just too picky?

Missed out on your first property? Don’t panic — it’s part of the process. If your house offer was rejected, you’re not alone. For most first home buyers, making your first offer on a house doesn’t lead to success right away — and that’s completely normal. In this episode, Veronica and Meighan explain why most first offers on a property don’t win and how losing early can actually help you buy smarter later.

Making an offer is one of the most nerve-wracking parts of buying a home. For many first home buyers, it feels like you’re walking into negotiations blindfolded — not knowing how much to make an offer on a house, the competition, or whether the agent’s advice is working against you.

Saving for a deposit feels like the biggest hurdle — but it’s only part of the journey. The real challenge comes when you uncover the extra costs of buying a home, and many first home buyers don’t realise how quickly they add up.

Buying your first home in Melbourne comes with plenty of questions — from how to save for a house deposit to figuring out what to look for at inspections. For Luisa, a Home Buyer Academy graduate, the process wasn’t easy. But with preparation, persistence, and the right guidance, she bought in her dream suburb and even secured an off-market property in Melbourne.

When you step into a home on a bright Saturday afternoon, it’s easy to fall in love. The sun is streaming in, the breeze feels perfect, and the neighborhood is quiet. But what happens when the seasons change? That “dream home” could turn into a freezing icebox, a mossie haven, or a noisy hotspot you didn’t sign up for.

A 5% deposit sounds like the golden ticket into your first home. But what if it's quietly pushing prices higher — and setting you up for a costly mistake?

Buying your first property is already nerve-wracking — but nothing rattles buyers more than hearing, “There’s another offer on the table.” Is it true competition, or just a sales tactic designed to push you into bidding more than you planned?

Imagine saving for years, finally building up a $43,000 deposit, only to risk losing it all because of one overlooked detail. That’s exactly what happened to a Victorian first home buyer caught out by a little-known property type — and the fine print of a government scheme.

From cracked balconies and scary strata reports to surprise levies and even the risk of being gazumped, first home buyers often feel like they’re walking through a minefield of hidden risks. These issues can seem overwhelming at first glance — but many of them can be managed if you know what to look for and how to prepare.

Buying your first home in Melbourne isn’t just about saving a deposit — it’s about navigating the real challenges that stand between you and the keys.

Feeling stuck or overwhelmed buying a home for the first time? This episode guides you through buyer fatigue, smart resets, and tips for navigating the stress.