Scrolling listings, asking friends, wondering “where should I buy?” — and still no closer to a decision?

This episode breaks down why that happens, and gives you a clear, practical way to finally move forward.

In this episode, we unpack why there’s no single “right suburb” and why relying on hot tips, headlines, or advice from friends and family can lead you in the wrong direction. Behind this question is often fear, pressure, and the idea that there’s a perfect answer out there—but the reality is far more personal and strategic.

We walk you through a clearer way to approach location selection, starting with what actually matters: your borrowing capacity, lifestyle priorities, future plans, and how long you’re likely to hold the property. From there, we explain the key market fundamentals you need to understand, including supply and demand, scarcity, owner-occupier appeal, and why “easy to buy” properties can often be harder to sell later.

You’ll also learn the common mistakes buyers make when choosing a suburb, how emotional decision-making and “unicorn hunting” can hold you back, and why aligning your property choice with your long-term strategy matters more than chasing a so-called hotspot.

If you’ve been stuck trying to figure out where to buy, this episode will help you shift your thinking, focus on what actually matters, and move forward with more clarity and confidence.

Episode Highlights

01:02 — Why “Where Should I Buy?” Feels So Overwhelming

05:06 — Where Buyers Go Wrong When Choosing a Suburb

08:46 — Step 1: Start With Your Own Situation First

11:15 — Step 2: Understanding Market Fundamentals

14:59 — Trade-Offs and the Three Ps Explained

20:14 — Step 3: Matching the Right Property to You

23:13 — Emotional Traps and the Search for “Perfect”

26:01 — Why We Created (and Relaunched) This Tutorial

29:26 — Who This Process Is For and Key Takeaways

32:16 — Final Thoughts and How to Stay Connected

Mentions

• Episode 256: Mortgage Strategy for First Home Buyers #265

Course Details:

• THE First Home Buyer Course is our Step-By-Step, No BS Guide to Every Stage of The Home Buying Process – It’s the next best thing to having your own buyer’s agent. With our expert guidance, you’ll know what to do at every step along the way. Become a home owner faster and easier. Click here: https://homebuyeracademy.com.au/YFHBG

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and share the show! There’s more to come, so we hope to have you along with us on this journey!

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HBA 275

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Meighan: ~Down, ~

Speaker: Welcome to your first home buyer. Guide the podcast for first home buyers who want to feel confident, smart, and totally in control of their property journey. I'm Veronica, and that was Megan. And yes, we are probably old enough to be your mom's, which is a good thing because between us, we've got decades of experience and we've got your back every step of the way.

Speaker 2: Our mission to cut through the Bs, keep it real, and make sure you are buying smarter, not stressing harder. Quick heads up. We've created the First Home Buyer course, our step-by-step program to help you buy your first place with confidence and without the costly mistakes. The links in the show notes, but stick with us first.

Speaker: You'll wanna hear this episode. I.

​

Meighan: Now, this is a small part of step three,~ um,~ the planning step in the PACE system, which of course is preparation. Action, commitment and execution. It is the four phases with 10 steps. It will take you through everything you need to do. If you're a first time buyer and you're a little bit lost on how to get from start to finish and start celebrate being a homeowner.

So the most common first time buyer question as. Well, not necessarily methodically researched by Veronica. I, but you know, we hear it all the time. We know it's heavily researched on Google and we know it's one of the questions that we get asked by Uber drivers when we get in a car and say, we're a buyer's agent.

There's a whole lot of fomo, you know, I'll miss out if I don't get onto the right area, the hot area, the next booming suburb,~ um,~ you know, I'll be the one that's left behind. And, but there's also price, pressure or budget pressure.

Veronica: There's also this idea that there is an answer, one answer, and then if I can just magically find that answer, then I'm gonna have crews through life. as a property owner,~ um,~ there's very much this idea that if. Everyone else seems to know it, but I don't know it. and I need to know it so then I can feel good about what I'm gonna do.

You know, so there's a lot of that built into this. And really what people are wanting when they're asking that question is they just want someone to tell 'em the suburb, this is the magic hot tip, right? But the truth is that there is no one size fits all answer the right suburb for someone on, 900 and.

There's a whole bunch of stuff in there that means that you could have two people that on the surface of it, look like they're exactly the same, but the answer will be different for each of them, and that's so important. To understand that there's not one fits all, one size fits.

Meighan: That is exactly the point that we wanna make really, really early on, is there is not a. An answer to this question, and if somebody gives you an answer to the question, just remember there's a whole lot of biases. There's a whole lot of life experience that they have that you don't have, or life experience that you have that they don't have.

People are absolutely desperate for clarity. But you need a framework, not a postcode. And that's what the whereby tutorial is all about. It does involve work because nothing comes to my children. Go to a school where,~ uh,~ uh, the motto is Nielsen, a Labour, which means nothing without work.

and the same can be said for property. It is a, a really good approach to take, do the work and you'll get the right outcome.

Veronica: And the thing is that we teach it in a way. It's so simple. It's actually a bit of fun. It's like, you know, if you like looking online at property, you are gonna love this work, right? Because it actually will get you to your answer. And honestly, this workshop, this little tutorial, it's only 39 bucks.

So I guess why do most people get it wrong?

Meighan: Yeah, they often based on proximity to where they rent. Now it feels really fair. Mil,~ um,~ or family pressures. You know, often,~ um,~ our parents or our grandparents or our cousins or our aunts and uncles, they've had an experience of an area and that shades or creates biases in, the information they provide you.

Now, sometimes that information can be decades old. There's many areas in Sydney, in Melbourne, in Brisbane that,~ um,~ you know, my parents would've thought, oh God, you'd never live there. But they've gentrified, they've changed. There's, there's a lot more,~ um,~ young families putting money into renovations. So it's really important to be very careful where you get your information from.

~Um, ~sometimes they choose on what they've heard is up and coming or what they think is a hot suburb. ~Um, ~hotspotting is really popular and, and people love to read and, and listen to POS podcasts about hotspotting. But Hotspotting isn't about what meets your needs, it's what somebody else has,~ um,~ thrown some data around to show that there might be something changing in there.

Maybe for only a short period of time. It might be a very short little hotspot.

Veronica: And that's the thing. Predictions in the property space can only. Be short term because I mean, people make long-term predictions, but there's just no reliability at all for long-term predictions. Short term at best. And we've gotta buy for the long term in mind, right? At least the medium term for first home buyers.

Meighan: Probably something being sold behind it too. A service or a product, probably something behind it that's being solved like a service or a product.

Veronica: Yeah, exactly. I mean, there's so much PR that goes out there in a friend of real estate world to media, and let's face it, there's been less and less journalism less money spent on journalism for years and years and years. So you, you see why a lot of PR releases really do make, become the story.

If you ever watch media watch on a, on a. Monday night on the A, B, C, you'll see plenty of examples of that. And you know, so if people are making decisions on where they buy based on these sorts of information, it's completely irrelevant to them, you know, and it's potentially completely misleading. So what they're not doing, what people are not doing is they're not analyzing, you know, the markets in these areas there.

Meighan: I think that's the big one. Isn't. Because when you ask somebody else, as we've said over and over, and it's gonna sound a little bit like we're on repeat, but when you ask somebody else their opinion, it's their biases that you're going to get. It's their needs that they're going to get. ~Um, ~it's sometimes a need to have a decision that they've made, validated by somebody else doing the same thing.

So, you know, the blunt truth is buying the wrong location. Can actually set you back years financially, and I think that's why a lot of people get a little bit paralyzed and want to seek so many opinions because it can have such a big, long term impact.

Like you do need to be thinking beyond right now. You need to be thinking about your career mobility and your income trajectory. It's a word that's really always hard to say. ~Um, ~your plans for family, your risk tolerance. These were a whole bunch of things that need to be considered before you look at a map.

Meighan: And this is you. This is not somebody else. This is not somebody else's career. It's not somebody else's family plans. It's you. This is you. It might be you now, and where do I think I might be in a couple of years, but I, I wanna just circle back to the one you mentioned, borrowing capacity really early,~ um,~ in that SEC section and why, and this is really important and that we've done a few, ~ um,~ podcast episodes.

Veronica: Right starting point and you know, like if you want access to that free,~ um,~ course that Megan mentioned, also this word by tutorial, you just go to our website, which is on the courses page. ~Um, ~it's all there. You can look at all the things that we are offering. So, okay, step two in this process is you do have to understand the market fundamentals because once you do know your budget and your requirements, your lifestyle now and in the future, all that sort of stuff, your parameters you can be looking at, you know.

Where you are gonna be able to afford to buy what you want. So you start to think, well, what is it that I need? where is likely to give me that? And you will be looking at locations that. Maybe you're unfamiliar with and so you sort of do start to sort of think, well, okay, how much property is available here?

Like, you know, supply versus demand, how scarce is property. we teach you about scarcity, right? Scarcity is good and bad. Right? You know, it could be scarce 'cause ~um, ~it's really weird.

Veronica: Nobody does. Nobody wants it. ~Um, ~it could be scarce because it's really sought after and it's highly competitive.

And once you are in, that's really good because you're always gonna find a future buyer.

Meighan: Don't see a lot of turnover in those sorts of properties.

Veronica: No, and then you you could make a mistake of looking at an area that's got lots of supply and you think, oh man, thank God this is really easy. I can buy here. But then you're not thinking about scarcity and you need to be thinking about it.

'cause one day you're gonna wanna upgrade and who's gonna buy your property? So these are all really important things to be thinking about in a location. And again, it comes back to you and how long you're gonna wanna live and need to live in that property as well.

Meighan: Yeah. ~Um, ~talk about owner occupy appeal. It's, it's interesting when you're looking to buy a property. Itself, it's natural to think, oh, if only it was easy to buy. You know, if only there wasn't competition. If only I didn't have to be in multiple office situations or stand out up at an auction and, god bid for myself.

Right? and if you're looking for capital growth and capital growth matters. ~Um, ~and you want something that's gonna perform for you, make your money work for you, as well as being home, then you want that thing that's going to be sought after in the future. And probably it's gonna be sought after now if you want it to be sought after in the future.

So it is going to be a hard thing to do to buy in a competitive market if you're looking at the right property in, in a good location. so the other things to understand about market fundamentals are things like employment hubs. ~Um, ~you know, there's a big rush on people going to regional areas.

And vacancy rates, even if you're not an investor, right? So you're buying a home. to live in. You wanna think about vacancy rates and that's how many of the total rental pool is available for rent at any one time in an area. And that can tell you a little bit about how popular those areas are or how sought after they are by both owner occupiers and investors.

Veronica: ~ um,~ you know, there's information out there which we do show you where you find things out about, well, what's the proportion owner occupiers in an area versus investors. So that ties into vacancy rates because you don't wanna be buying into an area which is highly, highly, highly invested, driven.

They think they gonna. Buying in. So it's a bit of tough love. We have to explain to them, there are other options and there are other great suburbs out there. You might not think they're great 'cause you're biased about where you've been living and where you sort of want to want to live and that's fine.

But if you can't afford it, you're gonna spend years in, you know, ping ponging around in limbo, not doing anything. And then you've gotta go out there and, and find out about these other suburbs where you can still get a good lifestyle. And, there will be some trade offs, and it's working through what those trade offs are and what they mean to you.

But it's where most buyers glaze over because it's actually, a bit overwhelming, you know, go, I'd just rather go with what it's safe and, and what I know. but the reality is if you can't get what you need. We talk about the three Ps, right? There's price, position, and property, right?

~Um. ~Often it's the position or, the location that needs to move. that is so important to have an open mind as to what other locations might give you that lifestyle and that longevity. ~Um, ~and that is what we teach you in that, tutorial, as I said, it's 39 bucks, right? We teach, we break it down in a way it's simple, practical, actually usable, not theory.

It, it's really, really applicable for everyone. And then at the end of that little process. You get clarity around, ah, I do have options.

Meighan: and I know Veronica, when we sit in campfire with our,~ um,~ first time by course students on a Wednesday, it's one of the topics that comes up often is, you know, I've been looking at my three Ps and I just really don't think that I can get. The property features that I want, in the position that I want.

Because you've been out there, you've been on the ground. you've actually been seeing things, but you've done everything in the right order. And at that point when you're revising correct and go back to your three Ps, you've got a lot more understanding of what you're prepared to compromise on and where you're absolutely not.

going to compromise. It's such a great journey for people to go through, but with the framework, it, it allows people to go, there is a way of doing this. I'm not just gonna keep spinning my wheels, hoping the unicorn's gonna come up in the area that I wanted in with the budget that I can't change,~ um,~ and the features that I've never seen for my budget in this area.

So it does, the framework helps you move forward.

Like we did find a property we wanted to go for, and then we were like, then we had to go and find a lawyer and then we had to do this. We had to that, and I'm like, you, you are doing like step seven, then step two, then step five, then step four, then step.

Meighan: Such a shame. He doesn't know a really good buyer's agent.

Veronica: I know, and you'd just been picking my brains and I'm going, mate, I can't teach you in, you are meant to be my trainer here.

And I said I'm doing strength training, right. I'm like, imagine if I just decided I wanted to squat 60 kilos straight off the bat. Imagine if I just walked in and said, I'm gonna squat 60 kilos. You know, and I've never done it before and I, and I don't build up to it. There's technique, there's preparation, there's all these things that I've had to learn to get to the point, actually, I think I'm up 65 kilos now anyway, but, I wanna get stronger and I wanna squat more.

Meighan: We're not suggesting you're gonna die in the process of buying a property where, but it's a good analogy.

Veronica: The consequences Can be very dire. ~Um, ~but the point is, you know, we were having this conversation, he's like, oh my God. It's like weight training, isn't it? And I'm like, it's a really great analogy. You rush in you can injure yourself, you can do all sorts of stuff. 'cause you haven't actually done the foundations and built up to get to a certain level Now.

If you are listening to this, you know who you are, right? 'cause I've said to him, listen to the podcast and buy the bloody cause. But the point being, he's got everything in the wrong order. Now he's about to run out of his pre-approval. He went to auction a property. Never had a hope in hell in buying.

And now I'm realizing, I dunno what I'm doing. so the steps that we teach you is very important to get that in the right order. Right? So the steps three in this process, the where to buy process is that once you sort of work through, you know, well what, what are my needs?

What is my capability in terms of budget? Then. What locations will deliver that. Then you've gotta think what property types, how can I match the property, the location, my budget, the three Ps, right? Because you've gotta be thinking about strategy. So long-term growth focus for some people, you know, is one thing.

Short-term hold is not something we need. So we recommend, but that requires something different. If you've got a really tight budget and you're completely priced outta a bunch of areas, that's gonna dictate, you know, which of those three Ps gives more than the other, right? So we walk through how to think about things like a house versus a townhouse versus an apartment.

Meighan: And it's also Veronica, I think having the power and confidence when somebody says to you, oh, you would never buy an apartment 'cause you've gotta pay strata levies. and this sort of information actually empowers you to be able to say, well actually, you know, I've done the sums and if I had a house and I had to pay rates and building insurance and maintenance all of these other things, if I worked at a over year and I look at body corporate levies, you know, I've worked out that it's roughly about the same.

Now, some people might just simply go. I'm not gonna engage with that conversation because it's not worth me having. ~Um, ~but for some people it is quite empowering to have the right information to be able to then have quite a productive conversation. Well, actually I am thinking about an apartment or a townhouse 'cause it's midway between an apartment and a house.

And for these reasons, and I found that I can get into this area and, and, and actually is quite then obviously ability to. Take a conversation in a direction that might be a little bit more meaningful and actually add to,~ um,~ your knowledge base rather than subtract from it, you know? So powerful.

Veronica: And it makes it easier to feel confident about your own decisions so that you don't actually feel swayed or, pressured or, oh, what am I missing out? What have I not known that someone else knows? 'cause then you realize that they probably haven't gone through this process themselves. They've just plucked these beliefs or ideas from out there and you go, you know, actually I'm a

Meighan: people get lucky. Some

Veronica: They do,

Meighan: lucky.

Veronica: do. and then they can't replicate it 'cause it was luck and they haven't actually given luck the credibility, you know,

Veronica: so I look, we teach the whole framework of buying inside the first home buyer course, but this workshop, this tutorial zeros in specifically on the, where should I buy, you know, that location decision.

Meighan: And let's look at the emotional trap. 'cause we have talked about different emotions throughout,~ uh,~ the podcast today, but. Absolutely you are going to feel drawn to certain suburbs. They're either suburbs that you live in or feel familiar. They're suburbs that you aspire to. ~Um, ~you'll feel scared of other suburbs because maybe you haven't got a lot of information or maybe somebody's told you something negative based on,~ uh,~ old information that isn't current.

Maybe they just are scary. You know? it actually could be that they're the wrong suburb for you, but the process will help you weed those out and feel like, okay, I definitely know I don't wanna live there. I'm taking that off the list. ~Um, ~you'll compare yourself to your friends. It's natural to, you know, there's that old saying of keeping up with the Joneses and it is.

You don't have to be on the same path as them. But the other thing that can be a bit of a trap is that when you start to worry that you'll miss out and you start to make decisions that are based on,~ um,~ a quick reaction to, oh, oh, maybe this is my only chance to get in property is emotional buying property is an emotional roller coaster.

It is a journey, but location decisions must and can be strategic. They don't have to be accidental.

Auction, whatever you're allowed to say in different states, and they'll see properties that come up within their budget in the location they wanna be in, and they'll go, excellent. I know I can get what I want. There's a big difference between what's marketed and advertised for a price bracket within a price bracket and what actually sells for.

There's a big difference, and what people are doing are looking at the wrong part of these portals for the information to form where they wanna buy, and then they spend a long time not realizing they're chasing unicorns, just waiting for the right one and actually getting nowhere. So this is exactly why having a repeatable process matters, but also understanding where to get the information, how to assess that information.

Meighan: Yeah. and there's a reason we created this tutorial. It is part of,~ um,~ the whole process of, of the first time by course, but we actually. Kind of retired it from,~ um,~ being able to buy it on its own,~ uh,~ and just had it as part of the course. The reason we're relaunching it is because this, question doesn't go away.

It always comes up. It is one of the first questions that we get in our businesses that we get at the barbecue that we are here on, or read on forums, on, on social media. It just doesn't go away and buyers feel really overwhelmed. That's why they ask other people for advice. Well-meaning advice, absolutely.

But sometimes well-meaning advice needs to be shut out because you can become paralyzed by choice. There is so many suburbs to choose from. Even if you're looking in a really small area,~ um,~ there are still so many suburbs to choose from. And then there's property types within those suburbs, and then there's different.

So we really wanted to give people the framework to answer the question themselves.

Veronica: It also, to be frank, gives you a really good insight into how we teach. So if you have been thinking, oh, you know that course, they've got the first home buy course, I know I need to learn. I know I get it, but 990 bucks is a lot of money. You're gonna get a huge amount of value from $39. You can decide yourself whether our teaching method works for you or not, and.

You can use it when you upgrade. You can keep it forever, right? It is really practical. It, it's a step-by-step suburb selection methodology and location methodology, but also helping you, you know, with the right questions to ask yourself, the right places to look for research, to do your research, the confidence in your own answer.

And it's working through those three Ps for the right answer for you. It's not our opinion, it's your answer based on your needs, data, and strategy.

Meighan: Yeah. Now there is a pretty big cost of not getting this right for. Veronica and not here to make everyone feel scared. We are actually here to give solutions, but let's be real. Buying in the wrong location can cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars over time. Because of the compounding nature of property, it can limit your future borrowing capacity.

Now, this is a big one if this is a stepping stone for your property as a stepping stone. We also talk about stepping stone strategy.

Meighan: You can limit your future borrow capacity if you get it wrong, and it that can delay your next purchase by many, many years. So 39 is absolutely nothing compared to the cost of guessing and getting it wrong.

Veronica: Yeah, and of course, as I mentioned before, if you want deeper support, the first time buyer course expands this to give you a complete roadmap from planning right through to purchase and with our mentoring along the way as well.

Meighan: All right, Veronica, who's this course for?

Veronica: Well, it's perfect for you if you are pre-approval ready, but stuck, or particularly if you've got to the end of your pre-approval and you gotta get a new one,

Meighan: Yeah, that's really tough if you are scrolling endlessly. And look, I know I'm a real estate tragic. I love scrolling realestate.com, but if you are actually just scrolling endlessly and getting nowhere, it may be because you haven't got a structure on how to do your search.

Meighan: Or if you keep changing suburbs every week, just keep redirecting yourself. Oh, maybe over here. Maybe over here. And you think, oh, if I go to a lower suburb, I can get so much more for my money, and you're not aligning what? your property needs are in that area. I don't know how many times in our buyer's agency business, we've done this process, and they've maybe increased their budget, but then they wanna increase their expectations as well.

It's like, no, come on. We've got a hard conversation coming your way.

Veronica: The alignment needs to be your needs, your budget, and the market, right? That is really what this all brings together. If you are scared of making the wrong choice, then you need a framework. Actually, everyone needs a framework, even if you're not scared. If you're not scared, you need one too. But at least if you're scared, you recognize that you need some help or you wanna override emotion, you get that there's emotion there, but you want some logic, you want some actual structure behind that.

You're gonna love this little tutorial. A simple process.

​

Speaker 4: Thanks for joining us. If you've enjoyed this podcast, we encourage you to join our Facebook group. It's called Your First Home Buyer Guide Australia, and it's your opportunity to connect with us and ask us your questions, which we will answer, meaning you can make sure that you are not getting led down the garden path.

We hope to see you there soon.