The most common property jargon defined

According to Smart Property Investment’s Phil Tarrant: “I'm probably guilty of this sometimes, as a journalist … Flippantly [talking] about different stuff that real estate agents … or property investors use all the time [even though] a lot of them just don't make sense."

“I listen to a lot of people talk about real estate and think, ‘You're full of jargon.’ ” he shared further.

The journalist and avid investor, together with Starr Partners’ Doug Driscoll, shares some of the most common property jargon and what they actually mean: 

‘It’s a cooling market’

A cooling market is sometimes also referred to as a softening market.

Doug explained: “It basically is a nicer, less frightening way of saying that, perhaps, prices are coming down.”

In contrast with a transitioning market, a cooling market is essentially going backward.

“In real estate, that's a bad thing … You don't want things to go backward, you want things to go forward,” Phil said.

Hot market

Does this refer to hot market listings, hot market sales, or hot market prices? Oftentimes, according to Doug, it refers to virtually everything in a certain property market that is currently experiencing a good cycle.

“If you're talking in terms of prices, I would say a hot market is where you're [getting] … if not exceeding, double-digit growth,” he said.

However, when using this term, it is advisable to be more specific about the area being described. After all, there are markets within markets, especially in the bigger parts of Australia like Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Queensland, and the like.

Phil said: “Sydney's a hot market … [but there are hundreds of suburbs in there].”

“There are some that are continuing to grow … and there are some that are starting to fall … and the vast majority are probably going sideways,” Doug added.

‘Listings are up/down’

Giving meaning to this jargon depends on who you’re listening to, according to Doug.

It is important to build a reliable financial team so you can ensure that you’re getting accurate data about the supply and demand of real estate in a particular location, which can very well affect your property investment journey.

The property professional said: “They [should be able to] tell you [and] know whether or not there are more listings on the market.”

“You've got to look at the fact that the population is growing [and] there are … hundreds and thousands of new homes being built every year.

“You've got … to be careful of who it is you listen to … [They should have] very, very good data,” he added.

‘Days on market have blown out’

This is another example of a jargon that should be used with caution, both Phil and Doug agree. Currently, the average days on market in Sydney is 30 days, but it is expected to go up to 35 days sometime this year.

According to Doug: “Let's maintain some perspective again—if it takes you … 40 days to sell your home, that's not exactly that long is it?”

“[It’s not too bad] compared to other markets across the country where it's … 120 [to] 150 [days],” he added.

‘Prices are spiking’

Simply speaking, this means “the market has peaked”.

“Spiking would be … an accelerated rate of growth … [but]I don't think we've … seen that in the last 12 months,” Doug said.

In the most recent times, the Sydney property market has been in the middle of the “massive area between boom and bust”.

According to the property professional: “That's certainly not softening, transitioning, or cooling.”

Tune in to Doug Driscoll’s episode on The Smart Property Investment Show to find out how the real estate market has been impacted because of the property markets, what you should be looking for when thinking of investing in a certain area, and how infrastructure is impacting the property game.