Login
Social media myths: Where should Gen Z look for property guidance?
In today’s tech-driven world, younger buyers are especially vulnerable to online misinformation, making reliable guidance and trustworthy information more important than ever.
As more young Australians enter the market under the 5 per cent First Home Guarantee Scheme, Di Battista principal Daniel Di Battista has warned not to believe everything on social media.
Instead, he encouraged younger buyers to verify the information and ask questions to trusted professionals.
Despite the financial hurdles Gen Z faces, data has shown that home ownership continues to be a major aspiration, with McCrindle Research revealing 63 per cent of Gen Z want to own a home one day.
Based in the northern Melbourne suburb of Craigieburn, which has a median dwelling price of $683,000 as of October 2025, Di Battista has seen many younger Australians wanting to enter the market.
Speaking on his experience with Gen Z buyers, Di Battista said much of the misinformation they have heard has come from social media influencers rather than their family and friends.
“What we notice sometimes is that they will make a comment about a certain thing and it’ll be wrong, and I’ll be like, ‘I haven’t heard that one’,” Di Battista said.
He said the misinformation has mainly been regarding the government schemes, the property sales process, hotspots, auctions and deposits.
For example, one recent buyer told him he “had no idea” he had to pay a deposit on the auction day, as he believed he had a couple of weeks to transfer the funds.
“I said no, this needs to be paid on the day, that’s why I’m calling you Friday to make sure you increase your bank limits so you don’t have any technical problems on Sunday morning’,” Di Battista said.
“He’s like, ‘Oh, I thought I could pay it next week.’”
Similarly, Di Battista said younger buyers have bought into the idea that they should avoid certain suburbs because of what they’ve heard from buyer’s agents on TikTok.
“I feel that they are misleading a lot of people because we’ve got clients that [say], ‘Oh no, I heard that suburb’s really bad’.
“I said, ‘Where have you heard that?’ And they’re like, ‘Oh, we’ve heard it on a few of these videos we were watching on social media.’
“It’s like, wow, I actually haven’t heard that … they’re taking gospel, what they see on TikTok at the moment,” Di Battista said.
To avoid misinformation, Di Battista said younger buyers should befriend a trustworthy and knowledgeable agent in the area they’re looking to buy in.
“Whether I have the house or not for my client, I’ll still give advice and even help them purchase another agent’s house if it just means that I’m helping someone through the process,” he said.
“I thrive, and I love being able to help people – so I think they should not believe everything, but become friends with someone in the area that’s knowledgeable and that they feel comfortable with.”
While there are many professionals who would be genuinely willing to assist, Di Battista warned buyers to be selective of agents they entrust to avoid being misled.
“Agents can sometimes be the barrier between a first-time buyer buying and not buying because they feel really uncomfortable or scared,” he said.
“For example, when they’re told, ‘this is a really good investment’, and it’s not. I think it’s going to come down to just a gut instinct – if it sounds too good to be true, it’s likely not to be true.”
Another way Gen Z buyers can become more informed about the market is to check out online agency resources, including newsletters and blogs.
Di Battista said that while his agency has resources directed at different demographics, the most popular resources are about first-time buyers and how to enter the market.
“We notice a lot of clicks on things like our blogs and our newsletters when we’re targeting first home buyer education,” he said.
You may also like: [From data to decisions: How buyers can beat analysis paralysis]