Swimming pools top list of Brisbane’s most desirable home features for 2025 – realestate.com.au

Swimming pools have topped the list of Brisbane’s most desirable properties for 2025, with house hunters prioritizing the outdoors.

The ideal address in the river city is a single-storey house with swimming pool, outdoor space, balcony and garage.

Brisbane’s most sought-after properties have been revealed.

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Prop Track senior economist Eleanor Creagh.

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It should also have an en suite bathroom, built-in bathrobes, a dishwasher and the option for double living, according to the most searched terms on realestate.com.au in 2025.

REA Group senior economist Eleanor Creagh said search terms remained largely unchanged compared to 2024.

“Lifestyle remains the main driver of search behavior,” says Creagh.

“Swimming pools, garages and air conditioning all top the list of our most sought-after amenities across the country and it really underlines the continued popularity of lifestyle and liveability for home seekers,” Ms Creagh said.

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Nikki and Tom Hunter with Kids Campbell and Isla in their pool in Belmont. Photo: John Gass

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Brisbane couple Nikki Hunter and her husband Thomas, who recently sold their Belmont home for $1.47 million through Place’s Bulimba’s Kasey Drake and Carla Haddan, said a swimming pool for their family was a non-negotiable.

“If you have children and you live in Brisbane, you have to have a swimming pool,” Ms Hunter said.

“Our children are in the pool every day.”

4 Longside Pde, Hamilton.

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Last year, the biggest increase in searches was for terms specifically related to guideways and ground floors

“It reflects the pressure on affordability and shows that property seekers may be looking for ways to get even more rental income or live with family to reduce mortgage pressure,” Creagh said.

“It may be a signal that affordability challenges are shaking buyer behavior, which is not surprising as affordability is at very low levels despite some improvement from this year’s rate cuts.”

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For a buyer looking for a unit, the top search term was air conditioning and balcony, followed by pool and garage.

“This speaks to the fact that buyers want livability, functionality and lifestyle,” Creagh said.

Other search terms that increased over the year include double income, up 44 percent.

Buyer’s agent Lauren Jones of Lauren Jones Buyers Agency said she had noticed an increase in the number of buyers looking for a second income or a home with dual living space.

“People are looking for that secondary income and we’re starting to get more and more multi-generational homes,” she said.

“I have a new client who also wants the children on the title.”

Buyer’s Agent Lauren Jones.

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Ms Jones said looking for a property with a pool would mean searching at a certain price.

“With the higher construction costs, buyers may prefer to already have a pool on site, rather than installing one – a pool today can cost $100,000,” she said.

“If it is a luxury home, a swimming pool is not negotiable, but for cheaper homes it does not add value.

“If you’re a first-time home buyer or a single person, you don’t want to maintain a pool, but if you’re a family looking at that higher price point, you want entertainment for the kids.”

However, Ms Jones said including search terms could eliminate certain features.

“I don’t use keywords in my searches because you don’t want to limit yourself,” she said.

“If an agent forgets to include a feature in the ad text, you may miss the property.

“Especially when the market is very tight, you don’t want to miss anything.”