Homeowners keen to sell have wasted no time putting their property on the market, with a 55.6 jump in capital city listings since December.
The latest PropTrack Listings Report shows total listings across the capital cities saw the biggest January surge since 2014, with all cities seeing sharp increases.
Around the country, new listings picked up by 24.2 per cent in January, with Melbourne (67.5 per cent) and Sydney (101.5 per cent) seeing the biggest spike. Melbourne had a particularly busy start to the year, with its listing jump the largest in January since 2011.
New listings across the other capital cities were also strong, with year-on-year increases in Darwin (45.2 per cent), Perth (33.9 per cent), Canberra (20.1 per cent) and Brisbane (19.7 per cent).
Regional property continues to be in short supply with new listings down slightly, dropping 6.7 per cent over the month. However, new listings are 11.9 per cent higher than in January 2021.
Despite the surge in new listings, total stock of properties available for sale fell 4.6 per cent in January across the country.
The tightest market is still Brisbane, where total listings are down 24.9 per cent year-on-year, as well as Adelaide (-26.1 per cent YoY) and Hobart (-17.3 per cent YoY).
PropTrack Economist and report author, Angus Moore said seller confidence is high leading to the jump in listings.
“Property markets around Australia’s capital cities had a strong start to 2022, continuing the busy conditions we saw during last year’s spring selling season,” Mr Moore said.
“The growth in new listings in January comes despite the Omicron wave. This is in stark contrast to mid-2021 when the Delta wave (and associated lockdowns) curtailed seller confidence in affected states.
“Sellers are wasting no time as they look to cash in on last year’s price growth and high buyer demand.”
Mr Moore said selling conditions are likely to remain strong over the next few months, however, there are some headwinds including rising interest rates.
“While measures of buyer demand remain strong, record levels of new supply in the final months of 2021 have begun to ease buyer competition,” he said.
“Strong economic outcomes and rising inflation mean that rate rises will probably happen earlier than expected – potentially late 2022 or early 2023 – which may start to cool buyer appetite.
“This means that, while selling conditions are likely to remain strong, we are likely to see some tempering from the dominant levels of buyer demand experienced in late 2021.”
Sydney
New listings in Sydney surged 101.5 per cent month-on-month to be 18.7 per cent higher year-on-year, making it the busiest start to the year since 2018.
New listings picked up across Sydney, with particularly strong increases in inner city areas. The Eastern Suburbs (497 per cent) and North Sydney and Hornsby (485.2 per cent).
Penrith saw the biggest increase in listings increasing 150 per cent.
Melbourne
Melbourne started the new year with a jump in new listings of 67.5 per cent to record the busiest January in more than a decade.
The increases were particularly large in Melbourne’s Inner East, where new listings more than tripled in January compared to December, with the biggest increase coming in Mitcham with a 250 per cent increase in new listings.
Brisbane
New listings in Brisbane surged 30.5 per cent month-on-month in January as the market came off the typical end-of year slowdown in December.
January was active in all parts of Brisbane, with new listings higher year-on-year in all regions. Logan/Beaudesert saw the largest year-on-year increase in new listings (33.0 per cent), while Thornlands was the biggest jump, increasing 172 per cent.
Adelaide
Adelaide’s housing market started the year with a bang with new listings surging 49.4 per cent month-on-month.
Adelaide’s South saw the largest increase (16 per cent) in new listings, with Campbelltown jumping 70 per cent.
Perth
January was a busy month for Perth’s housing market with new listings surging 27.8 per cent month-on-month as activity resumed after the end-of-year break.
New listings are 33.9 per cent higher than they were in January 2021, with Joondalup seeing the biggest increase in new listings with a 146 per cent spike.
Hobart
New listings in Hobart increased 36 per cent month-on-month in January, coming off the typical seasonal slowdown in December.
New listings in regional Tasmania declined 20 per cent month-on-month in January after a 14.8 per cent month-on-month fall in December. The biggest increase in new listings came from Glenorchy which jumped 40 per cent.
Darwin
New listings in Darwin were 45.2 per cent higher in January 2022 than at the same time in 2021 as the market kicked off the new year with a selling rush. While new listings rose 29.3 per cent in January.
Canberra
New listings jumped 37.6 per cent month-on-month in Canberra, up from their typical seasonal low in December to be 20.1 per cent higher year-on-year.
Total stock of listings on the market is still down 13.3 per cent compared to a year ago. Franklin saw the biggest jump in new listings up 83 per cent.
