New listings across Australia’s capital cities reached a record high in October, with sellers flocking to the market due to eased restrictions.
According to the latest PropTrack Listings Report from REA Group, new listings in the combined capital cities reached the highest number on record after a 21.9 per cent month-on-month increase.
Nationally, it was also the busiest month of new listings on realestate.com.au since October 2018.
The report attributed the listing increase to the easing of restrictions, with new listings in Melbourne surging 35 per cent month-on-month, Canberra increasing 30.2 per cent, and Sydney listings rising 26.2 per cent.
In regional areas, listing volumes also increased in October, rising 7.4 per cent compared to September, but the increase in supply still was not enough to pull the regional market from near record low volume compared to previous years.
PropTrack Economist and report author, Angus Moore said strong market conditions in October were driven by the peak of the spring selling season in most capital cities, combined with the easing of lockdown restrictions in Melbourne, Sydney, and Canberra.
“In-person inspections were able to resume in mid-September, supporting seller confidence,” he said.
“Some sellers who had wanted to list in August or September may have waited until October because of restrictions, contributing to the strong activity over the month.”
While listing volumes surged in the capitals, Mr Moore said conditions remained tough for buyers in regional Australia.
“While listings picked up by 7.4 per cent in October, which helped lift the total stock of properties available for sale regionally, available supply remains close to historic lows, and is down more than 30 per cent year-on-year.”
Explaining realestate.com.au continued to see high levels of buyer demand, Mr Moore said he expected the strong selling conditions to continue through to the end of the year and into 2022.
“Looking ahead, the market is faced with APRA’s tightening of how banks conduct serviceability assessments, which will constrain how much some buyers can borrow, along with the RBA flagging an increased possibility that rates may rise earlier than expected.”
Key report findings:
- Capital cities embraced the spring selling season, with new listings also rising in Brisbane (+7.4 per cent MoM), Adelaide (+7.5 per cent MoM) and Perth (13 per cent MoM)
- Hobart (-7.1 per cent MoM) and Darwin (-10.3 per cent MoM) faced slower conditions, with new listings dropping during the month
- The uptick in new listings in regional Australia flowed through to total listings, with a 1.5 per cent rise
- Despite the increase, available supply in regional Australia remains close to historic lows and is down more than 30 per cent year-on-year
- National total listings in combined capital cities lifted 12.2 per cent in October, giving buyers more choice
- Only Melbourne (9.7 per cent) and Darwin (19.3 per cent) had more properties listed for sale on realestate.com.au in October than they did at the same time last year.
- All other markets have fewer properties for sale, resulting in competitive market conditions for buyers who are snapping up properties quickly.
