Buyers have more choice with largest annual rise in total homes for sale in 12 years
Buyers are enjoying more choice during a busier-than-usual winter, after the strongest annual increase in the total number of homes for sale in more than a decade.
PropTrack economist Angus Moore said the increased choice sets up buyers to get a head start on the spring selling season, traditionally the seasonal peak period for housing market activity.
“The stronger-than-typical winter we’ve had so far is giving buyers more to choose from, particularly compared to last year,” Mr Moore said.
With homes taking longer to sell, the latest PropTrack Listings Report showed the overall number of properties advertised for sale on realestate.com.au rose by 4.9% in July compared to a year earlier – the largest year-on-year increase since 2010.
“That’s good news for buyers, particularly after a very competitive past couple of years, and the extra choice will let many get a head start on the typically busier spring selling season,” Mr Moore said.
Buyers have more choice of homes for sale, giving them a head start on the spring selling season. Picture: realestate.com.au/buy
He said the strong year-on-year growth in total supply, which included record increases in Sydney and Hobart, was partly due to the increase in stock available for sale this year and properties taking longer to sell.
It was also driven by the fact that options were limited in July 2021, when markets like Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide were in lockdown for part of the month, he added.
Mr Moore said selling conditions have begun to moderate from their very strong levels earlier in the year and measures of buyer demand have declined off their highs.
“It is taking longer to sell homes, and auction clearance rates have fallen.
“At the same time, buyers have had more properties to choose from in recent months.
“The wave of new supply coming to market over the first half of the year, particularly in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, has lifted the stock available on market and helped make conditions a bit less competitive for buyers.”
Mr Moore said activity in property markets around the country is expected to pick up over the next few months in line with the typical seasonal peak in spring.
He said conditions more broadly will be in large part dictated by how quickly the Reserve Bank of Australia continues to lift interest rates, after 175 basis points of hikes to the cash rate since May.
“What happens from here depends on how much further the RBA continues to raise interest rates and how quickly they do so. That will affect how much people can borrow and therefore what people are prepared to pay and how in demand property is.
“Obviously they’ve moved very briskly thus far and that’s putting downward pressure on prices.”
Options improve for buyers in most cities
While the overall stock of properties advertised for sale typically declines mid-winter amid seasonally quieter activity, the report showed total listings rose slightly – by 0.6% – in July compared to June.
Mr Moore said options for buyers in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra have improved markedly this year.
“There’s starting to be stock on market for buyers to choose from, particularly in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, in a way that hasn’t really been the case for much of the past two-and-a-half years.”
Change in total listings on realestate.com.au
| Total listings month-on-month |
Total listings year-on-year |
|
|---|---|---|
| National | Up 0.6% | Up 4.9% |
| Capital cities | Down 0.1% | Up 11.3% |
| Regional areas | Up 1.5% | Down 2.3% |
| Sydney | Down 1.4% | Up 30.7% |
| Melbourne | Down 1.5% | Up 10% |
| Brisbane | Up 4.3% | Down 0.7% |
| Adelaide | Up 0.9% | Down 3.6% |
| Perth | Down 0.5% | Up 4.6% |
| Hobart | Up 0.8% | Up 70% |
| Canberra | Up 2.8% | Up 24.8% |
| Darwin | Up 0.6% | Up 14.4% |
Sydney recorded its largest ever year-on-year increase in total stock available with total listings up 30.7% compared to the lockdown-affected levels in July 2021.
“While this is in part because July 2021 was quite soft, it is also driven by strength this year with July 2022 providing the most choice buyers have had in mid-winter since 2018.”
Mr Moore said the stock of properties listed for sale in Sydney and Canberra is around 5% above the prior decade average, and around 2% below in Melbourne.
Options for buyers in Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra have improved markedly this year, with more homes for sale. Picture: realestate.com.au/buy
“Options remain more limited in Brisbane and Adelaide, where buyers have faced low stock for some time.
“After a long period of strong demand, competition remains tough for buyers searching in Brisbane with the total stock of properties listed for sale still down more than a quarter compared to pre-pandemic levels.”
Total listings in Adelaide remain more than a third lower than pre-pandemic levels, according to the report.
Mr Moore said buying conditions have also improved significantly in Hobart, with buyers now having more options than has been the case for much of the past couple of years when property in the city was in very high demand.
Total stock in Hobart surged by 70% compared to July 2021, the largest year-on-year increase on record in any city.
“Stock is back to pre-pandemic levels in Hobart now. We have seen a lot of new listings coming to market in Hobart in the last seven months and that’s started to swing conditions back in favour of choice for buyers,” Mr Moore said.
Buyers finally have more options in Hobart, following two years of high demand for homes. Picture: realestate.com.au/buy
The report showed total supply remains low in regional areas but improved a little in July, up 1.5% month-on-month
While options for regional buyers have improved somewhat in the past couple of months, the available stock for sale remains restricted. Regionally, the total stock available for sale is around 40% below pre-pandemic levels.
Winter drop in new listings
Mr Moore said activity has slowed during the typically quieter winter period, following the wave of newly-advertised stock for sale with more new listings nationally across the first half of 2022 than during any year since 2015.
The number of newly-listed properties for sale on realestate.com.au fell 12.2% in July compared to June. But Mr Moore said July was busier than a lockdown-affected July 2021, with new listings up 6.5%.
While there has been a seasonal slowdown in new listings, activity has been busier than is typical for the middle of winter. Picture: realestate.com.au/buy
New listings in capital cities had a monthly decline of 12.7% due to the winter slowdown. However, new listings were up 8.7% compared to July 2021, again partly due to lockdown impacts last year.
“Even so, new listings were busier than has been typical for the middle of winter over the past five years,” Mr Moore said.
Change in new listings on realestate.com.au
| New listings month-on-month |
New listings year-on-year |
|
|---|---|---|
| National | Down 12.2% | Up 6.5% |
| Capital cities | Down 12.7% | Up 8.7% |
| Regional areas | Down 11.4% | Up 3.2% |
| Sydney | Down 15.1% | Up 18.2% |
| Melbourne | Down 9.7% | Up 5.9% |
| Brisbane | Down 13.3% | Up 3.5% |
| Adelaide | Down 8.3% | Up 27% |
| Perth | Down 15.7% | Up 0.8% |
| Hobart | Down 13.5% | Up 25.1% |
| Canberra | Down 10.3% | Down 3.3% |
| Darwin | Down 18.6% | Up 0.7% |
New listings fell in all capital cities in July compared to June, which is typical for winter.
Mr Moore noted new listings in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide rose strongly compared to their lockdown-affected July 2021 levels.
He said Hobart continued its busy year with new listings up 25.1% on a year earlier.
Regionally new listings were down 11.4% month-on-month, but again July was busier than typical for mid-winter with a 3.2% increase on the same time last year.