Steep drop in new listings post-lockdown puts further pressure on surging Darwin property prices

NEW residential property listings in Darwin have plunged since the Covid-19 lockdown, putting further upwards pressure on prices in the city’s already booming real estate market, according to fresh data.

New figures from CoreLogic show the number of new listings in Darwin was trending consistently upwards throughout 2021 until late June, when it suddenly dropped off a cliff.

That number has fallen a huge 46 per cent, to a level slightly below the city’s five-year average, in the time since then.

The figures also show the drop in new listings has affected Darwin’s total number of active listings, which have been tracking 29 per cent below their five year average for the past four weeks.

CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless said the data showed the steep drop-off in new listings in Darwin coincided “perfectly” with the start of the city’s five-day Covid-19 lockdown last month, with listing numbers taking a dive from exactly Sunday, June 27 – the day the lockdown was announced and came into effect.

He said in good news for sellers, the sharp fall in supply could place even more pressure on property prices in Darwin.

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“We know Darwin has been one of the hottest markets in Australia lately,” he said.

“Values are up 21 per cent in the past year – that’s the strongest growth rate of any capital, and a big part of that is demand is outweighing supply. A further reduction in supply could tighten that situation further.”

Mr Lawless also said the drop in new listings was typical of any capital city recently out of lockdown and numbers would likely bounce back to their former level in coming weeks, though the Darwin market’s recovery was taking longer than most.

“The surprising thing about Darwin is that it moved out of lockdown quite quickly, and (the lockdown) was quite brief, but we haven’t seen real estate agents becoming that active just yet,” he said. “That could be a sign of more sensitivity in the market, probably due to the fact that Darwin went through a sustained downturn between 2014 and 2019.”

Real Estate Institute of the NT (REINT) chief executive Quentin Kilian said the drop in new listings Darwin had experienced could be the result of an ongoing shortage of stock in the city rather than the recent Covid-19 lockdown, given how short it had been.

However, he said any reduction in the number of properties advertised for sale was likely to drive prices up even further, making now an ideal time to sell.

“If you’re in a position where you’ve been thinking about (selling), now is a good time to explore what the options are by talking to your real estate agent,” he said.

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