- Did not match the 2022 season pace
- Sydney, Adelaide and Perth saw the biggest increase
- Market activity to ease after peak autumn selling season
The autumn selling season has seen vendors head back to the market, with data on new listings showing a 10.5% increase compared to last month.
PropTrack’s Listings Report March 2023, found that new listings saw the biggest increase in Adelaide (14.6%), Perth (13.3%) and Sydney (10.3%).
After a relatively slow spring selling season last year meant March was the busiest month for new listings since May 2022.
PropTrack Economist and report author, Angus Moore said: “Property markets have had a quieter start to the year than was the case in 2022 and autumn was no exception.”
“While new listings were up 10.5% in March compared to February, the peak of the autumn selling season did not match the pace of autumn last year. New listings were down 15.9% year-on-year. That slowdown comes after an extremely busy period in early 2022.
“With the peak of the autumn selling season now behind us, we expect market activity will ease over the next few months, as it usually does after Easter and into the quieter winter period. While selling conditions are softer than a year ago, and market activity has slowed, conditions have improved from late 2022 and the fundamental long-term drivers of demand for housing remain solid.”
Year on year change in new listings on realestate.com.au
Widespread increases
New listings in capital cities were up 10.2% month-on-month in March, with all capital cities seeing an increase, including Melbourne (8.8%), Brisbane (9.8%), Hobart (5.8%), Darwin (7.1%), and Canberra (5.2%).
All capital cities, aside from Perth, have seen an increase in the total number of properties listed for sale compared to a year ago.
In both Sydney and Melbourne, the total number of properties listed for sale in March was above the average over the past decade.
Regional areas also saw new listings increase in March, up 10.9% month-on-month, however, they were still lower than a year ago, down 10.5%.
Regionally, the total stock of properties listed for sale remains restricted but is improving, especially in regional NSW and Victoria and is up 15.8% year-on-year – though it remains down almost a third compared to pre-pandemic levels.
Higher prices driving confidence
Moore said we’ve seen home prices increase slightly in recent months – a change from the consistent price falls seen throughout much of 2022.
“Auction clearance rates have firmed up a bit through the first quarter of 2023 compared to last year. The unemployment rate has remained close to multi-decade lows for the majority of 2022 and into early 2023. Wages growth, while running slower than inflation, has started to pick up. International migration has also resumed, which will further add to housing demand.”
