- Listings were down in Melbourne (-27.1%)
- Nationally were down by 2.3%
The property market continues its surge in Sydney with new listings up 11.9% in August, according to the latest PropTrack Listings Report from the REA Group.
The picture is painted differently in other cities, with new listings down in Melbourne (-27.1%), Canberra (-35.1%) and Darwin (-1.5%).
Nationally, new listings were down by 2.3% in August – reaching a level last seen in January 2021 – although they remained 17.1% higher on a year-by-year basis.
According to SQM Research, total listings were down in Sydney in August, so the market would require a fresh input of new listings:
Sydney
“While the national property market slowed in August with a number of states in lockdown, announcements from the NSW Government about a pathway out of lockdown, coupled with the ongoing ability to conduct one-on-one inspections, instilled confidence in Sydney sellers,” explained REA Group director of economic research, Cameron Kusher.
While nationally lockdowns have impacted the preparedness of vendors to list – recently REINSW CEO Tim McKibbin argued that some may regret this decision – enquiries to agents via realestate.com.au hit a historic high in August, as did the number of views per listing.
“With ongoing high levels of buyer demand and sellers delaying listing through lockdown, we anticipate new listings will rise quickly as restrictions ease,” added Mr Kusher.
Although they will be relaxed, inspections have generally not been allowed in Melbourne, hence less activity.
Mr Kusher expects selling conditions to remain strong throughout spring, especially as lockdowns end. Following the snap lockdown in Adelaide during July, new listings jumped by 37.3% last month.
“It appears unlikely demand and supply will return to equilibrium in the short-term, which is likely to lead to further increases in property prices.”
In the meantime, the older stock will continue to catch buyers attention until lockdowns end and there’s an uptick again in new listings.
