- For the past year, the number of listings across the country has been declining steadily
- Last month, they steadied in most markets, and rose slightly, except for Canberra
- Adelaide also saw a small rise
The nation’s capital bucked the trend in March, seeing the total number of available houses and units for sale fall to a four-year low of 3,301.
The previous month, they were standing at 3,392, so had slipped a further 2.7% from February.
Canberra Listings = 3,301 (Mar 21)
This is in stark contrast to the available listings in November 2019 and November 2018, which stood at nearly 5,000.
You have to go back to 2010 to see stock levels below 3,000 in Canberra.
Elsewhere, across the country, available housing and unit stock for sale rose slightly in most capital cities during March, which is traditional as the nation comes out of its summer hibernation, and people start thinking about selling.
As property owners were also (hopefully) coming out of a pandemic, and with news of property booms and high price increases, it was the time to sell.
Despite all this, national stock was just about the same at 256,568, according to SQM Research, about 600 more than the month earlier. So not much of a net increase.
More stock may have been coming onto the market, but it was also selling fast.
Australian Listings = 256,568 (Mar 21)
From a high of 361K listings in November 2018, the stock of properties around the country has been steadily falling since, by about 19%. The last time the total stock of houses and units for sale was this low around the country was back in March 2010.
Melbourne had the largest lift in listings, with 39,335 on the market in March compared to 38,211 in February; a 3% rise on the month. However, a mini-trend is happening in this market as January to February also saw a rise in listings, albeit a decline from the levels back in October when 44,000 properties were on the market.
Melbourne Listings = 39,335 (Mar 21)
Sydney, Darwin and Perth all saw their number of available listings rise slightly, with Adelaide market staying stable.
