New Listings Increase as the SPRING Frenzy Arrives
Weekly Real Estate Market Update with Leigh Martinuzzi
As lockdown restrictions ease property listings go through the roof creating a flurry of spring activity. One report suggests that nationally new listings increased by 28% in the four weeks to mid-October, equating to roughly 45,000 more homes available to purchase. This is pleasing many buyers as now they have more to choose from. However, locally, it feels much the same, a continued shortage of available properties to buy. We receive calls daily from buyers sharing the requirements and concerns that they may not be able to find the right home. Where are all these new listings coming from?
The chart below shows the change in total listings and the variance from the previous four-week count and also compares it to the five-year average. As you’ll notice Sydney, Melbourne and greater Victoria experienced a surge in new listings. While there were some areas with smaller increases, most cities and regions experienced a decline in availability. Sydney saw a further 7000 new listings come to the market last week while currently on the Coast Domain reports a mere 2119 homes currently for sale.
Buyer demand is streaming in from the southern states with many cashed-up buyers coming in. Domain, a leading property portal, highlighted that 66% of enquiries on Queensland homes were from NSW. We understand that on the Sunshine coast buyer demand remains strong with REA highlighting average views per property in some areas up by 70%. We are still seeing good enquiry coming in however I’ve noticed a slight decline in email enquiries and calls. In saying that, much of the enquiries that we are receiving are from “ready-to-purchase” buyers. Less ‘lookers’ and more serious buyers.
The big banks and industry experts mostly agree that property prices will continue to climb well into 2022 before showing signs of a possible decline. Housing affordability will play a critical role to a slowdown, which one would think is already out of reach for many people. The average forecast gain for 2022 is 8% across Australia, and locally a further 10% or above gain as buyers from the southern states continue to flock north. The continued shortage and strong demand should continue to give property sellers confidence in achieving great sales outcomes for the foreseeable future.
Auction Results State by State. Week ending Sun 17th Oct.
- Queensland – =88% (164/1435)
- NSW – 90% (587/1827)
- Victoria – 91% (850/1539)
- ACT – 99% (91/57)
- South Australia – 96% (106/433)
- Tasmania – NA (0/184)
- Western Australia – 30% (10/666)
- Northern Territory – 100% (2/23)
*(Auctions/Private Sales)
