The Supply & Demand Equation is Shifting 

Weekly Real Estate Market Update with Leigh Martinuzzi 

Auction numbers are up last week on the previous week with the pent-up supply flooding the market. Across the combined capital cities 3,562 auctions took place making it the second busy auction week this year. Of those that went to auction a clearance rate of 75.5% was reported. Of, course most of this activity is taking place in Sydney and Melbourne accounting for almost 3,000 of all properties put under the hammer. Due to the easing lockdown restrictions in both Melbourne and Sydney, auction numbers are up 79.4% from the first week of October and it is expected these numbers are likely to rise further over the next couple of weeks. 

Brisbane and Adelaide continue to lead the way with property price increases with a further 0.6% growth last week in both areas. While new listings are up the Brisbane area 22.8%, the 12-month change in total listings is still right down at 27.3%. On the Sunshine Coast, we’ve seen new listings month on month fall by 1%. This is not the case in our southern states with Sydney recording an increase in listings by 45.3% and in Melbourne a 49.9% spike. Buyers now have more choice and agents are reporting fewer buyers are showing interest in each property and fewer bidders registering at auctions.

Tracking by REA (realestate.com.au) highlights that for sale searches for Queensland property are up 28% on this time last year. Search volumes in most other states are still up this time last year however seeing a decline. The average views per listings are up on average 46% and surged 9.4% in October to reach a new historic high. This would indicate a strong level of buyer demand and with sales volumes reaching the highest levels this year up 14% over the past four weeks. On top of that, average sales times continue downward with the national average at 31 days and locally a lot quicker. 

We are experiencing a mixed level of buyer interest depending on the price category of the property. One home we took to the market last week which would be considered an “entry-level” property with an advertised price at Offers Over $539,000 gained amazing attention. In the week we conducted 2 open homes with 57 group inspections, over 100 enquiries, and 18 written offers. With the higher-end properties, it’s a similar yet different story. We seem to have less volume but of the buyers who enquiry and inspect, strong offers are readily available. Some of the urgency in the $800,000+ range and the $1M+ range has waned, with buyers starting to look more closely at comparable sales before making a rushed decision based on a fear of missing out. 

What to expect in the months ahead? We believe we will continue to have many buyers looking to purchase property over the Christmas and New Year period as interstate buyers continue to choose the Sunshine Coast as the premium lifestyle destination. I am unsure if we will see a slow-down heading into 2022 however I think we’ve seen prices near their peak with affordability likely to slow things further. Right now, one thing is for sure… there is a severe shortage of properties on the Sunshine Coast to meet the intense buyer demand. 

Auction Results State by State. Week ending Sun 14th of Nov.

• Queensland – =85% (184/1646)
• NSW – 88% (769/1928)
• Victoria – 83% (1030/1704)
• ACT – 92% (104/63)
• South Australia – 91% (129/433)
• Tasmania – 50% (2/197)
• Western Australia – 100% (6/727)
• Northern Territory – 100 (5/27)

*(Auctions/Private Sales)

Review of the Week – First Class Experience!

At a very turbulent time in the market, Leigh was an absolute pleasure to deal with. Leigh’s communication throughout the entire process was amazing and did not bat an eye with any of the questions put to him no matter what. Professional and depth of knowledge in the market were second to none Leigh went above and beyond expectations. Cannot thank Leigh enough for making a stressful experience a breeze and would not hesitate to highly recommend Leigh and his team to all family & friends! – First Class Buyer