Cities where new property listings are (finally) surging
New listings are starting to lift as the Spring property season kicks off, but they are still sitting below average.
New listings bottomed out over the four weeks ending September 5 with just 31,731 new properties added to the market, according to CoreLogic’s executive research director Tim Lawless.
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Listings are at their lowest volumes since the seasonal low in January this year and while new listings have lifted nearly 10 per cent the number is still 21.6 per cent lower than the high in March and nearly 5 per cent lower than the five year average.
Capital city breakdown
The largest lift in new listing numbers have been in Melbourne, according to Lawless, where new listings have surged 48.5 per cent since the first week of September.
“Recently eased restrictions on property inspections will have added to the lift in new listings, however there was already upward movement prior to the announcement on September 17th,” he said.
“Melbourne’s new listings trends have been extremely volatile, falling sharply through each of the five lockdowns to-date, before rebounding quickly once restrictions were lifted.”
Sydney has been a bit more stable with Lawless saying COVID-19 restrictions have not impacted inspections.
As a result listings in Sydney have grown 31 per cent since the start of September, but are still around 4 per cent lower than the five year average.
“Sydney hasn’t shown the same volatility as Melbourne; partly due to fewer lockdowns, but also because restrictions did not prohibit private one-on-one inspections,” Lawless said.
In Canberra, where residents are also navigating lockdowns, listings have grown 28 per cent since hitting a low last week.
“Up until midnight on Friday September 17th physical property inspections were prohibited in Canberra. With these rules now eased, it’s likely the new listings trend will ramp up more substantially,” Lawless said.
At the opposite end of the spectrum are the cities that have mostly avoided lockdowns.
In Perth, the new listings trend is tracking 7.9 per cent above the five-year average and up 18.3 per cent compared with the same period last year.
Darwin listings are rapidly trending higher, 45.9 per cent above the five-year average, while Adelaide’s new listings trend is 1 per cent above average.
Lawless said Brisbane’s new listings were suffering from a “lockdown hangover”, which was dragging listings lower.
“While the hangover appears to be lifting, the upwards shift is mild and the count of new listings remains 3.8 per cent below the five-year average,” Lawless said.
Listings in Hobart have held consistently below average throughout 2021, which Lawless said is likely a key factor to the rapid rate of growing house values.
Values are up 24.5 per cent over the past 12 months and the highest annual growth rate of any capital city.
“An increase in fresh listings will be a welcome relief for real estate professionals and prospective buyers,” Lawless said.
“More listings imply buyers will have more choice, which theoretically should help alleviate some of the urgency in the market.”
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