The spring selling season is certainly underway in Sydney, with figures showing a large increase in the number of residential listings in the harbour city during October.

Figures released yesterday by SQM Research showed that the number of residential listings in Sydney grew to 28,827 during October, a 22.5% increase compared to September’s figures.

The increase means listings in Sydney are now 11.6% higher than they were at the same time last year, and are at a three-year high.

While there is an increase in the number of homes for sale in Sydney, it hasn’t coincided with buyers becoming more active, and the head of SQM Research, Louis Christopher, said sellers are likely to continue to have a tough go of it.

“More and more vendors are now struggling to sell in Sydney as buyers become cautious in their bidding compared to earlier this year,” Christopher said

“I think for now this is set to continue through to Christmas,” he said.

Nationwide, listings grew by 7.3% during October to a total of 363,653, which represents a 0.1% decrease over the 12 months to October.

After Sydney, Canberra had the next biggest increase over October, with listings up 14.5% over the month.

Listings rose by 11.6% in Melbourne and 10% in Adelaide, while Brisbane and Hobart both saw monthly increases of 7.8%.

Darwin had the smallest monthly increase of just 0.6%, while listings rose by 5.5% in Perth.

Looking at the yearly figures, Darwin has seen the biggest rise over the past 12 months, with listings up by 14.2%, followed by Sydney’s 11.6% increase.

On the other end of the scale, Melbourne and Hobart have both seen their listings decrease over the past 12 months.

Listings are down by 9.6% in Melbourne compared to the same time last year, while in Hobart listings have fallen 8.1%.