10 markets where spring homebuyers are spoiled with options

While evidence suggests housing demand is slowly weakening, tight supply conditions remain a concern for many homebuyers heading into spring, especially on the back of relatively higher prices.

Data from PropTrack, however, shows major markets that offer a lot of options for many would-be buyers who are planning to break into the market this spring.

Here are the 10 markets with the largest number of listings relative to their five-year average:

PropTrack economic analyst Megan Lieu said the current conditions on the demand and supply sides were different from last year, when buyers were faced with tight competition.

“In November 2021, total monthly for sale listings hit the lowest level in the 12 years, not factoring in the month of December in those periods, which is seasonally low for the end-of-year break,” she said.

“This meant that homes were getting sold quicker than any at point since July 2017 — eager buyers were quickly pounding on new listings.”

During the same period, the market days of houses hit a five-year low.

These trends, however, began to shift in the beginning of 2022, with the first rate hike in May triggering a further slowdown in demand.

“The continued increase in mortgage repayments has seen a tempering in buyer demand and an increase in how long properties take to sell,” Ms Lieu

“At the same time, vendors have been active this year, with more new homes coming to market across the capital cities over the first half than any year since 2015.”

The majority of the regions with higher listings relative to five-year averages are in Sydney and Melbourne, which would mean plenty of options available for buyers who want a slice of the biggest cities.

However, buying conditions remained tight in Adelaide and Brisbane, where total listings are around 40% lower than prior to the pandemic.

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