Listing activity improved in February as property markets approached the autumn selling season, but sellers seemed to be not as enthusiastic as they were during the same period last year.
According to the latest data from PropTrack, new listings in February increased 24.8% monthly but declined 11.1% annually.
Overall, the total number of properties listed for sale went up 9.4% in the month and 9.6% year-on-year.
Here are the other highlights over the month:
- Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Darwin, Canberra, Adelaide, Perth, and Hobart all experienced a robust monthly increase in new listings.
- On an annual basis, new listings went down in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth.
- Hobart bucked the annual decline in new listings, reporting 15% more than last year.
- Over the year, all capital cities, except Perth, reported higher number of total property listings for sale.
- The total number of properties for sale regionally is still limited and stands around a third lower than pre-pandemic levels.
|
Market |
Change in new listings (%) |
Change in total listings (%) |
||
|
Monthly |
Annual |
Monthly |
Annual |
|
|
Sydney |
32.8 |
-18.7 |
18.4 |
0.7 |
|
Regional NSW |
27.3 |
-5.2 |
10.0 |
38.5 |
|
Melbourne |
38.2 |
-15.8 |
14.1 |
3.1 |
|
Regional Victoria |
27.3 |
-0.2 |
8.6 |
45.2 |
|
Brisbane |
10.0 |
-12.3 |
6.1 |
15.6 |
|
Regional Queensland |
14.1 |
-14.4 |
3.7 |
-1.1 |
|
Adelaide |
16.5 |
-3.8 |
14.6 |
7.6 |
|
Regional South Australia |
33.4 |
2.1 |
6.1 |
-7.8 |
|
Perth |
18.1 |
-6.7 |
4.4 |
-5.4 |
|
Regional Western Australia |
26.0 |
-10.5 |
2.0 |
-8.8 |
|
Hobart |
11.7 |
15.0 |
10.2 |
91.8 |
|
Regional Tasmania |
11.2 |
-7.0 |
7.3 |
47.2 |
|
Darwin |
50.6 |
-5.6 |
7.0 |
0.7 |
|
Regional Northern Territory |
75.0 |
-1.3 |
4.2 |
-12.2 |
|
Canberra |
47.0 |
-3.0 |
26.1 |
22.9 |
|
CAPITAL CITIES |
26.6 |
-13.2 |
12.0 |
4.4 |
|
REGIONAL AREAS |
22.2 |
-7.6 |
6.5 |
16.1 |
|
TOTAL |
24.8 |
-11.1 |
9.4 |
9.6 |
PropTrack economist Angus Moore said property markets have had a slower start to the year despite the monthly gains achieved in February.
“The limited new stock coming to market in recent months appears to be putting a floor under prices — after consistent price falls throughout most of 2022, home prices experienced a slight increase in February, up 0.2% month-on-month,” he said.
Mr Moore said the full impact of rate hikes has yet to manifest, as prices are still expected to take a further dip later this year.
Still, long-term drivers of housing demand remained solid, even while selling conditions appear to have softened.
“Unemployment has remained close to multi-decade lows for much of 2022 and into early 2023, wages growth has started to pick up and international migration has also resumed, all of which support housing demand,” Mr Moore said.
-
Photo by Thirdman on Pexels.
