Property listings are skyrocketing in the lead up to Christmas, with November numbers surging to multi-year highs.
REA Group’s PropTrack Listings Report for December showed sellers scrambling to make up for lost time, despite November typically being a little seasonally slower than October.
PropTrack Economist and report author, Angus Moore, said property market activity continued to soar in November as sellers made up for lost time after lockdowns.
“Australia-wide, new listings on realestate.com.au surged 12.1 per cent month-on-month, marking the third consecutive month of double-digit growth,” Mr Moore said.
New listings in capital cities reached their highest level in a decade, picking up 12.5 per cent month-on-month in November.
“This is a strong result for November, which is typically seasonally a little weaker than October,” Mr Moore said.
“However, this year’s peak was pushed back by the delayed start to the spring selling season due to lockdowns.”
Buyers in regional Australia were also relieved to see new stock on the market, the report showed, with new listings up 11.3 per cent in November compared to October.
While the wave of new listings bumped total listings by 6.9 per cent month-on-month, long periods of restricted activity and lockdowns, coupled with high levels of buyer demand, meant that total stock of properties available for sale remained low.
Total listings are down nearly 40 per cent from pre-pandemic levels in regional Australia
“We may see a busier December than typical as activity spills later into the year, with sellers who were held back due to lockdowns gearing up to make a sale before Christmas,” Mr Moore said.
“As buyers and sellers pause for the Christmas break, property markets will be quieter over the next couple of months.
Looking ahead into early 2022, Mr Moore said selling conditions were likely to stay strong but may moderate from the dominant levels seen in recent months.
“Measures of buyer demand remain high but have eased slightly in November,” Mr Moore said.
“At the same time, new supply coming to market has meant buyers have had more options to choose from than has been the case for much of this year.”
Key report findings
New listings in capital cities soared as the delayed spring selling season peaked, rising in all cities: Sydney (8 per cent MoM)
- Melbourne (11.2 per cent MoM)
- Brisbane (14.4 per cent MoM)
- Adelaide (23.9 per cent MoM)
- Perth (14.8 per cent MoM)
- Hobart (42.4 per cent MoM)
- Darwin (0.4 per cent MoM)
- Canberra (22.1 per cent MoM)
With the wave of new listings and total stock of properties available for sale also lifted in capital cities, rising in Sydney to the highest level in two years, and reaching the highest level in Melbourne in three years.
With high demand for the regional lifestyle, the stock of properties for sale in regional Australia remains low.
Compared to pre-pandemic levels, total listings are down in regional NSW more than 40 per cent and more than a third in regional Queensland and regional Victoria.
