A two-speed Australian property market has started to emerge as demand for real estate in Sydney and Melbourne wanes, new data shows.
The latest Domain fortnightly property report has revealed the real estate market in the country’s two major capital cities now favours buyers, while in smaller cities like Brisbane and Adelaide, sellers are still in a good position.
The report analysed the percentage of new properties listed on the platform (supply), views per listing (demand) and auction clearance rates over the past week in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.
Views per listing have fallen 31 per cent in Sydney and 16 per cent in Melbourne compared to the same time last year.
In contrast, there has been a sharp rise in Brisbane (18 per cent) and the rest of QLD (up 40 per cent) while Adelaide (up 38 per cent) and the rest of South Australia (87 per cent) have also experienced a surge in demand compared to last year.
On the supply side, listings have jumped 13 per cent in Sydney and 28 per cent in the rest of NSW compared to the same time last year.
Across Brisbane listings are 18 per cent up, while Adelaide has almost faired as well with listings climbing 17 per cent on the same time last year.
Areas with the largest annual increase in views per listing in each state are Hawkesbury (Sydney), Wyndham (Melbourne), Beaudesert (Brisbane), Adelaide Hills (Adelaide) and Fremantle (Perth).
While listings have jumped the most week over week in Rouse Hill – McGraths Hill (Sydney), Macedon Ranges (Melbourne), Nathan (Brisbane), Prospect – Walkerville (Adelaide) and Perth City (Perth).
Domain’s Chief of Research and Economics Dr Nicola Powell said she expected softer demand to continue in the nation’s largest property markets.
“Our smaller cities like Brisbane and Adelaide are the two key areas that are likely to see stronger rates of growth than other cities as demand continues to outstrip supply,” Dr Powell said.
“The weakness is going to be centred in Sydney and Melbourne where we are seeing an increase in supply, helping ease competition between buyers.
“Affordability, amidst the context of rising living costs and low wage growth will also impact the strength in the market that we saw in 2021.”
Sydney
New listings rose 13 per cent and remain higher than this time last year, giving buyers more choice and more room to negotiate and creating less urgency. Rouse Hill – McGraths Hill saw the biggest increase in new listings, but views per listing dropped 31 per cent compared to this time last year.
Melbourne
Views per listing dropped 16 per cent in Melbourne and while new listings are trending up overall this year, they took a 22 per cent dip last week due to a slightly earlier labour day holiday in 2021.
Brisbane
New listings remained higher than this time last year, up 17 per cent. Views per listing have increased 18 per cent, but have pulled back a little from the peak in January.
Perth
The second-highest number of new listings this year was recorded last week. Views per listing also jumped 2 per cent compared to the same time last year.
Adelaide
New listings climbed 19 per cent on the same time last year, with views per listing also tracking strongly, up 38 per cent on the same time period.
