Real estate markets experienced a slowdown in March, with new listings on realestate.com.au dropping significantly after a bustling February, according to PropTrack.
New listings fell by 13.6% over the month and were 8.8% lower compared to the same period last year.
The early occurrence of the Easter holiday this year significantly influenced the March market dynamics.
“Following the busiest start to the year in over a decade, new for-sale listings fell in March as an early Easter brought forward the slowdown in selling activity typically seen in April,” said Anne Flaherty (pictured above), PropTrack economist.
While all major cities except Sydney saw declines in new listings, the combined capital cities reported an 8.5% year-on-year decrease. Regional areas also experienced a slowdown, consistent across both the month and year.
Despite the drop in new listings, the total number of listings was 2% higher compared to last year, due to the significant number of properties listed in late February. Cities like Canberra, Melbourne, and Sydney saw an increase in options for buyers, contrasting with sharper rises in total listings in regional Victoria, NT, and Tasmania.
“Despite fewer properties being brought to market in March compared to 12 months ago, total listings remained up year-on-year as a result of the surge in listings seen in February,” Flaherty said.
She also highlighted the continued strength in buyer demand, supported by stable interest rates and robust population growth, which was recorded at a record high over the last year.
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