The number of residential properties for sale in Australia ballooned in April according to figures released this week.
The figures from SQM Research show residential listings increased 4.1% during April to a total of 366,151, with listings rising in all capital cities during the month.
During April, Melbourne and Perth saw the largest increases, with listing increasing 9% and 7.1% respectively.
At the other end of the spectrum, Hobart saw the smallest monthly increase in listing at just 0.1%, followed by Darwin’s increase of 3.1%.
The 12 months to the end of April also saw a solid annual rise in listings, with total listings up 5.2% over the year.
Over the 12-month period listings rose in all capital cites but Hobart, where the number of properties for sale pulled back 5.2%.
Sydney easily saw the largest increase in listings over the 12-month period, with the number of homes for sale skyrocketing by 37.8%.
Canberra was home to the second largest increase, with listings up 15.1% since April 2015, while Brisbane saw an increase of 12.8% over the year.
The remaining capital cities saw annual listing increases of between 6.1% - 9.2%.
Louis Christopher, head of SQM Research said the increases in April may have had something to do with vendors taking advantage of the five Fridays that occurred in the month this year, but he said the yearly increases, particularly Sydney and Canberra’s, show sellers are dominating the market.
“Sydney experienced a yearly rise of 37.8%, with residential property listings climbing from 19,648 to 27,080. Canberra also experienced yearly growth with sale listings up 15.1% based on a total 3,603 listings. The listings counts indicate that the number of property sellers in both residential markets has increased markedly when adjusting for seasonality,” Christopher said.
“Stock on market has materially increased for Sydney, indicating the slowdown is still occurring in the market. Buyers now have much more choice of homes compared to this time last year,” he said.
