New property stock lifts in May – PropTrack

New listings on realestate.com.au ticked up by 18.7% month-on-month in May, but were down 16.8% compared to last year, according to REA Group’s PropTrack Listings Report May 2023.

Angus Moore (pictured above), PropTrack economist and report author, said property market activity bounced back in May after a quieter, public-holiday-affected April.

“That said, May continued the trend of slower property market activity in 2023, relative to the pace seen in 2022. In part, that reflects just how busy property markets were during the start of 2022,” Moore said.

Despite less new stock than in 2022, buyers enjoyed a slight improvement in total choice in May, with the total number of properties listed for sale increasing 2.2% compared to April.

That helped lift the total number of properties available for sale by around 3.3%, and 10% more than what was typical in the latter half of 2021.

“With the autumn selling season now behind us, market activity is likely to be a little slower over the next few months during the typically quieter winter period, before picking up again for spring,” Moore said.

He said market conditions have improved from late last year, despite softer selling conditions than a year ago, and slower activity.

“Auction clearance rates remained reasonably firm throughout autumn and have picked up noticeably compared to the second half of 2022,” Moore said.

“Home prices increased in May for the fifth consecutive month. While the increases have been modest, they have been consistent, and it is a change from the price falls seen throughout much of 2022 when the RBA was raising interest rates rapidly.

“Further out, the fundamentals of housing demand remain strong. Unemployment has remained close to multi-decade lows for much of 2022 and into 2023. Wages growth, while running slower than inflation, has started to pick up, and there are signs inflation is starting to subside.

“International migration has also resumed, which will further add to housing demand, and rental markets are extremely tight across the country.”

The report also found that:

• New listings across the capital cities were up 20.5% from the prior month but were down 19.2% compared to May last year
• Sydney and Melbourne had fewer new listings this May compared to last year, down 17.5% and 19%, respectively
• In Hobart, which continued to be one of the more active capital city property markets, new listings dropped 6.6% compared to last year
• Regional areas saw an uptick in new listings in May, up 16.1% month-on-month
• As with capital cities, market activity has not kept pace with the busy period in 2022. New listings were down 12.6% year-on-year

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