Property market activity picks up in January – PropTrack

Property market activity picked up in January after the end-of-the-year break, with new listings nationally on realestate.com.au jumping 49.8% month-on-month, according to PropTrack Listings Report January 2023.

“New listings in capital cities were up almost 93% month-on-month in January, as vendors returned to the market after a typically quiet December,” said Angus Moore, PropTrack economist and report author. “While a large increase, it reflects just how quiet the end-of-year break was.”

In capital cities, new listings surged by 92.7% in January, with Sydney (158.7%), Melbourne (100.5%), Brisbane (80.0%), Adelaide (84.9%), Perth (45.9%) and Hobart (69.5%), all experiencing a strong increase in new listings in the month. Regional areas, meanwhile, saw a more modest – but still positive – rise of 12.2%.

Despite the increase, new listings were still below 2022’s strong levels, with new listings slipping 9.4% year-on-year nationally.

“Conditions and activity slowed in the back half of 2022 following an extremely busy spring in 2021 which extended into early 2022,” Moore said. “Home prices continued to decline across the country in January, though the pace of falls has slowed from what was experienced in mid-2022. Home prices nationally declined 0.1% month-on- month in January and are now down 4.5% from their peak in early 2022.

“Those price falls, and the slowing in market activity, have come on the back of the Reserve Bank of Australia raising interest rates at an extremely brisk pace. The RBA is expected to continue raising rates this year, though there may not be much further to go.

“While selling conditions have clearly softened from where they were in early 2022, and market activity has slowed, the fundamental long-term drivers of demand for housing remain solid.

“The unemployment rate was sitting around multi-decade lows for the majority of 2022 and has remained there for much of the past six months. Wages growth, while running slower than inflation, has started to pick up. International migration has also returned, which will further add to housing demand.”

Other key findings showed that:

• The total number of properties listed for sale on realestate.com.au in January was down 0.3% month-on-month, but up 11.5% year-on-year
• Nearly all capital cities have seen an increase in the total number of properties listed for sale compared to a year ago, with only Perth recording a decline
• Regionally, the total number of properties listed for sale is up 15.8% year-on-year – the largest annual increase in at least a decade

Visit the realestate.com.au website for more information and to view the full report.

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