After a busier than usual winter period, Sydney has recorded its largest ever year-on-year increase in total stock available for sale, up 30.7% compared to 2021.
The total supply of properties listed for sale increased by 4.9%, the largest year-on-year increase since 2010.
The REA Group has released its PropTrack Listings Report July 2022 which analysed new and total listings to hit the property market on realestate.com.au.
Sydney broker Christian Stevens (pictured above left), of Shore Financial, said the local market had shifted from a sellers’ market to a buyers’ market.
“We are seeing a lot more vendors discounting to meet the current market,” Stevens said. “As a result, properties are taking longer to sell. We are back to the standard six-week pre-COVID sales campaigns, rather than the short three to four weeks we were seeing this time last year.”
Stevens said he was seeing some types of properties selling faster than others.
“Apartments in the Sydney CBD are struggling to sell, however houses above $5m are hotter than ever,” he said.
The PropTrack report found that the total supply of properties available for sale had lifted by 0.6% month-on-month in July 2022. While it was only a small monthly increase, the total stock on market typically declines mid-winter amid seasonally quieter activity.
PropTrack economist and report author Angus Moore (pictured above right) said Australia’s property markets were experiencing an unusually busy winter period.
“While winter is typically seasonally quieter, the total stock of properties listed for sale increased 4.9% in July this year compared to last, which is the largest year-on-year increase since 2010,” Moore said. “While that is in part due to the increase in stock available for sale this year and properties taking longer to sell, it is also partly driven by the fact that options were limited in July 2021 as a number of capital cities were in lockdown.”
Moore said properties listed for sale in Sydney and Canberra were about 5% above the prior decade average and 2% below in Melbourne.
“Selling conditions have begun to temper from their very strong levels earlier in the year. Measures of buyer demand have declined off their high levels and it is taking longer to sell homes as well as auction clearance rates falling,” he said.
“At the same time, buyers have had more properties to choose from in recent months. The wave of new supply coming to market over the first half of the year, particularly in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, has lifted the stock available on market and helped make conditions a bit less competitive for buyers.”
Looking towards the spring selling season, Moore said activity in property markets around the country were expected to pick up over the next few months in line with the typical seasonal peak in activity.
“New listings nationally were down 12.2% month-on-month in July, though it was a busier month than the same time last year, with new listings up 6.5% year-on-year,” he said. “All capital cities saw new listings down in July compared to June, which is typical for the winter period. We look forward to the change in season upon us.”
