Property Listings Fall in May, Canberra Hardest Hit

The number of residential properties being listed across the country fell by more than 2 per cent in May and was down 9 per cent for the past 12 months, according to independent investment researcher SQM Research.

Canberra took the biggest hit with property listings in April down by 5.7 per cent to 2824, closely followed by Adelaide, down 5.1 per cent.  Across the year Adelaide was down about 22 per cent, while Canberra’s listings fell by 18 per cent.

The biggest annual loss came in Brisbane, down 22.1 per cent to 18,313 listings.

SQM blames the federal election for the sluggish interest.

“Listings fell during the month of May due in large part to the election with many sellers and buyers waiting on the market side-lines for the outcome,” managing director of SQM Research Louis Christopher said.

“A number of properties which were already listed struggled to sell over the month and that pushed up the counts of old listings—a phenomenon that happens during market slowdowns.”

Nationally new listings—those on the market less than a month—fell 5.9 per cent throughout May, with 74,902 properties coming to market.   Hobart recorded the biggest fall, with new listings down during the month by 28.2 per cent.  Canberra new listings were down 10.6 per cent.

More properties stayed longer on the market in Hobart than any other capital city. The number of listings of more than 180 days rose by 13.3 per cent. 

Total property listings

There was an increase in old listings of 9.6 per cent in Sydney and 6.2 per cent in Melbourne. Only Brisbane had less for the month, down 5.5 per cent.

Christopher says SQM has recorded a surge in new auction listings, which is likely to translate into more new listings in June.

Across the country the asking price for houses during the month rose by 1.4 per cent, and jumped 1.6 per cent for units and apartments, but SQM Research expects those figures to fall.

“Our overall outlook for the market remains unchanged in that we expect price falls of up to 8 per cent this year for Melbourne and Sydney and low net single digit growth for other cities,” Christopher said.