This time last year, Australia was in the early days of an unprecedented property boom that would touch just about every corner of the nation.
Twelve months on, the advent of autumn reveals a patchwork of property markets; some have lost all momentum as the threat of interest rate rises, price rise fatigue, and the balance of supply and demand shifts in favour of buyers.
Others are still running hot amid a shortage of property for sale and elevated buyer demand – these are the markets that are expected to continue to rise throughout the autumn months.
The latest data from Domain details the volume of new property listings, buyer demand and auction clearance rates over the past week. According to Domain’s head of research and economics Nicola Powell, the results reveal every market has changed since early March last year.
“A buyer approaching this autumn season is in a different position to what a buyer was in autumn 2021,” she said.
“This year, they’ll have much greater choice in terms of the property available for sale, and they’ll be transacting in a market with less pace.
“That red-hot urgency that was there this time last year isn’t there this autumn.”
Unless you’re a buyer in Brisbane or Adelaide: “Those cities are where there is still so much buyer demand and not enough stock.
“But overall, purchasing conditions are improving.”
The rush of Sydney home owners eager to sell in the rising market has seen the number of new listings spike considerably, particularly over the past four weeks.
Two weeks ago, Sydney recorded its highest volume of new listings for 2022, and – compared to the same time last year – new listings are up 7 per cent.
Some areas with the biggest weekly increase in new listings, such as Camden, have seen an increase of more than 30 per cent.
As the number of properties for sale in Sydney increases, so do the conditions for hopeful property buyers. More property for sale means more choice for buyers and, crucially, less competition. Less competition can impact prices, Dr Powell said.
“Listings and prices actually go hand in hand with each other, and when you’ve got four weeks of strong levels of new listings in this market, that’s telling,” Dr Powell said.
It’s not all doom and gloom for Sydney sellers yet. Buyer demand has increased by 9 per cent, and Sydney’s auction clearance rate is also holding up well. Last Saturday was Sydney’s busiest auction day so far this year, and the preliminary clearance rate hit 76 per cent.
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