Melbourne listings decline unseasonably in March: SQM Research
Not surprisingly the number of Australian residential property sale listings rose during March in most capital cities, though Canberra and Melbourne recorded an unseasonal fall in listings, according to SQM Research.
The number of unsold properties reached 358,167 in March 2015, rising 1.8% from February 2015, with the number of listings up 1.6% from a year earlier.
Normal seasonality plus the ongoing housing downturn in Perth and Darwin were the main reasons for the rise, SQM Research's Louis Christopher noted.
"Critically though, Melbourne recorded abnormal decreases, with listings falling by 1.4% to 38,027 properties for sale," wrote Christopher.
"Melbourne listings are now down 14.7%, year-on-year, the biggest fall of any capital city.
"We are now recording a clear downtrend in properties for sale in Melbourne, which suggests the market is picking up and there are now more buyers than sellers.
"Previously, Melbourne was very much a mixed market.
"But this suggests the recovery is becoming more uniform across the city.
"Canberra recorded a 2.6% decline to 3,401 listings."
Source: SQM Research
SQM noted Sydney jumped back from the normal lull in February, although year-on-year listings are down by 8.8%.
The total number of listings in Sydney is now 22,123 residential properties on the market.
"Critically, asking prices in Sydney rose again by 2.7% for houses and 1.7% for the month for units," Christopher advised.
"The median asking price for a house in Sydney is now $1,066,000."
He noted the commodities downturn had continued to suppress demand for both rental and owner occupier property in Perth and Darwin.
"Each month, we usually find that stock on market is accumulating, reflecting weak property demand in those two markets," he said.
"This softness is expected to be ongoing given that the commodities downturn is only getting deeper, as we can see with the falling iron ore price.
"Median asking house prices in Darwin continue to fall with a year-on-year comparison showing a 12 month decline of 5.1%.
"Perth also recorded house asking price declines in the month of 2.8%."
Source: SQM Research
Darwin has again posted the largest monthly percentage gain in stock levels, rising by 7.3% during March 2015 to 1,964.
Darwin has also recorded the highest increase in stock levels of all the capital cities over the year, increasing by a staggering 42.6% from March 2014.