National property listings rise while asking house prices slide in big cities : SQM

Figures released today by SQM Research reveal national residential listings rose 1.9% in June 2018.

Total listings went up to 331,407 led by a jump in Brisbane properties hitting the market.

Strong rises were also posted in Sydney and Melbourne, with greater stock in those cities pushing down asking house prices.

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Property listings rose 3.8% in Brisbane in June, while in Sydney listing rose by 3.0% from May to be up 25.0% from a year earlier.

In Melbourne, listing rose by 2.3% to be up 7.7% over the year to June 30.

In Canberra, listing rose by 1.1%, 11.0% higher than a year ago.

Listing were steady in Hobart, but they are 25.8% lower than a year earlier, with a property shortage still prevailing there.

Louis Christopher, managing director of SQM Research, said "A greater supply of properties for sale has emerged in most capital cities compared to a year ago, however, that has weighed on asking property prices, especially in Sydney and Melbourne".

“We are seeing more property being listed in Sydney and Melbourne compared to a year ago, which is pushing down asking house prices in both cities and even in Hobart, price growth has slowed despite the ongoing shortage of properties for sale there,” said Christopher.

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Capital city average asking prices fell 1.4% for houses to $962,600 while unit asking prices rose just 0.2% to $580,600 for the month to 3 July.

Sydney led the losses, with asking house prices falling 1.4%. Over the year, asking house prices were down by 0.2% to $1.35 million, reflecting a slowdown of the property market in the nation’s largest capital city.

In Melbourne, asking price for houses fell 1.3% over the month and rose 6.4% over the year, lower than 20%-plus levels a year ago.

Hobart’s growth in asking property prices is cooling too despite a fall in listings, with house prices up by 2.4% over the month to 3 July and up just 5.7% over the year, also down from 20%-plus gains a year through 2017.