Asking prices jump in Sydney and Melbourne
Asking prices for houses in Melbourne are 11.4 percent higher than a year ago, and in Sydney the figure was 11.5 percent, according to SQM Research.
Hobart also recorded outsized gains, while Brisbane, Canberra, and Adelaide each recorded moderate increases.
A key driver appears to be a lack of new stock being brought to market, with upgraders perhaps discouraged by prohibitive transaction costs in the form of stamp duty.
Sydney listings were down by 6.6 percent in January from a month earlier to just 21,633 (remember that Sydney is Australia's most populous capital city, and this number is much lower than in Melbourne, and even Brisbane and Perth).
It's still quite early in the year to make an accurate assessment, but if this trend towards a constipated market continues there will be a relatively high amount of competition for not much stock this year in Sydney and Melbourne.