National residential listings fall in July: Louis Christopher
National residential listings fell in July 2017 by 5.1 percent to 316,748, with stock levels down in all capital cities during July according to SQM Research.
Louis Christopher, managing director of SQM said Hobart led the drop in property listings at 10.5 percent, followed by a 7.4 percent fall in Melbourne.
"Listings in both cities were down sharply from a year earlier, keeping upward pressure on asking house and unit prices," he said.
"Compared to a year ago, national residential property listings were down by 9.0 percent.
"There was some seasonality in the numbers, which contributed to the drop in listings. June had an extra weekend while July did not.
"That can make a big difference as each Friday there are several new property listings that enter the market, and so we think June listings were overinflated by this fact.
"Sydney residential property listings fell 5.7 percent as vendors await the spring selling season and sit on the sidelines during the winter period.
"Stock is still in short supply in some cities, particularly in Hobart and Melbourne.
"This has helped to push up asking prices for houses and units in those cities to well over the double digits, with Melbourne’s asking house price growth leading the nation at almost 22 percent over the year to August 1.
"We also probably saw more first home buyers enter the market in July, with Victoria and NSW introducing grants for first homebuyers from July 1, which will push up demand on property and prices."