Property listings rise in September: SQM Research
The number of Australian residential property sale listings rose in all capital cities during the month of September 2016, with the Spring selling season attracting vendors into the market, according to SQM Research.
The number of national residential property listings rose 4.3%, with September recording 347,358 new listings, a rise of 2.4% from a year earlier. Sydney led the gains, with a 10.3% jump in monthly listings.
Notably, Sydney property listings have jumped 13.2% from one year ago, reflecting the buoyancy of the property market there and the eagerness of vendors to take advantage of impressive capital gains in that city.
Elsewhere, Brisbane recorded a strong monthly gain of 7.4%, with listings up an impressive 12% from a year earlier. Other cities reporting a big boost in monthly property listings were Canberra, with a 6.5% rise, followed by a 5.1% rise in property listings in Melbourne. Even in Perth, where house prices are falling, monthly listings were up 4.7%, and they are up a healthy 9.6% from a year earlier. Only Hobart listings are down from a year earlier, one of the reasons for strong price rises in the city. Adelaide and Darwin listings posted modest growth.
Asking prices
Sydney and Melbourne property markets are still the strongest in the nation, with high auction clearance rates reflecting strong demand for property in both cities, with buyers still putting up their hands to bid despite high prices.
As can be seen from the table below, asking prices for property have jumped in Melbourne, following on from strong price gains in Sydney, where the insatiable appetite for property is being led by record low interest rates and strong population growth in both cities, especially in Melbourne.
Leading the way, year-on-year results reveal Melbourne median asking prices have jumped 15.1% for houses and 4.8% for units compared to this time last year. Hobart has also recorded yearly changes, with median asking prices for units climbing 25% from a year earlier and unit prices up 6.1%.
Meanwhile, median asking prices for houses in both Darwin and Perth continue to fall. According to SQM Research, the median asking price for a house in Perth is $683,200, 5% lower than this time last year and in Darwin it is $619,700, 6.9% lower.