Property listings decreased in April: SQM Research
National residential listings decreased by 6.3% in April 2019, according to new figures from SQM Research.
Listings across the country dropped from 354,459 in March to 332,236.
All states experienced a decrease in property sales listings over the month, with Sydney experiencing the highest decrease at 11.1%.
It was followed by Melbourne at 8.9% and Canberra 8.8%. Darwin recorded the lowest decrease at 4.3%.
Compared to a year ago, national listings rose 2.2% with Melbourne recording the biggest increase of 18.2% year-on-year, followed by Canberra at 15.3% increase. Sydney only mustered a 0.7% increase year-on-year.
City | April 2018 Total | March 2019 Total | April 2019 Total | Monthly change % | Yearly change % |
Sydney | 33,364 | 37,813 | 33,610 | -11.1% | 0.7% |
32,378 | 42,001 | 38,277 | -8.9% | 18.2% | |
Brisbane | 30,419 | 33,815 | 31,476 | -6.9% | 3.5% |
Perth | 26,548 | 28,114 | 26,178 | -6.9% | -1.4% |
Adelaide | 16,235 | 17,370 | 16,355 | -5.8% | 0.7% |
Canberra | 3,895 | 4,928 | 4,492 | -8.8% | 15.3% |
Darwin | 2,089 | 2,047 | 1,960 | -4.3% | -6.2% |
Hobart | 2,270 | 2,503 | 2,335 | -6.7% | 2.9% |
National | 325,147 | 354,459 | 332,236 | -6.3% | 2.2% |
Louis Christopher, Managing Director of SQM Research, said it's not uncommon to see the decline due to the holiday month we've just had.
“The decrease is mainly due to the Easter long weekend and ANZAC day public holidays in the month of April which had only 3 weekends of trade compared to March which had 5 weekends," Christopher said.
"That said, I note Sydney listings are now only up by just 0.7% year on year.
"If Sydney listings are starting to peak that could be a sign we are getting closer to the bottom in this downturn.
"However the election could also be having an impact here, with both buyers and sellers waiting until the election is over before making decisions on buying and selling.”
Asking Prices
Capital city house asking prices increased marginally by 0.1% but units decreased by 0.6% for the month to 30 April 2019. The average unit asking prices are now $559,900 and houses $908,800.
Darwin’s unit price had the highest decrease at nearly 10% over the month followed by Hobart with a 5.3% decrease in unit prices. However, Hobart’s house prices saw the highest increase at 1.4% over the month.
Sydney’s house and unit prices each dropped by 0.5% over the month. The average house price in Sydney is now $1,229,100 and a unit is $686,500 – both back to 2016 prices.
Sydney’s 12 month decline is now 9.3% for houses and 5.8% for units. Melbourne’s house and unit prices also continue to decline over the 12 months to 30 April at 7.1% and 0.1% respectively.
Perth experienced a marginal growth in house prices of 0.3% but unit prices continue to decline at 0.1%.
Year-on-year capital city asking prices also posted declines of 6.5% for houses and 3.8% for units.
Hobart continued to show the strongest growth year-on-year for houses with a 7.9% increase but units declined 0.3% over the 12 months.
SQM Research Weekly Asking Prices Index
Week ending: 30 Apr 2019 | Asking Price | Change on | Rolling month | 12 month | |
All Houses | 1,229.2 | -4.3 | -0.5% | -9.3% | |
All Units | 686.5 | -0.7 | -0.5% | -5.8% | |
All Houses | 937.2 | 2.3 | 0.7% | -7.1% | |
All Units | 543.8 | -0.8 | -1.3% | -0.1% | |
All Houses | 616.7 | 0.1 | 0.2% | 1.0% | |
All Units | 372.1 | -0.2 | -0.9% | -2.4% | |
All Houses | 667.9 | -1.1 | 0.3% | -2.9% | |
All Units | 383.3 | -0.2 | -0.1% | -4.0% | |
All Houses | 512.2 | 0.3 | -0.3% | 0.6% | |
All Units | 300.3 | -1.0 | -0.3% | -1.5% | |
All Houses | 818.9 | 0.9 | -0.0% | 3.1% | |
All Units | 421.3 | 0.6 | 0.2% | 1.0% | |
All Houses | 585.0 | -0.2 | 0.2% | -1.4% | |
All Units | 362.5 | -5.8 | -9.9% | -4.8% | |
All Houses | 515.0 | 5.4 | 1.4% | 7.9% | |
All Units | 304.2 | -2.2 | -5.3% | -0.3% | |
All Houses | 566.9 | 0.7 | -0.3% | -0.4% | |
All Units | 377.0 | -0.2 | 0.9% | 0.1% | |
All Houses | 908.8 | -1.9 | 0.1% | -6.5% | |
All Units | 559.9 | -0.6 | -0.6% | -3.8% | |
Source: www.sqmresearch.com.au