Sydney property listings reach post-GFC low: SQM Research
Residential property listings in Sydney have reached their lowest point since mid-2008, according to new data from SQM Research.
January saw 20,080 residential listings in the city, a decrease of 3.4% from December. The previous low in listings for Sydney was recorded by SQM in January 2010, when 20,687 properties were listed.
Source: SQM Research
The only other capital city to record a drop in listings for January 2014 was Melbourne, where listings fell 1.9% to 39,740. Property markets in Melbourne and Sydney have both tightened over the last year, with a decrease in listings of 5.4% and 17% respectively from January 2013 to January 2014.
Accordingly, prices have increased in both cities over the past year. SQM Research managing director Louis Christopher believes that the stock on market data could point to continued growth in Sydney’s property market, estimating that dwelling prices will increase by 15-20% during 2014.
“Over the course of early 2009 through to early 2010, Sydney house prices rose by 19.6%,” said Christopher.
“Sydney real estate listings were higher at that time than what it is now. This is one of the primary pieces of evidence as to why we have been so bullish on the Sydney market for this year.”
SQM Research’s Asking Price Index also shows that Sydney vendors have increased their asking prices by an average of 11% for houses since January 2013. Asking prices for units in Sydney have risen by 4.6% over the same period.
Nationally, 342,157 residential properties were listed on the market during January. Stock on market rose 1.3% from the previous month, reflecting the traditionally slow December holiday period.
Darwin recorded a large increase in January residential listings, with 1,373 properties on the market – a yearly increase of 23.1%, potentially pointing to a market slow-down in the city. However, Darwin, as Australia’s smallest capital city, consistently has the lowest number of residences on the market, magnifying any proportional changes recorded.
SQM Research began recording market on stock in April 2008.
