Market activity has been far busier than the typical start of winter, with the number of properties listed for sale nationally on realestate.com.au reaching the busiest June level in more than a decade.
This was according to REA Group’s PropTrack Listings Report June 2022, a monthly report analysing new and total listings on realestate.com.au to provide the most up-to-date view on property market supply trends.
According to the report, new listings were down 3.1% across the country month-on-month in June, reflecting the typically quieter winter period; but were up 8.5% year-on-year nationally, making it the busiest June for new listings since 2011.
Sydney had the busiest start to winter since 2015, with a 1.3% increase in new listings compared to the previous year, while Melbourne’s small uptick in new listings, a 0.5% lift YoY, saw it reach its busiest start to winter since 2012.
Across the country, similar trends have been observed, with new listings up compared to the same time last year in almost all capital cities. In regional areas, meanwhile, new listings rose 2.5% MoM in June to be 12.9% higher than last year.
Angus Moore, PropTrack economist and report author, said there has been a brisk pace of new listings in the first half of 2022, and while conditions are likely to ease a little over the typically quiet winter period, activity has remained robust in many markets.
“Though selling conditions broadly have begun to temper after a very strong spring 2021 and early 2022, fundamental drivers of demand remain strong, with unemployment low, wages growth expected to pick up over this year, and international migration now returning,” Moore said. “At the same time, buyers have had more properties to choose from in recent months. The wave of new supply coming to market over the first half of the year, particularly in Sydney, Melbourne, and Canberra, has lifted the stock available on the market and eased how competitive conditions had been. Finally, after growth hit multi-decade highs in 2021, home prices are falling in many cities. The Reserve Bank of Australia has raised interest rates significantly in the past few months and will continue to do so over the course of 2022. That will place greater downward pressure on prices.”
