New residential listings rose 12 per cent over September with 73,812 homes added to the market nationwide, but the gain was offset by the overall decline in housing stock, which fell by 0.6 per cent during the same period as buyer demand outpaced supply.
The SQM Research data showed fresh listings climbed 23.1 per cent in Sydney during the month, adding 12,743 new stock to the market, while Melbourne rose by 9.9 per cent to 12,057 as the end of the lockdowns encouraged vendors to re-enter the market.
All the other capitals recorded a rise in new listings for the month except for Canberra and Hobart, which posted a 15.9 per cent and 5.8 per cent drop respectively.
New homes for sale have more than doubled (173.8 per cent) in Melbourne in the past year – the largest gain across all capitals – followed by Darwin with 98.8 per cent rise and a 28.4 per cent lift in Perth.
Brisbane, Adelaide and Hobart rose by 6.2 per cent on average, but fell by 28 per cent in Canberra.
Total listings also fell 25.9 per cent during the past year, with Sydney, Hobart, Adelaide, Canberra and Brisbane posting the largest declines, as buyer demand outpaced supply.
“Absorption rates are very high at the moment, where buyers are sucking up stock more quickly than the rate of new listings that can be added into the market,” said SQM Research managing director Louis Christopher.
Shortage of listings
“As we enter into the traditional spring selling season, there remains a shortage of listings across Australia.”
Mr Christopher said more stock was coming in October and November, but the strong demand was unlikely to slow down the price growth momentum.
“I’m expecting a surge in activity following the end of lockdown this month in Sydney, and hopefully in Melbourne as well,” he said.
“I think we’re going to see a jump in new listings but the falling levels of total stock on the market highlight the fact that there are more buyers than sellers in the marketplace and that’s what ultimately pushes prices up.
“I do not expect any type of material slowdown in the market before Christmas, as low interest rates continue to stimulate the housing market and the expected economic uplift following the end of lockdown will also likely create stimulus for housing.”
Sydney vendors lifted their asking prices by 4 per cent in Sydney during the month, while those in Melbourne raised them by 0.9 per cent. Asking price rose by 3.1 per cent in Brisbane and nationally by 1.9 per cent.
“The markets are moving forward and there’s a lot of confidence that prices will move forward from here,” Mr Christopher said. “There’s still a lot of momentum in the marketplace, and I’m not seeing a lot of slowing down in our leading indicators.”
This article is from Australian Financial Review, please click the following link for the original article: https://www.afr.com/property/residential/new-home-listings-jump-23-per-cent-in-sydney-20211005-p58xal
