Spring selling season to be busy: PropTrack

The spring selling season is set to be a busy one, according to property data service platform PropTrack, which found it started the season 4.5 per cent higher than a year ago despite a slight monthly dip for September.

Real estate organisation REA Group, on Friday (13 October), released the PropTrack Listings Report September 2023, which analysed the month’s results.

The report found the number of new listings across Australia’s combined capital cities was 5.9 per cent higher in September this year compared to last, with regional area new listings also up 2.3 per cent over the last 12 months.

However, new listings in the combined capital cities fell 11 per cent from August to September, while regional areas remained relatively steady only dipping 0.3 per cent month on month, which was attributed to an “unseasonably busy end to winter”.

The report also saw Sydney’s selling activity grow the most, with new listings up 21.3 per cent year on year, followed by Melbourne, up 10.1 per cent and Canberra with an increase of 4.9 per cent.

It likewise found Perth recorded the largest annual drop of any capital city, with new listings down 12.8 per cent year on year, followed by Darwin (down 11.3 per cent) and Brisbane (down 4.2 per cent).

PropTrack economist and report author Anne Flaherty stated: “After an unseasonably busy end to winter, the number of homes newly listed for sale dipped slightly in September compared to August, due to the impacts of school holidays and a long weekend in a number of states. Even so, it was a busier start to spring, with new listings picking up from 12 months ago and sitting 3.5 per cent higher nationally.

“An improvement in seller sentiment is a key driver behind the annual rise in the number of new listings. This time last year, sentiment among both buyers and sellers was declining, with the market in the midst of one of the most aggressive series of interest rate hikes ever undertaken by the Reserve Bank.

“Interest rates are now largely predicted to have reached their peak, having held steady since July. This has supported a recovery in sentiment which, according to realestate.com.au’s Residential Audience Pulse, has recorded a significant jump from the start of the year.”

Ms Flaherty added that while spring is “typically the most popular time of year to sell a property, it isn’t uncommon for fewer new listings to be seen in September compared to August, with this occurring during five of the past 10 years”.

She also said that the outlook for the property market “remains strong”, after property prices “climbed every month in 2023”.

“Australia’s population is growing at record speeds which is driving increased demand for housing,” Ms Flaherty commented.

[Related: Home values soar in northern Sydney: PropTrack]