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The start of the spring season has seen a drop in new listings, according to fresh data from REA Group.
The group’s PropTrack Listings Report September 2022 showed new listings nationally were down 7.5 per cent on August’s figures. For the year, this brings new listings down 9.2 per cent.
Breaking down the figures, Brisbane saw the highest monthly decline in new listings, recording a 13.3 per cent drop.
This was followed by Sydney at 13 per cent, Adelaide at 10.7 per cent, Melbourne at 6.8 per cent, Perth at 5.1 per cent, and Hobart at 0.7 per cent.
Regional areas also saw the number of new listings drop, with 4.7 per cent less in September than in August — 5.5 per cent down from the same time last year.
Oppositely, Darwin and Canberra recorded small increases in the number of new listings at 2 per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively.
PropTrack economist and report author Angus Moore said the results could, in part, be due to the disruption created by various public holidays.
“The National Day of Mourning and the AFL grand final public holiday likely delayed some vendors’ selling campaigns in September, with property market activity unseasonably slower than in August,” he said.
That being said, Mr Moore noted that the drop in activity could also be put down to an active first half of the year.
“After a busy first half of the year, and busier-than-typical winter, property markets have had a slightly slower start to spring,” Mr Moore said.
“... While disruptions due to the public holidays likely played a part, selling conditions have tempered from their very strong levels earlier in the year. The slower month for new listings could be an indication that we are starting to see activity slow after a very busy first half of the year in property markets. However, with only one month’s worth of data, and a public-holiday-affected month at that, it is too soon to be able to draw firm conclusions.”
Commenting further on the findings, Mr Moore noted home prices have continued to decline in most cities after growth “hit multi-decade highs in 2021 and are now down 3.4 per cent nationally from the peak in March”.
“The Reserve Bank of Australia has continued to raise interest rates at a brisk pace, with a sixth consecutive interest rate rise in October, which has brought the cash rate up 2.5 percentage points since May,” he added.
“The RBA is likely to continue raising rates over the course of 2022, which will reduce borrowing capacities for prospective buyers and place greater downward pressure on prices in the near term.
“Looking further ahead, the fundamental drivers of demand remain strong, with unemployment very low, wages growth expected to pick up over this year, and international migration increasing.”
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