This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
RESIDENTIAL property listings tumbled in May with the record low interest rate spurring buyers.
According to SQM Research, asking prices are also up 1% for the month.
National residential property listings fell to 350,333, down 4.3% from April 2016. The volume of listings are 2.7% lower than the same time a year ago.
Adelaide recorded the largest monthly fall, down 6.2% to 16,928. It was followed by Hobart with 6.1% decline to 3,608. Hobart also recorded the biggest yearly decline, down 11.8%.
Notably, property listings in Sydney fell by 5.1% during the month to 25,690 properties, although they remain 16.9% higher than a year ago.
“It’s possible the interest rate cut at the beginning of the month may have already led to an increase in buyer confidence, leading to higher absorption rates for listed properties,” SQM Research managing director Louis Christopher said.
“Certainly, it seems that vendors were a little more confident during the month with vendor asking prices rising across most cities. From a forecasting perspective we are pleased that our 2016 forecasts made in October last year, seem to be on target for all cities,” he added.
Melbourne listings declined by 5.5% to 37,350 properties and is 6.4% lower than a year ago.
Year-on-year results reveal Melbourne median asking prices have risen 13.4% for houses and 6.4% for units compared to this time last year.
Canberra has also experienced yearly changes with median asking prices for houses climbing 10.4% and 0.2% for units.
The median asking price for houses increased by 1% to $827,100 and unit was up 0.5% to $526,000.
Australian Property Journal
