Vendor caution drives declines in property listings

Sydney saw the biggest drop in figures, recording a 12.9 per cent decline over the month. The NSW capital was closely followed by Melbourne; listings fell by 12.3 per cent during the same period.

Other cities to record significant falls in listings were Canberra (down 11.3 per cent) Brisbane (down 11.0 per cent) and Adelaide (10.2 per cent). 

On an annual basis, total residential property listings across the country edged down by 0.8 per cent. All cities saw declines during the period, with the exception of Hobart and Canberra, which recorded 62.6 per cent and 9.1 per cent year-on-year gains, respectively. 

On one hand, the top three cities to record annual declines were Perth (15.5 per cent), Sydney (13.2 per cent) and Melbourne (10.4 per cent).

Louis Christopher, the managing director of SQM Research, noted that while April is typically a month that sees falls in listings activity primarily due to the multiple public and school holiday periods, the declines appear to be “greater than normal for this time of year”. 

Data showed the decline was mainly driven by a steep 20.2 per cent fall in new listings in April, with only 60,457 new property listings added to the market. Over the last 12-month period, new listings across combined capital cities have fallen by 24.1 per cent while old listings have jumped by 28.1 per cent. 

During the month, Sydney, Hobart, and Melbourne experienced the greatest falls in new property listings, with drops of 23.8 per cent, 23.5 per cent, and 21.4 per cent, respectively. 

In contrast, Darwin was the only city to see an increase in new listings, with the Northern Territory capital recording a 16.7 per cent gain. 

Old listings or properties also declined by 3.6 per cent, with the steepest drops recorded in Canberra (7.7 per cent) Sydney (6.5 per cent) and Melbourne (6.0 per cent)

“The corresponding large falls in new listings combined with an uncharacteristic fall in older listings suggests some vendor caution selling at this point in time. 

“And those vendors who are on the market want more for their property as asking prices rose again for the month, though we note weakness in the regions.”

Vendor asking prices rose by 0.2 per cent nationally, the second consecutive monthly rise in the figures. Perth recorded the strongest increase, with house and unitasking prices rising by 1.7 per cent and 1.6 per cent respectively. 

In a positive sign, the number of properties selling under distressed conditions decreased across Australia by 6.9 per cent to 5,793 from 6,220 distressed listings recorded in March.

The decrease in distressed selling activity was mainly driven by falls in Western Australia (down 17.1 per cent), ACT (down 7.9 per cent ) and the Northern Territory (down 7.1 per cent ) compared to last month. 

Mr Christopher believes the latest figures should reassure buyers who fear a large-scale mortgage reset could be on the horizon.

“Going forward, it is likely we will see a bounce in new activity for May. The key will be if we record another fall in older stock, as that will confirm to us [that] buyer activity has risen,” he said.