Listing numbers ease in January
The number of residential listings nationally declined during January, new data shows.
“Once again there is seasonality in these numbers, though I do note the falls in January have been far greater than recorded this time last year,” managing director of SQM Research, Louis Christopher, said.
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“We expect a bounce in listings in February as the season opens again. However if the bounce is marginal or there is no bounce at all, then it will be clear to us there is something else is going on in the market, such as listings being absorbed by an increase in buyer activity.”
The total number of listings fell by 4.3 per cent on-month in January, dropping to 368,510. This was led by Sydney, which posted a 15.9 per cent decline to record 28,798 properties for sale.
All cities experienced a monthly drop in sales stock, with Adelaide experiencing the most marginal decline, falling by 0.3 per cent month-on-month to 17,903 listings.
Brisbane posted a 3.5 per cent fall from December to 28,200; Canberra eased 4.4 per cent to 1,823; Darwin was down 13.7 per cent to 1,331; Hobart recorded a 2.8 per cent decline to 4,558; Perth fell 2.5 per cent to 19,078; and Melbourne was down by 8.3 per cent at 44,544.
Year-on-year, national stock on market has increased by 13.5 per cent, with both Hobart and Melbourne continuing to record excessively high yearly increases – 40.9 per cent and 33.2 per cent respectively.
