Spring selling sees east coast boom

The October improvement is “a fairly normal phenomenon during the spring selling season”, according to Louis Christopher, managing director of SQM Research. 

He also highlighted the stronger performances seen across Australia’s two largest cities.

“Sydney and Melbourne have larger counts of new listings compared to this time last year, which should please real estate agents. Old stock still appears to be declining but remains at somewhat elevated levels,” Mr Christopher noted.

Despite stellar Sydney and Melbourne stocks, all states experienced an increase in property sales listings over the month, except for Darwin.

Capital city average asking prices have decreased marginally by 0.7 of a percentage point for houses but increased by 0.3 of a percentage point for units over the period. Average asking prices for houses are now $935,400 while units average at $570,100.

Sydney

Sydney experienced the highest increase percentage for October listings across all major cities, up by 4.2 per cent. Listings are still well short of last year, but down by 19 per cent from 12 months ago.

Sydney’s median asking price for houses had decreased by 1.6 per cent, but there was a 0.7 of a percentage point increase for units. Median price for houses is now $1,283,900 in Sydney, while a unit will set investors back $702,700.

Canberra

Canberra’s October sales listings volume increase was not far behind Sydney, posting a 4.1 per cent increase for the month.

The price of a house in Canberra is slightly down – 0.9 of a percentage point – and now sits at $802,000.

Unit asking prices also fell by 1.8 per cent to $433,500.

Melbourne

Australia’s second largest city saw a 3.7 per cent increase in listings volume from September.

Melbourne’s current median house price is now marked at $955,600 for houses, still sitting below its $1.008 million high in April 2018. 

Units in Melbourne are now setting buyers back an average $547,300.

Brisbane

Volume growth was more subdued in Brisbane but still improved by 1.9 per cent compared with September. 

Brisbane’s median house price increased by 0.8 of a percentage point and has continued its upward growth trajectory that began back in 2009, with the average asking price now sitting at $631,800.

Perth

The west-coast capital saw stronger listings growth, moving up by 2.7 per cent.

The marked increase in supply did not hurt selling prices, which also lifted by 0.7 of a percentage point.

The average asking price is now up at $654,600.

The same cannot be said of units, which are now down by 0.3 of a percentage point for the month and sitting at $377,400. 

Hobart

One of Australia’s property hotspots, Hobart had a marginal increase in listing volumes over the month, at 0.8 of a percentage point.

Values have continued to perform strongly, with asking prices for houses increasing by 1.3 per cent for the month to $528,600 while units increased by 4.8 per cent for the month to $346,800.

Adelaide

Favourable market conditions attracted sellers in Adelaide, with the capital experiencing a 3.4 per cent increase in stocks for properties selling, according to the data.

This had led to stronger asking prices, with the average house increasing by 0.2 of a percentage point for the month to $517,900, while the price had also increased by 1.4 per cent to $301,300.

Darwin

Listings in the far north have not been able to capitalise on the favourable market conditions seen elsewhere, with volumes dropping by 2.4 per cent over October.

The lack of supply has not had the effect of increasing asking prices either, with house values falling by 0.4 of a percentage point for the month to $586,000 and units falling by 8.6 per cent to $319,500.