Property sales volumes soar in 2021

In most states, volumes are more than 30 per cent higher than they were a year ago, with the Northern Territory well ahead of the pack at 78 per cent.

Next in line was Western Australia with 47 per cent, Queensland with 39 per cent and Victoria with 35 per cent. In fact, last in line and well below the pack was Tasmania with sales activity up a slim 11 per cent in the first 11 weeks of 2021 compared with the same period last year.

But despite a strong start, transaction volumes show no signs of slowing down, with last week’s figure trumping that of a year ago by 41 per cent, indicating that activity has returned much earlier and stronger this year than last.

And despite an expected increase in new supply, REA is predicting transaction activity to remain strong over the coming weeks, on the back of record-low borrowing costs.

Moreover, REA pointed to a decline in days on market, with properties generally selling quicker than they were a year ago.

According to the property group, as of February 2021, the typical property that was sold had been listed for sale on realestate.com.au for 48 days compared with the 71-day peak in June 2020 and 52 days in February last year.

Higher-priced property appeal rises

Other interesting trends that emerged in REA’s new report include an increasing preference among buyers for higher-priced properties.

Namely, in February 2020, 16.5 per cent of capital city searches were under $500,000; 46.8 per cent were between $500,000 and $1 million; and 36.8 per cent were over $1 million. By comparison, in February 2021, 13.0 per cent were under $500,000; 46.2 per cent were between $500,000 and $1 million; and 40.8 per cent were over $1 million.

In the non-capital city markets, searches under $500,000 accounted for 34.2 per cent of searches in 2020 versus 26.7 per cent in 2021; searches between $500,000 and $1 million accounted for 51.2 per cent in 2020 and 52.2 per cent in 2021, while searches over $1 million accounted for 14.5 per cent of searches in 2020 compared with 21.1 per cent in 2020.

But while more expensive properties are drawing high attention, there has been relatively minimal change in the property configuration buyers are looking for, according to REA.

In fact, across the capital cities, there has been negligent change in search behaviour over the year, with a slight increase in searches for properties with at least three bedrooms. In regional markets, it is a similar story, with most searches for two and three-bedroom properties, and minimal changes or declines in searches for other property types.