Property sales soared by over 60% in H1

Of the states and territories, the Northern Territory emerged as the winner, with a 73 per cent increase in property sales from last year, followed by Victoria and Western Australia with 72 per cent.

Meanwhile, Queensland saw a 63 per cent increase, followed by NSW at 55 per cent, South Australia at 52 per cent, Tasmania at 36 per cent, and the ACT at 29 per cent.

Ultimately, the property market remained buoyant in June as sales activity remained strong and prices continued to rise, REA Group’s director of economic research, Cameron Kusher, said.

“All indicators have continued to outperform previous years and remain at historically high levels. Prices continued to rise, search volumes and enquiry on realestate.com.au were high, properties sold rapidly and sales activity was strong,” Mr Kusher said.

“There has been a clear cooling of the market over recent months, but this is to be expected at this time of year during what is typically a quieter period for the housing market,” he noted.

According to REA, buyer interest too has been on a steady incline, with national search volumes up 13.9 per cent year-on-year at the end of June, but 8.6 per cent lower than the historic peak witnessed in February. All states and territories recorded a rise in search volumes year-on-year.

But while search volumes remain buoyant, according to Mr Kusher, they’re unlikely to return to their previous peak, at least until activity ramps up in spring.

Meanwhile, investors continued to stage a comeback, with a 47.1 per cent increase in email enquiry volumes at the end of the first half, compared with the same period last year. In comparison, both buyer and first home buyer email enquiry volumes fell by 7.9 per cent and 37.2 per cent, respectively.

Looking into buyer preference, properties over $1 million were garnering increased interest, accounting for 39 per cent of price filtered searches in June – higher than last year’s 27.1 per cent, while properties valued below $500,000 only accounted for 15.5 per cent of searches.

“With low borrowing costs and prices continuing to rise, we would expect an increasing share of property seekers to be looking for properties priced at least $1 million over the coming months,” Mr Kusher said.

Capital cities showed an even higher interest, with 42.5 per cent of searches for properties priced at least $1 million.

And as space and lifestyle changes emerged during the pandemic, REA revealed that 49.2 of filtered searches sought a property with at least three bedrooms – slightly higher than last year’s 46.9 per cent.

In capital cities, searches for three, four or five-plus bedrooms increased by 66.9 per cent over the year, while regional markets saw an even higher 73.6 per cent rise.

Overall, Mr Kusher said these key metrics show that the Australian property market remains strong despite the possible impacts of the recent state-based lockdowns – although not quite at its pre-Easter glory.

“Over the coming months, it is reasonable to expect some further slowing as we move deeper into winter.

“Spring will be a real test for the market as we typically see an uptick in supply and demand, which may lead to further price increases and housing affordability challenges,” the researcher concluded.