Residential listings rose nationwide during November

According to the institute’s managing director, Louis Christopher, the 3.4 per cent increase in listings over the last 12 months is modest “given the housing downturn”.

Across the country, Melbourne (6.5 per cent), Perth (3.1 per cent), and Adelaide (3.1 per cent) have reported yearly listing decreases, while Sydney’s figures are up 0.8 per cent during that period.

Astronomical listing increases in Hobart of approximately 75.3 per cent from 1,300 in November 2021 to current levels mark the Tasmanian capital as the national leader in listing increases, followed by Canberra’s 10.7 increase from 2,973 to 3,292 and Brisbane’s 9 per cent jump from 19,305 listings 12 months ago.

Mr Christopher added the national 3.4 per cent figure is “somewhat masked by the fact we had a massive surge in property for sale on the end of lockdowns and other travel restrictions in 2021”.

“However, the marginal rise in old listings confirms this downturn is not severe,” he said. Old listings — those on the market for over 180 days — rose 3.9 per cent during November, led by 14.4 per cent, 13.2 per cent, and 10.8 per cent growth in Canberra, Hobart, and Sydney, respectively,” he said.

More broadly speaking, Hobart led the country for yearly old-listing increases, with a 131.9 per cent increase, followed by Sydney’s 40.1 per cent jump and Melbourne’s 28.3 per cent. 

He added: “One of the key reasons why I was not more negative [about] the outlook on housing for 2023 was because stock listings have remained relatively stable.

“There is nothing in today’s numbers [that] changes my mind on that.”

Furthermore, SQM Research found that, despite increasing by 5.6 per cent in the 12 months to November 2022, distressed sales fell by 2.2 per cent last month, inspired by a 7.2 per cent decline across Queensland.

The ACT experienced the highest increase in distressed sales during November, up 10 per cent from 20 in October to 22 last month, followed by an 8.8 per cent leap across the Northern Territory.