Residential listings increase in Sydney
Sydney recorded the largest monthly increase in residential listings in February across the major cities, according to new data by SQM Research.
According to the latest stock on market report, residential listings remained steady last month with a national total of 368,123, while Sydney recorded a 10.5 per cent rise coming to a total of 31,833 properties.
This figure represents a difference of only 387 listings since January 2012.
After two consecutive monthly declines, it appears that stock levels have stabilized during February, with Sydney and Canberra being the only capital cities to record a substantial increase in sales stock.
“It is more evidence that stock levels have been peaking, particularly for the cities of Perth and Brisbane which having been recording some signs of a recovery on other measurements,” the managing director of SQM Research Louis Christopher said.
“Overall we are cautious, perhaps a little more cautious than at the start of the year, given the lackluster start to the auction season and the rise in interest rates by the major banks, which we believe has dented sentiment towards real estate.”
Year-on-year, stock levels have recorded a 7.7 per cent national increase – a modest rise in comparison to past months which can be attributed to not only a slight decrease in stock but also to the fact that the nation was already experiencing significant increases at this point last year, making the comparison between now and the corresponding period of the previous year sizeably less extreme.