‘Strong seller’s market’ pinpointed in Adelaide

“I have observed across the market a heavy reduction in the volume of homes listed for sale; in some areas, listings are down more than 30 per cent from the same time last year,” Mr Packham explained.

“The number of buyers in search of a home, however, seems largely unchanged. This has caused a ‘seller’s market’ where a large volume of buyers find themselves competing over a reduced volume of available homes for sale.”

Sales representative Ben Gow of Harcourts Sergeant offered a similar sentiment, giving the example of the strong demand.

“3 Penrith Street, Redwood Park. I had the property live online Thursday afternoon with the first open on the Saturday. The open attracted 61 groups, and due to the demand, I opened the home again on the following Monday evening, which attracted a further 27 groups. A total of 88 groups in two opens. The property had nine offers received, four were above the top end of the advertised range. We were officially sold, eight days on the market,” he said.

Commenting further on the state of the market, Mr Gow said: “Those who have stable jobs are wanting to act faster and get into the market before any further uncertainty hits, especially those first home buyers. I’ve noticed a huge increase in the market with this buyer group. Most have missed out on other homes they’ve loved, so fear of loss has set in. They are happy to part with their money and, at times, pay well above the price guide to avoid missing out yet again.

“The old saying goes ‘supply versus demand’. Currently, supply is at an all-time low, yet buyer demand is at an all-time high. Add huge amounts of buyer competition to open inspections, fear of loss from buyers, and that is a recipe for selling your home for the highest price in the shortest amount of time,” Mr Gow said.

Mr Packham added: “There has been a misconception and COVID-19 has effectively created a slingshot effect. The current market provides a great opportunity to attract attention from a large audience of buyers and achieve a high price with shorter days on market.”