August listings fall to record low

According to the report, this current number of listings represents the lowest count of listings recorded by SQM Research since it began its series in January 2010.

“Listing counts over August were predominantly impacted by lockdowns, particularly for Sydney,” SQM Research managing director Louis Christopher said.

All capital cities saw listings fall month on month, with Canberra seeing the largest drop in listings at 18.4 per cent, followed by Melbourne and Sydney at 13.1 per cent and 11.9 per cent, respectively.

Despite the significant fall, Sydney and Melbourne still hold the largest number of total listings of all capital cities at 32,445 and 22,387, respectively.

Annually, seven of eight capital cities saw listings decline, with the exception of Darwin which saw listings rise by 2 per cent.

New listings

New listings, or those that have been in the market for less than 30 days, fell by 7.8 per cent to 65,948 properties over August. Over the year, however, the numbers rose by 8 per cent.

The largest monthly drop in new listings was recorded in Melbourne at 31.2 per cent. 

Still, the Victorian capital recorded the highest number of new listings at 10,975, followed closely by Sydney at 10,354.

Of the capital cities, only Adelaide, Darwin and Perth saw new listings rise over the month, by 10.5 per cent, 6.1 per cent and 3.6 per cent, respectively.

In contrast, annual data saw more positive results, with only three of the capital cities recording declines, including Sydney (-19 per cent), Canberra (-6.8 per cent) and Brisbane (-0.3 of a percentage point).

Darwin, in particular, saw the largest increase in new listings year on year at 50.3 per cent, followed by Melbourne with 46.4 per cent and Perth with 29.6 per cent.

Old listings

Old listings, or those that have been in the market for greater than 180 days, declined monthly by 10.3 per cent and annually by an even greater 53.2 per cent.

Month on month, Canberra saw the largest decline at 18 per cent, followed by Brisbane with 10.9 per cent and Adelaide with 10.3 per cent. Only Melbourne saw a monthly increase at 2.6 per cent.

Annually, all capital cities recorded declines in old listings, with Hobart seeing the biggest drop at 64.7 per cent, followed by Canberra with 60.5 per cent, and Adelaide and Brisbane with 59.4 per cent.

“Older listings also had another monthly fall, indicating strong absorption rates across the country,” Mr Christopher noted.

“Going forward, we are cautious for the market, given the likely economic damage as a result of these latest city-wide closures.”

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