All capital cities, except Perth and Hobart, recorded an increase in listings in October, with Canberra (+5.9%), Sydney (+4.7%), and Melbourne (+3.9%) the stand outs. That said, Sydney’s listings fell by a staggering 17.3% over the year, and are now 45% lower than Melbourne’s despite its larger population.
According to SQM Research’s managing director, Louis Christopher:
“October has recorded a fairly benign increase in real estate listings which was similar in magnitude to the increase recorded this time last year. Increases in listings during the spring months tend to be part of the normal seasonality of the residential property market. To this end there has been nothing too abnormal in the results other than I note what now seems to be a continued uptrend in supply for the Darwin housing market, which suggests to me a forthcoming slowdown in that city. Hobart on the other hand is now providing a signal that there is now a bottom in the market there after nearly three years of dwelling price falls. Going forward, I expect a lift in listings for November in most cities as what is normally the case for this time of year.”
