Australia set for a bumper spring selling season

Property markets across the country are heating up ahead of the traditionally busy spring real estate season as seller uncertainty begins to thaw, with the trend expected to continue.

The latest PropTrack Listings Report shows the number of homes being brought to market surged by 9.2 per cent year-on-year in Sydney and 9.1 per cent in Melbourne.

While other capital cities were flat, the total volume of properties for sale edged upwards by 0.4 per cent in July.

“While part of the reason for that growth is that last July was a slower month, it is not the whole story,” PropTrack economist and report author Angus Moore said.

“There were more new listings in both Sydney and Melbourne in July than has been typical on average for this time of year over the past decade.”

Activity is likely to continue increasing over coming months after what was a particularly quiet start to the year, he said.

Seller activity would typically be low during the colder months. According to CoreLogic data, new listings historically drop by about five per cent between autumn and winter.

“In contrast, through the winter season to-date, new listings have risen by 13.2% this year, driven mostly by a 17.9% rise across the capital cities compared with a 4.6% rise in the flow of new listings across the combined regional areas of the country,” CoreLogic executive research director Tim Lawless said.

That apparent surge in vendor confidence can be attributed to recent rising home prices in almost all capital cities, Mr Lawless said.

July marked the seventh consecutive month that home prices nationally increased – now up 2.8 per cent across the year, according to PropTrack data.

But for some vendors, Mr Lawless said listing now could be a matter of necessity.

“Anecdotally, we may also be seeing more homeowners needing to sell amid a peak in the ‘fixed rate cliff’, elevated interest rates and high cost of living pressures.

“Data on mortgage arrears continues to show a historically small portion of borrowers are behind on their mortgage repayments, however we are likely to see mortgage stress becoming more evident through the second half of the year.”

The trend in rising listings will be a critical factor to monitor in coming months, he said.

“The spring season is shaping up to be a busy one, making up for the relatively sedate spring and early summer selling season last year.

“Through the recent recovery phase to-date, low available supply levels have been the key factor supporting value growth.

“A rise in stock levels could signal a further easing in the pace of capital gains across Australian housing markets as buyers benefit from a broader selection of available housing.”