Vendors Struggle To Sell Old Listings
The number of Sydney homes stagnant on the market rose significantly.
< 1 min
The number of old listings has risen sharply in Sydney and Melbourne in May as vendors struggle to find a buyer within a reasonable timeframe amid falling demand according to data from SQM Research.
The number of Sydney homes on the market for longer than six months rose by 9.6% to 4032 in May. In Melbourne, it’s a similar story up 6.3% to 6378. This build-up of older listings will continue to heap downward pressure on prices as the market moves into a correction.
Staggeringly, across the country, there are 49,813 homes on the market for at least 180 days.
According to SQM research managing director Louis Christopher, this number is only going to increase with further rate rises predicted and fewer buyers coming on to the market.
“There are fewer buyers compared to available stock, which means older stock is piling up, and it’s taking longer to sell property.”
Sydney inner west saw the number of homes on the market for at least six months jump by 18.6%. In the eastern suburb, it climbed by 11.4% and on the northern beaches by 24%.
Old stock in the inner east Melbourne rose by 5%, and 11% in the north-west of Melbourne.
Outside of the major east coast markets of Sydney and Melbourne, listings of over 180 days have also increased in Perth, up 3.4% to 4032, while in Canberra they rose 4.8% to 219, and in Hobart by 13.3% to 213.
There was a small lift in older listings in Adelaide and Darwin while Brisbane bucked the trend dropping 5.5%.
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
Americans now think they need at least $1.25 million for retirement, a 20% increase from a year ago, according to a survey by Northwestern Mutual
Philip Lowe’s comments come amid property industry concerns about pressures on mortgage holders and rising rents
2 min
Leaders in Australia’s property industry are calling on the RBA to hit the pause button on further interest rate rises following yesterday’s announcement to raise the cash rate to 4.1 percent.
CEO of the REINSW, Tim McKibbin, said it was time to let the 12 interest rate rises since May last year take effect.
“The REINSW would like to see the RBA hit pause and allow the 12 rate rises to date work their way through the economy. Property prices have rebounded because of supply and demand. I think that will continue with the rate rise,” said Mr McKibbin.
The Real Estate Institute of Australia today released its Housing Affordability Report for the March 2023 quarter which showed that in NSW, the proportion of family income required to meet the average loan repayments has risen to 55 percent, up from 44.5 percent a year ago.
Chief economist at Ray White, Nerida Conisbee, said while this latest increase would probably not push Australia into a recession, it had major implications for the housing market and the needs of ordinary Australians.
“As more countries head into recession, at this point, it does look like the RBA’s “narrow path” will get us through while taming inflation,” she said.
“In the meantime however, it is creating a headache for renters, buyers and new housing supply that is going to take many years to resolve.
“And every interest rate rise is extending that pain.”
In a speech to guests at Morgan Stanley’s Australia Summit released today, Governor Philip Lowe addressed the RBA board’s ‘narrow path’ approach, navigating continued economic growth while pushing inflation from its current level of 6.8 percent down to a more acceptable level of 2 to 3 percent.
“It is still possible to navigate this path and our ambition is to do so,” Mr Lowe said. “But it is a narrow path and likely to be a bumpy one, with risks on both sides.”
However, he said the alternative is persistent high inflation, which would do the national economy more damage in the longer term.
“If inflation stays high for too long, it will become ingrained in people’s expectations and high inflation will then be self-perpetuating,” he said. “As the historical experiences shows, the inevitable result of this would be even higher interest rates and, at some point, a larger increase in unemployment to get rid of the ingrained inflation.
“The Board’s priority is to do what it can to avoid this.”
While acknowledging that another rate rise would adversely affect many households, Mr Lowe said it was unavoidable if inflation was to be tamed.
“It is certainly true that if the Board had not lifted interest rates as it has done, some households would have avoided, for a short period, the financial pressures that come with higher mortgage rates,” he said.
“But this short-term gain would have been at a much higher medium-term cost. If we had not tightened monetary policy, the cost of living would be higher for longer. This would hurt all Australians and the functioning of our economy and would ultimately require even higher interest rates to bring inflation back down.
“So, as difficult as it is, the rise in interest rates is necessary to bring inflation back to target in a reasonable timeframe.”
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
Americans now think they need at least $1.25 million for retirement, a 20% increase from a year ago, according to a survey by Northwestern Mutual
