September sees sharp rise in property listings – dwelling asking prices hit a record high

Last week’s figures from SQM Research show a noteworthy 9.3% increase in national residential property listings in September, reaching a total of 245,445 properties, compared to 224,530 properties recorded in August 2023. This surge can be attributed to a substantial rise in new listings across all capital cities.

Sydney recorded a 12.2% increase in total listings for the month of September, driven by a 12.7% increase in new listings. Melbourne recorded a 10.5% increase in total listings driven by a 10% increase in new listings.

Canberra recorded the largest percentage increase for any capital city with a 16% increase in total listings, driven by a 13.9% increase in new listings for the month.

Total listings

Over a 12-month period, residential property listings nationwide increased by 1.4%. Hobart stood out by consistently reporting a notable increase of 30.3%.

New listings

Nationally, new listings (less than 30 days) rose by 14.3% in September, adding 77,621 new property listings to the market. Notably, Sydney, Melbourne, and Canberra outperformed the national average with increases of 12.7%, 10.0%, and 13.9%, respectively. Additionally, Hobart experienced a remarkable surge in new listings, with a 45.7% jump over Aigust. Meanwhile, both Brisbane and Darwin also saw growth in their new listing numbers, registering increases of 3.4% and 27.6%, respectively.

Old listings

In September, older listings (properties listed for over 180 days) increased by 7.0%, marking a 21.5% rise over the past 12 months. All cities recorded a rise in older stock during the month.

Source: www.sqmresearch.com.au

Distressed listings

SQM Research’s latest report reveals that as of September 2023, the number of residential properties being sold under distressed conditions in Australia has risen to 5,246. This reflects a modest increase of 1.3% compared to the 5,180 distressed listings recorded in August 2023. The uptick in distressed selling activity was primarily driven by increases in New South Wales (4.0%), Victoria (1.5%), Western Australia (3.6%), and a substantial 11.1% increase in the Australian Capital Territory compared to the previous month.

Conversely, Queensland and South Australia have recorded a decrease in distressed listings. SQM Research will maintain close monitoring of these states for any indications of further deterioration and potential spread to other regions in Australia.

Asking prices

In September, asking prices for capital cities increased by 0.9%, marking an 8.1% rise compared to September 2022. Notably, there was a significant surge in asking prices for all units, with a substantial increase of 2.0%. Sydney saw a notable increase of 1.7%, while Melbourne showed a more cautious rise of 0.6%, indicating some restraint among vendors in Melbourne. Additionally, Brisbane recorded a substantial uptick in asking prices, rising by 1.5% for the month and registering an overall increase of 9.8% over the past 12 months.

The rise in asking prices generated new record highs at the national level as well as the capital city level. New record highs were set for Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. The highest recorded median asking price was Sydney Houses, which reached $1,873,000. The most affordable capital city asking price was Darwin units at $374,000.

Louis Christopher, Managing Director of SQM Research said: “The spring selling season is living up to its name once more with a large jump in new listings for September. Nationally, September was the strongest new listings month since April 2022. It was also the strongest September since 2018.

“The pick up in new listings is a sign of confidence from vendors that the current market is offering good selling conditions. Buyers would also be noticing the increase in choice of stock. However, a note of caution as we also did record a rise in older stock which suggests there are vendors with overly lofty pricing expectations in the market. And while activity has increased in 2023, it is not a boom market by any means.