Buyers call the shots as prices stall

QUEENSLAND has been labelled an extreme buyers' market, with home hunters able to negotiate affordable prices.

QUEENSLAND has been labelled an extreme buyers' market, with home hunters able to negotiate affordable prices, according to the latest Commonwealth Bank/RP Data Home Buyers Index.

The number of homes advertised for sale across Australia outstripped the number of loans approved in the three months to November 2012, making it officially a buyers' market, but in Queensland and Tasmania market conditions were found to be well and truly skewed towards the buyer.

RP Data's senior research analyst Cameron Kusher said plenty of stock and a low number of buyers meant it was an ideal time for property hunters to hone their negotiation skills.

Lifestyle destinations such as the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, far north and Wide Bay-Burnett were ranked in the top 10 best buyers' markets nationally.

In Brisbane, the ratio of supply to demand was unchanged over the quarter as conditions continued to favour buyers, although new figures from SQM Research show listings dropped by 6.8 per cent in December from the previous month, to 25,475.

The Home Buyers Index showed extreme buying conditions across more than half of the Brisbane region, with the most challenging selling conditions generally found in the more affordable regions outside the Brisbane City Council boundary.

Mr Kusher said low growth in house prices over the past decade meant many potential buyers had opted to boost their savings or pay down debt rather than upsize their home.

Some sellers were even opting to leave their house listed for sale online while waiting for the right offer to bite.

"In some instances people have a figure in their heads and if they don't get it they stay where they are,'' he said.

"That's become a lot easier because of online real estate portals.''