‘Listings are starting to pile up’: Where Sydney home owners are selling now

Home buyers have more choice than usual this spring in sought-after Sydney neighbourhoods such as the northern beaches, eastern suburbs, inner west and Sutherland.

And the range of new properties for sale is even wider in western pockets such as Blacktown and Baulkham Hills, CoreLogic data shows.

Michaela McClellan and her husband Ashley are selling their home this spring.Credit: James Brickwood

There are 24.1 per cent more new listings in the inner west over the past four weeks compared to the previous five-year average, as owners are more likely to decide to sell their homes than usual.

New listings are also higher than average in Sutherland (21.6 per cent), the eastern suburbs (10.7 per cent), the northern beaches (8.8 per cent) and the city and inner south (8.4 per cent).

CoreLogic head of Australian research Eliza Owen said these sought-after areas lend themselves to spring sales.

“The weather is nicer, properties look better, and new listings are often detached homes with big gardens,” Owen said.

Owen said there are a lot of properties coming onto the market.

“The northern beaches is a good example where values are well below historic highs, value growth over the past few months has been a little weak, but there’s still lots of people trying to sell over the past few weeks as we head into spring,” she said.

Owen believes the high listing numbers in areas further west such as Blacktown and Baulkham Hills may be due to mortgage stress and serviceability issues.

Blacktown, 34km west of the CBD, has seen a surge of 47.9 per cent in new listings compared to the five-year average.

In Baulkham Hills and the Hawkesbury region, new listings have risen 44.8 per cent compared to usual.

“Blacktown has been associated with a bit of motivated and distressed selling, which could have placed additional pressure on supply,” she said.

“If you look at the market now, values across these areas are actually rising now and those markets are at record high values too.”

Owen believes buyers may be a little more confident to purchase in these markets.

“We might start to see total listing levels depleted and buyers being a little more confident. Areas where listings are starting to pile up, it suggests sellers are willing to proceed with a spring selling campaign even if they face a bit more competition,” she said.

She also notes that Blacktown, Baulkham Hills and the Hawkesbury regions have had a lot of new housing developments.

“Part of the reason listings could be higher than historic averages could be simply down to more properties being built,” Owen said.

Narraweena seller Michaela McClellan and her husband Ashley have just put their renovated Hamptons-style home on the market.

Michaela McClellan and her husband Ashley are selling their home in Narraweena.Credit: James Brickwood

The 34-year-old brand manager of Canadian Club feels it’s the right time to capitalise on the market, with hopes to upsize in the same northern beaches suburb.

She has had large groups through at open homes with “really positive” feedback so far, but when it comes to finding her new home, she wishes there were even more listings.

“We’ve been very active in the market in terms of looking. The vibe I’m getting is that there’s quite a bit available in the upper $2.4 million to $2.6 million price range but not a lot in the $2 million range,” McClellan said.

McClellan appreciates her local area and wants to stay nearby.

“Narraweena is an up-and-coming area just above Dee Why with beautiful ocean views. It’s a little bit removed from the hustle and bustle but is also a relatively short drive to the city,” McClellan said.

Her agent, Lisa Novak of Novak Properties, who specialises in the northern beaches region, said her area is attracting interest from out-of area buyers.

“While the northern beaches has certainly increased in value, it is still affordable when making comparisons to other areas of Sydney, such as the eastern suburbs and north shore. We have seen many buyers selling up apartments from these areas (eastern suburbs and north shore) and buying similar houses on the beaches for similar money,” she said.

“It’s always been a very desirable location with its endless magnificent beaches, outdoor lifestyle, wonderful safe community and great schools.”

Ray White Group chief economist Nerida Conisbee is seeing an increase in pre-approvals for the loan market which may be fuelling the rise in listings.

“We’re still getting fairly decent levels of bidding and auction activity, so we haven’t really seen a drop-off even though there’s more stock coming to market,” she said.

But more supply could mean some vendors may need to adjust their expectations. Conisbee suggests sellers “always have to be realistic about what’s happening”.