Bushfire crisis likely to hit property listings and prices

The late rally in 2019 was not enough to close the year on a high.

The amount of available homes across the country fell 12 per cent

The bushfire crisis has dampened 2019’s late-year rally in listing numbers and residential prices, with some vendors, particularly in ­regional areas, already pulling their nascent new year property campaigns.

The amount of available homes across the country fell 12 per cent from 12 months before, when the market was in freefall, according to SQM Research managing ­director Louis Christopher.

Mr Christopher said the late-year rally was not enough to close the year on a high.

The bushfires could see property markets in affected regions tighten in the wake of the destruction, he said.

“The recent devastating bushfires in NSW and Victoria could also result in declines in property listings and have an impact on property values in these regions in the coming months,” Mr Christopher said.

Some vendors in NSW’s Southern Highlands pulled their new ­listings this week, based on concerns that they would be seen as trying to capitalise on the crisis if they proceeded with a marketing campaign.

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But My Housing Market chief economist Andrew Wilson said he was not sure if there was any ­impact from the fires on the real estate market.

“I don’t think we can have any definitive evidence that there is any significant change in listing numbers due to the impact of the bushfires,” Dr Wilson said.

“But it’s early days to be forming strong opinions. There’s definitely more listings coming in this week and the numbers are about the same year-on-year. There is no doubt they are ­rising.”

Mr Christopher pointed out that December traditionally recorded falls in properties listed for sale, while November generally showed a surge in listings as ­vendors were keen to sell before the holiday season.

Property vendors began to ­capitalise on strong buyer demand and rising prices in capital city markets in the closing months of 2019, when the number of new listings reached 49,800 and the number of older properties fell considerably, but it was not enough to sustain the total number of available homes.

Only 22,888 properties were available in Sydney last month, more than 30 per cent fewer than the same time in 2018.

Brisbane held up better, with more homes available (28,368) than its southern neighbour and modest falls of just 8.4 per cent over the previous year.

Listings in Melbourne were 16.5 per cent lower year-on-year with 30,247 available properties.

Perth was down 16.4 per cent for the year to December. Adelaide was down 2.5 per cent, while Hobart (11 per cent) and Canberra (14.6 per cent) also fell.

All capital cities followed seasonal trends and finished the year with lower listing numbers compared to November as the market slowed for the Christmas and New Year holiday period.

Sydney property numbers fell 28.7 per cent from November to December, while Melbourne was down 24.4 per cent.

Modest falls were recorded in Brisbane (down 14.6 per cent), ­Adelaide (14.5 per cent) and Perth (15.7 per cent).

Mr Christopher said the falls followed a November surge.

Additional reporting: Lisa Allen