Capitals lead the way as spring selling season begins

The nation’s largest capitals have seen a rise in listings which could ease the pressure on prices for hard-pressed buyers.

Auctioneer Francesco Princi from Cooley Auctions looks for bids during an auction. Picture: Tim Hunter

Home listings jumped nationally in August, with the strong increase in supply ahead of the spring selling season tipped to help ease the pressures that have driven up property prices.

National new listing volumes in August were 6.6 per cent higher over the month and indications are the trend will continue, research house PropTrack says.

While listings slipped 0.7 per cent year-on-year nationally, big cities are leading the way with new listing volumes higher in August than they were a year ago across capital cities on a combined basis. This was tempered as listing volumes were lower throughout regional markets, partly as some have not enjoyed the same rises of key capital cities, as people shift back closer to their workplaces.

PropTrack director of economic research Cameron Kusher pointed to an upward trend last month. “National new listing volumes rose for the fourth time in the past five months in August, to be at their highest since May 2024,” he said.

“While national new listings were slightly lower than a year ago, August marked the 14th consecutive month in which new listings were higher year-on-year in Sydney and the fifth consecutive month they were higher annually in Melbourne and Brisbane.”

But Mr Kusher there was an ongoing split between metropolitan areas and the rest of the country. “The capital cities have seen a 1.6 per cent rise in new listings year-on-year while new listing volumes have lowered in regional markets, declining 4.7 per cent year-on-year,” he said.

The balance was slightly shifting towards buyers, even though many faced affordability constraints. “The ongoing strong new listings environment has resulted in more choice for buyers with total properties advertised for sale up 4.5 per cent in August from a year earlier,“ he said. “While the strong volume of new listings and total properties for sale is an indicator of seller confidence, it remains a key contributor to slowing home price growth.”

PropTrack found August was the first month since March that new listing volumes nationally had not been greater than they were a year earlier.

But in capital cities, the rise in new listing volumes meant they were the highest they had been in August since 2012. The rise in new listings relative to a year ago was largest in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, at a capital city level.

Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra had the highest number of new listings for an August since 2012, 2011 and 2004, respectively.

Total listings nationally were 1 per cent higher over the month and 4.5 per cent higher from August 2023. The total volume of listings has been higher year-on-year for 11 consecutive months.

Sydney (+4.3 per cent), Canberra (+4.3 per cent), and Melbourne (+2.7 per cent) were the capital cities with the largest year-on-year increases in new listings in August.

Although new listings were higher over the year in the combined capital cities, small capitals slipped. Hobart (-17 per cent), Darwin (-15.7 per cent), and Adelaide (-6.5 per cent) had annual declines in new listings in August.

The shifts come as property owners face the worst affordability in almost three decades. The Real Estate Institute of Australia’s quarterly Housing Affordability Report found the average mortgage repayment now amounts to 48.1 per cent of the median family income.