New home listings start 2022 at hit eight year high, according to PropTrack’s latest Listings Report

Home buyers have been spoiled for choice, with new home listings in January and February hitting an eight year high ahead of rising interest rates.

Home listings on Realestate.com.au have spiked over the past two months. Picture: David Swift/NCA NewsWire

Home buyers in the market have been spoiled for choice, experiencing the busiest January and February for property listings since 2014 ahead of rising interest rates.

The number of homes added to the national pool of available properties on classifieds site Realestate.com.au picked up by 27.3 per cent month-on-month in February, according to PropTrack’s latest Listings Report.

Selling is expected to remain strong through the first few months of the year, said PropTrack economist Angus Moore, although he noted change is coming. Buyer demand has eased from the heights of 2021, which has been reflected in a slowdown in the rate of price growth nationally. The likely rise in interest rates is also playing on the minds of buyers.

“As we head into the typically busier Autumn selling season, selling conditions are likely to remain strong over the next few months. But there are some headwinds further out,” Mr Moore said.

“The record levels of new supply coming to market in the final months of the year and the busy start to 2022 has helped give buyers more choice and ease how competitive the market has been. Interest rates look likely to rise later this year or early next year, which may start to cool buyer appetite.

“These factors mean that, while selling conditions look set to remain strong, we are likely to see some tempering from the dominant levels experienced in late 2021.”

The total number of properties available of the site also rose 11.3 per cent month-on-month in February – the largest increase nationally since the pandemic began – as the fevered buying seen at the end of 2021 powered by the fear of missing out began to moderate.

Nearly all capital cities recorded double-digit monthly growth in new listings, led by Canberra (44 per cent) and followed by Melbourne (38.7 per cent), Sydney (37.3 per cent), Darwin (27.2 per cent), Hobart (20.6 per cent), Brisbane (17.4 per cent) and Adelaide (16.7 per cent). Only Perth had slower growth, up 7.8 per cent month-on-month.

Relief for buyers was also felt in regional Australia, where new listings picked up 26.5 per cent month-on-month in February.