PropTrack: Housing market shifts back towards buyers

A move back towards buyers in the residential market is apparent as dramatic price rises fade, analysis shows.

SQM Research says national residential property listings fell in November by 2.6 per cent. Above, auctioneer Andrew Cooley at work last weekend in Sydney. Picture: Simon Bullard

The residential property market is seeing the first clear signs of a shift away from a sellers’ market to become more balanced between buyers and sellers, according to a PropTrack analysis.

The company’s latest report found that the volume of weekly searches, views per listing and email inquiries to real estate agents all fell in November as the seasonal slowdown around the Christmas and New Year break approached.

The drops come as the number of homes for sale on the market increased after lockdowns ended, providing buyers with more choice.

But on some indicators, falls are starting to occur.

SQM Research said national residential property listings fell in November by 2.6 per cent to 233,716 from 239,866 in October. Compared with 12 months ago, listings dropped 21.1 per cent.

Nationally, new listings rose 2.3 per cent over November, with 96,346 new properties added to the market. New listings are up 20.4 per cent over the year.

But the overall drop came as older listings fell 7.3 per cent in November and were down by 51.2 per cent over the year.

Capital-city house asking prices rose 2.3 per cent and units 0.2 per cent over the four weeks to December 7, SQM said.

Sydney and Canberra were the two cities to record a rise in listings of 3.2 per cent and 3.9 per cent over the month of November.

But over the year, property listings are trending downwards nationwide. Compared with 12 months ago, national listings fell 21.1 per cent, with the biggest falls in Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra and Hobart.

The PropTrack Housing Market Indicators Report confirmed that the property market was seeing the first signs of a shift away from a sellers’ market in the lead up to Christmas.

The analysis argued that as the number of homes for sale increased in November, views that buyers made on each listing on declined. Views per listing fell 9 per cent in November, down from October’s historic high, PropTrack found.

The firm found that the volume of weekly searches had fallen by 16.2 per cent over the last seven consecutive weeks from what have been elevated levels.

“Search volumes remain historically high and we expect they should remain so over the coming months following the Christmas/New Year slowdown,” PropTrack said.

Policy setting are also allowing buyers to borrow at low cost even though some intervention is expected next year.

The Reserve Bank on Tuesday maintained key rates at a record low 0.1 per cent, in keeping with expectations.

“There were no surprises from the final RBA board meeting of the year after significant changes were announced at the November meeting. Australia’s economic recovery continues but the RBA still expects interest rates to be on hold through all of next year and most, if not all, of 2023,’’ PropTrack director of economic research Cameron Kusher said.